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Larry Auster from the View From the Rightt sent me this photo of President and Mrs. Obama who were in the Arlington cemetery as part of the 9/11 commemorations. I said about Obama: "Yes, it is shocking. Hands in pocket, relaxed in a tie-less suit, strolling around a National Cemetery. Shameful."
Here's what I wrote back on Michelle Obama's appearance:
His wife, as usual, pushes at us her large, muscled body, and lacks the sense of decorum or prudence to cover those bulging muscles. She's truly ugly. Here she is arriving in Pennsylvania, and later in NYC. This is what she wore to both memorials: strange, short, stiff dress, above the knees; thick gladiator belt, above the waist; short, shrunken sweater. Further down the link of photos, you can see a weird, loose stitch on the side of the dress. And the back is bare, with buttons going all the way down. This looks like some mediocre prom dress, rather than attire for a memorial. And this is supposed to be First Lady material.I have posted many blogs on Michelle Obama's sartorial and physical appearance (see the list at the end). I cannot but conclude that she:
- Has no fashion sense.
- Deliberately "pushes at us her large, muscled [dark] body" as some kind of silent revolt against White House white ladies.
Here is one of the first posts I did on Michelle, who's wearing a sequined argyle sweater backwards:
What is this?! Sequins, argyle, asymmetry, pearls, a tank top/t-shirt,Try doing all of those at once.
turquoise/teal mix, buttons on the back. This is the aesthetic sense of a truly clueless woman.
And here I compare her to the elegant First Lady of the Czech Republic:
She is in Prague now...a cultured, sophisticated, European city. And this is what she gave them!Her dress at the State Dinner for China's President Hu Jintao warranted this:
- Flats again
- Shirt untucked, which looks like some cheap, wrinkly cotton
- Plain (too plain) black skirt
- A shapeless overcoat - looks like a sweater coat!
- A bow? A really big bow (is it to reinforce Obama's...BOW?).
I had vowed not to do anymore fashion pieces on Michelle Obama. But this takes the cake. The dress she wore to the State Dinner for China's President Hu Jintao looks like some kind of modern tied-dye African costume, clumsily cut as though somewhat was "cut happy" with the scissors, and with parts which look like they were assembled together with safety pins. There is that odd asymmetrical, off-the-shoulder look that Obama seems to like so much. And she's holding some kind of miniature shawl (scroll down to the second image [in the link]) which has no relation, either in design or in proportion, to the rest of the dress. Bloggers (and Drudge) are calling this her tribute to "China Red", but I don't see that, especially with all the black "tie-dye" criss-crossing pattern.I compare Jackie Kennedy's casual style on the beach with Michelle going off on vacation in sloppy t-shirt and shorts: "Jackie Kennedy managed to have great, styled hair even at the beach. Michelle Obama going on holiday...No comment."
Her children also don't pass the scrutiny test. Ordinarily, I would let them alone (modern youth fashion is difficult enough as it is), but Michelle does have some say in her pre-adult children's appearances, especially given the family they represent. But in this post "Malia Obama's Peacenik T-Shirt," I write that there is a strange dynamic where Michelle seems to be using Malia's teen-age rebelliousness to project her own beliefs.
In "Michelle Ma Belle? Still no sense of style" I wrote a more complete profile of what I think her style sense is, and what her role is in promoting her image:
Firstly, what people see in her sense of style is really what most "career" women are wearing these days...At the end of the day, Michelle Obama is making some kind of political/cultural statement with the kinds of dresses she dons at official occasions. Livia Klausova, the First Lady of the Czech Republic, must have understood that when she appeared in her carefully put-together "superior design of the string of pearls, the lovely pale pink/gray color, the gray fur trimmings, all beautifully coordinated" to greet the First Lady of the United States.
The surprising thing about career wear for women these days is how pleasant and feminine they look. I simply think it is the natural tendency for women to want to look attractive and "pretty" (if you can be that at the office). 80s style macho women is out.
So, I think there is that modern career woman's sense of style that Michelle is copying very successfully.
Another factor is I think the traditional black American sense of style, which is colorful and vivacious. She seems to have grown up in a pretty traditional family, and I expect her mother and other women would have instilled in her this formal and attractive style.
Thirdly, she is surrounded by stylists, experts and high-level designers, so it is not easy to go wrong.
Despite all of this, she makes atrocious mistakes, which I think shows her lack of understanding of clothes, her lack of style, and her lack of an eye for beautiful things...
My conclusion to all this is that I think she is stubborn. I also think she doesn't respect the people around her, who expect some decorum and style out of her on all occasions. She is not really willing to relinquish her ordinary/career woman role for that of a much more subtle and high-level office which scrutinizes everything down to the bracelet on her wrist...
But, there is a final and more subtle reason, I think, for her choices. I've noticed this with black celebrities. They seem to want to form their own style, different from the white world around them. I think Michelle, in her own uncultured way, is trying to be The Black Woman in the White House.
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Camera Lucida Blog posts on Michelle Obama
Obamascare
Michelle Ma Belle
Doing Good for an Audience of One, Maybe Two
Obama's Enemy List
Michelle Obama's Non-Fashion Sense
Photo-Op for the Obama Family
Malia Obama's Peacenik T-Shirt
The Chic Homesteaders
Michelle's Inelegance Exposed
Michelle's Insolence
Michelle's Fashion Sense