politics and fashion

Inauguration and Michelle Obama.

michelle-obama I wrote about this on Twitter this morning but wanted to put it up on my blog as well. For the first time since Michelle Obama hit the media scene, I actually love what she had on- a canary yellow brocade shift dress and over coat by Isabel Toledo and a pair of green Jimmy Choo pumps. For those of you who don't know who Isabel Toledo is here are three fun facts about her:

-She is Cuban and based in NYC.

-She is married to Ruben Toledo, an artist and collaborator.

-She was the creative director of Anne Klein.

Just to clarify...

... a couple of you (ok, ok a lot of you) have written in re: my post on Michelle Obama's Loree Rodkin earrings. I do realize the Obamas probably have some money and therefore CAN afford $10,000 + accessories- but that's not the point. What I was trying to bring to everyone's attention is that she has been positioned as the "first lady of the people" wearing all those middle priced outfits (instead of Oscar de la Renta she rocked J Crew and H&M). So many fashion writers, editors and critics (including me) have been talking about Michelle Obama's foray into fashion, but why did't we talk about it when she was wearing the stuff everyone else could afford? Aren't we overstating it a little when we call her a fashion icon  (for the record, I DON'T) and compare her to Jackie O? Do you only achieve "fashion plate" status when you start upgrading your wardrobe $$$ wise, AND if that's the case, why is everyone giving Sarah Palin so much flack? Just sayin'... PS thank you for all of your comments. The discussion is GREAT!

When will wearing Obama gear stop being cool?

It seems like the new fashion trend in NYC is not booties and opaque tights for the ladies and skinny jeans for dudes but Obama gear. Between the "Hope" t-shirts and  "Yes We Can" pins and the Obama/ Biden tote bags, I am experiencing some major fashion fatigue (I am in Zurich right now so no one is wearing that stuff). The lovely peeps (and my former collegues) at Metro the free international daily asked me when I thought Bam fans will finally be over wearing all that election tchotchke. I said after the inauguration in January, but I just logged onto the Barak Obama site and it seems his gear is now on mark down. Maybe the Obama gear fad is going end sooner than I think...

Thoughts?

Michelle Obama's $10,275 earrings.

I don't understand why everyone is all over Sarah Palin's case re: $150,000 wardrobe when Michelle Obama was wearing a pair of Loree Rodkin earrrings on Tuesday night that retail for $10,275! Don't get me wrong, I am OBSESSED with Rodkin's designs. During the press previews several of us lo-fi editors put on a couple pieces and pretended they were actually a part of our permanent collection.  And to be fair, It is unclear where Michelle Obama got these white gold and diamond triple dangles (were they given to her? Did she purchase them at ultra luxe Ikram in Chicago? Did she borrow from her sister-in-law or Joe Biden's wife? ) but they definitely aren't fake nor are they affordable... well for me anyway.

P.S. did Mrs. Obama hire a stylist? Just askin'...

The first lady rocks Narciso Rodriguez.

I didn't love the dress on her. BUT from a pure placement stand point, I am beyond thrilled for Narcisco. Something like this was exactly what he needed. Thoughts?

Fashion and politics: stand by your party.

Would you buy this bag if you knew part of the money from the sale went to a political party? Designers Rachelle Copeland and Emily Ironi of Alexis Hudson think you would. They teamed up with Los Angeles artist Greg Miller to create the "Change" bag which embodies the creator's vision of the future, i.e., having a healthy planet,  economy and society. But what does that even mean anyway? The bag costs $95 with 10% of the proceeds will go to support the Democratic campaign. I'm just curious- are the designers donating to a specific candidate or the DNC?? And the mission of designing bag is to use style and fashion in order to rally a new audience of voters. Last time I checked, 99.9% of the fashion industry and "it" bag carrying girls were already registered Democrats. Not that I'm the expert (when it comes to politics), but if you are going to make a political statement wouldn't you do it in the form of an overt "statement" tee shirt the Marc Jacobs did it? P.S. designer Nili Lotan sent me a "war theme" scarf with machine guns on it. Does that mean I support our president if I wear it? Just sayin'...

 

The Marc Jacobs "Hillary" tee shirt

Spitzer style: first it was the red tie, now it's the blue.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JYEUhIobuk] I think it's interesting how Spitzer was wearing a red tie when he first apologized and today he sported a blue one. Seems like that's the color of choice when badly behaving politicians, chief executives, etc., have to publically put their tail between their legs and apologize.  Other dudes who had on a blue tie when the axe fell include, Stan O'Neal (Merril Lynch), Sam Waksal (Imclone), Andrew Fastow and President Nixon. Also, check out what Silda was wearing- the dark suit and scarf is gorgeous but she clearly looks like she's in mourning.