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I had sworn never to write about Michelle Obama's sartorial disasters. This isn't really about her, but about her daughter Malia. Also, it isn't about aesthetics and style, but about MO's hypocritical attitude as shown by her choices in her public attire. And, I think she's using her daughter to get her messages across about "spreading the wealth, and the peace."
While in Russia, Michelle was carrying a black clutch, which style experts identified as an Italian luxury good from VBH, which cost $5,950. The White House said it was an $875 knockoff.
Now, we should all say how thrifty Michelle is by substituting the real thing for a knockoff. But why go for a copy of an expensive, status-heavy model? Why not go for an original, cheaper clutch, with no designer ambitions?
Well, I think Michelle just wants it both ways: to make a style statement, but not get cornered for being too high-fashion conscious. Her fake clutch, though, proves the exact opposite.
She also aims to have it her way with her daughter Malia, although Malia would beg to differ in her modern pre-teen rebellious ways. Malia was in Moscow wearing a simple (cheap?) t-shirt with the famous Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament symbol (the peace sign) printed on it. In fact, she wore two variations of this peacenik t-shirt. Michelle looks demure and neutral in a white sundress standing next to Malia .
I’ve never seen Michelle make blatant, non-aesthetic, political statements with her clothing. In fact, wherever she goes wrong with her style, it is a problem of bad choices rather than ideological statements. She dresses to look good, not to flaunt an ideology.
So, why would she allow Malia to dress in this “non-fashion” sense? I’m sure she pretty much controls what her daughters wear. The only rationale I can come up with is that she condones the message, and allows her daughter to sport her and her husband’s radical political views, without getting into trouble themselves. After all, pre-teens will be pre-teens, and since when do they listen to their parents anyway?
This reminds me of the statements Michelle made in public which Obama never corrected. “My wife says what she wants” is his way of using her as a scapegoat for his beliefs. As a presidential candidate and then as president, he has every right to tell his wife not to behave in ways that would sabotage his position. Unless, of course, he doesn’t think her actions are doing him any harm.
So, Malia’s public attire is just another saga of the Obama family manipulating the public (and each other) to get their messages across.
But, Malia is looking strange these days. She has worn her hair in this dreadlock style before, but never so untidily. Also, she’s sporting dark glasses, short shorts, and ugly gray sweat pants.
At times, she looks like a junior recruit to the Black Panthers.
