Assorted Reading
Friday, May 8, 2009 at 11:13 AM 
While Mandi Norwood's Michelle Style has been getting a bit of buzz this week, it's not the only new Mrs. O read in the style section. (Of note: Mrs. O wears a rarely seen Narciso Rodriguez dress on the cover. She wore the same dress to a campaign event in September, seen here.)
Fashion Week Daily has released a special edition of their mini-mag to chronicle Mrs. O's First 100 day of Style. The images and information are familiar, but to experience them all at once, in their high resolution, glossy page glory, is quite a treat. We especially loved the tribute to Mrs. O's favorite designers. The mini-mags are available on newstands and in major bookstores. They can also be bought online here.
Finally, our friends at InStyle have shared their latest photo gallery -- First Lady Style: 10 Tips to Make the Most of What You've Got -- definitely worth a peek!
Narciso Rodriguez in Outfits
Reader Comments (128)
African American's are NOT a monolithic group. Please do not generalize and say that there is a typical body type. And please do a favor and note that each person is speaking for themselves and not THE SPOKESPERSON for AA Women.
Leah D - I hope you have not found my desire to hear from AA woman on this topic to be divisive. I don't think the woman who have responded find it divisive. Race exists in this society, and President Obama himself did a splendid job of opening the door to a more frank and honest conversation about race with his fabulous speech out race during the campaign.
I don't think we need to pretend that we are not from different races, genders, and ages. We are not a homogeneous society, and one way to celebrate our beautiful diversity is to let each diverse group express their opinions about everything.
I don't believe that my question has been offensive. The woman who have responded to it didn't seem to be offended by it. And I appreciate their honesty.
Mrs. H.S. - Thank you for your comment. I do appreciate that AA women are not a monolithic group. Perhaps I should have said that some AA women think of "booty" as a plus, but others do not.
This was merely a topic that interested me, and I wanted to ask an honest question. I am very appreciative of the honest answers that have been offered.
Thank you.
"Among us black folks, having booty and some hips is considered a **plus** . . . "
In the first season of Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, one of the women was an African-American who told Tim that she wanted to keep a particular pair of jeans because they made her butt look big.
Poor Tim was shocked! "You mean you WANT your hips to look big?" (He's all about "mitigating your hips"). Co-host Veronica Webb (an African-American model) just gave him a look and said, "Tim, it's a cultural thing."
It's truly sad when women are made to feel that there's only one form of beauty. Anything we can do to break that mold is a good thing, in my book.
Hi,
Just to clarify, I'm pretty sure Michelle Obama does have a relaxer, in an article that I believe was in the Huffington Post it talks about how she gets her hair relaxed every six weeks.
Brit,
You are absolutley right about her hair being relaxed. It was on HPost just last week.
As far as this conversation is going right now...
No one speaks for me and I am AA. I speak for myself just as Mrs O speaks for herself.
I'll be back to the blog when this conversation is over.
@ Mara
You said she de-emphasizes her hips and my point is "In what way?" How much more could she emphasize her hips? Stop jumping on the stereotypical bandwagon because I questioned your statement and trying to divert the issue. The mention of booty shorts was a joke. Show me how she de-emphasizes her booty because I don't see it.
Give me examples of how she de-emphasizes her booty and give me examples of how she could further emphasize them. Because I don't see what you see.
I don't think I never said you don't compliment her. I said you have subliminal hating with your backhanded compliments that I have heard people point out over and over. And I showed you three clear examples of that from just ONE posting.
WILLOW: "If among black folks, it’s considered a plus to have some “booty”, is it the influence of the white culture that makes AA woman sound like they aren’t so proud of their booty and that they want to sort of hide it? I’ve even heard the gorgeous Halle Barry, who is always one of the best dressed women at any event, talk about how careful she must be in her choices of dress to choose something that will not emphasize her “butt”."
I know few black women with ample butts who aren't proud of them, especially since it's a trait that most black men (and I'd bet money including our president) love. However, there can be a sensitivity issue regarding how to present one's "booty" fashion-wise in a non-entirely-black setting, especially in a professional setting.
By Mrs. Obama "hiding" her butt, I mean that I've noticed that Mrs. Obama will often (not always) use a cardigan, coat, jacket, or blouse/shirt to mostly or almost entirely cover her rear. Even in the Hawaii vacation photos, she wore a sarong when going out in public. Meanwhile, I remember pics of Hillary Clinton as First Lady sans sarong showing her behind.
Many black women do this, especially in the workplace, to not draw attention to an area often viewed (or perceived to be viewed by others) as looking "provocative". Women of other races are likelier to be able to "get away" with wearing the exact same outfit, but not be viewed as "provocative" because of the butt factor.
I do not think Mrs. Obama should succumb to this, although as I said above I understand why she does it. I argue that she can help increase the ethic where black women can look professional without so many black women feeling required to have to cover up what nature gave us.
@ Mara
Correcting my previous posting
You said she de-emphasizes her BOOTY and my point is “In what way?” How much more could she emphasize her BOOTY? Stop jumping on the stereotypical bandwagon because I questioned your statement and trying to divert the issue. The mention of booty shorts was a joke. Show me how she de-emphasizes her booty because I don’t see it.
Give me examples of how she de-emphasizes her booty and give us suggestions of how she could further emphasize them. Because I don’t see what you see.
I don’t think I said you never compliment her. I said you have subliminal hating with your "backhanded compliments" (as someone rightly described them). I have heard people point it out over and over but I continue to ignore your posts. But it becomes more and more obvious everyday, but had to say something when I was shocked that you are black and continue to put your fellow black woman down just because. And I showed you three clear examples of that from just ONE posting of yours.]
I am hardly one to say I like her outfts when I don't. But even when you can't give a compliment without counterracting it with something negative, then I will point you out. I'm done on this. You know there is lots of validity to what I am saying.
@ Mara
Mrs. Obama relaxes her hair. Yes, it has chemicals in it. She doesn't have it bolown out and flat ironed. That is Sasha and Maalia[s hair that is natural. Michelle's hair has a relaxer in it.
Just took a look at the photo of Mrs. O leaving the hamburger spot. Isn't that TBG right behind her? Hope he got a burger too! LOL!
I'd like to comment on the hips issue for a minute.
I too have felt uneasy about what's been said about Mrs. O's hips. I don't particularly read women's magazines, so it has more to do with what I've read in various blogs & coments online. Numerous times I've seen people say that she needs to hide her hips or wear clothes that don't draw attention to them. Well my reaction is: "SO WHAT?! what's wrong with large hips?". All this has shocked me but I never said anything - and maybe I should - because I realize so many are conditioned to believe certain body features are more desirable than others. Sadly often times they're not necessarly what men/bi or lesbian women like - if that's the kind of validation people are seeking.
Also, I think some people have limited interraction with black women and/or don't necessarly pay attention to them like that. Not all black women have large hips & butts but a high number of them do.
I'm Black and I come from a background where hips are okay. Having a big backside is okay too. It's attractive too. imho when the "mainstream" women's magazines, some beauty companies and others ignore your demographic, you tend to just do your own thing and go from there. I know Mrs. O is more than just clothes. However I like that she's representing a different sort of beauty, which mostly has to do with confidence. As Godschild said, black girls and women are increasingly encouraged to feel good about themselves and their bodies. At the end of the day we're surrounded by women who defy the mainstream ideal of beauty but who are beautiful nonetheless. Of course you'll find black women wanting to espouse the super thin & slender ideal of beauty. But there are also plenty of women who like what they have and just make it work.
I think its not just black women seeing things this way. There are more and more magazines, blogs, forums dedicated to average women, curvy women, disabled women, tall women, petite women, black/white/asian, etc and thin women too. There's something for everybody! I feel that in the recent years there's been a collective epiphany. More and more women see that attractiveness begins with self confidence. Being at peace with one's own body is transformative! I think it's clear that in the case of Mrs O, she wears the clothes - they do not wear her! It's as if she/her body is telling the outfit what to do. This is how it's supposed to be.
To all those who think she should avoid making her hips so visible: what if her intent is to make draw attention to them because ... she likes them? I don't want to turn this into a white/black issue but when we look at people, we also project our own ideas and cultural expressions of beauty unto others. Everybody is guilty of that. Personally I take some distance before judging someone's body shape (unless they look super unhealthy to me, I admit).
I love that now the fashion industry is forced to look at the reality that most women have a body shape, and they're missing out on clients/patrons like Michelle Obama because they often snub them.
my $0.2
Taking lunch out:
Isn't it great to have city people in the White House?
@ Mara
You are assuming that she wears those arm cover ups like coats,jackets and cardigans to cover her butt. Could it be just to polish off her look, for better decorum and to prevent from getting cold? Alas, none of these would be a reason. It is definitely to cover her butt.
As an incoming first lady, I thought it showed better decorum to have a sarong to cover her butt and frontal area. Because Hillary chose to go without it makes Michelle covering herself for better decorum an issue?
I am a 29 yr old woman and even I don't like to show too much of my private parts when in swimsuits. I think I will leave that for the bedroom and I am not even an incoming FLOTUS. Maybe same for Michelle?
Iris - Thank you so much for your beautiful post.
@ Iris
I like the idea of designers thinking about women of different sizes now. If Michelle facilitates that, all the better.
@desertwind
I've to that place! The cheeseburgers were good, not outstanding, but quite good. But Spike's has a roasted marshmallow milkshake that is INSANELY good.
Usually the FLOTUS isn't compared with supermodels and their waifish figures. After all, most First Ladies are 50+ in years. Michelle is a little younger at 44. You can see that Mr. O certainly appreciates his lovely wife exactly as she is. The pix of her on the cover of the new style book in the Narcisco Rodriguez dress - she looks like about 27 years old. Maybe if Mrs. O celebrates her figure as it is (I'm a hippy white woman) then perhaps more of us will say to heck with the notion that we need lipo or whatever. This is who I am and I'm just fine as I am - instead of comparing ourselves against teenage models who simply haven't filled out yet or had a baby or are perhaps even anorexic. I think Mrs. O's shape is just great - especially w/ her wonderful height.
MRS. A: I don’t think I never said you don’t compliment her. I said you have subliminal hating with your backhanded compliments that I have heard people point out over and over. And I showed you three clear examples of that from just ONE posting."
Saying Mrs. Obama IS hippy and has a large butt and that's a GOOD thing is "hating" to you. Saying that Mrs. Obama is putting out good messages to black women about health despite a busy schedule is "hating". Saying that Mrs. Obama should not deemphasize her lower body - as quite a few black women do, as any black woman knows - while stating that I understand why she feels the public image need to do so is now "hating". Saying that Mrs. Obama is making good use of color but should further enhance it by playing up her dark complexion and draw inspiration from our African sisters' fashion strengths in this area is now "hating". Those were the points that I made in the post that you referenced. Oh yeah, I also complimented her makeup choices and decision to not relax her hair. That's "hating" too, I suppose.
Your hate for any diverse comments and things that you don't understand from a cultural point outweighs anything I've said about Mrs. Obama. That, and your stereotypical booty shorts comment, when I said nothing about booty shorts when I said that Mrs. Obama should not deemphasize her lower body/butt. Interesting that the hoochie ethic - a stereotype of black women - was the very first fashion thing that came to your mind though.
I was responding to Willow's question posed to African American women, and offering my perspective as an African American woman. If you don't like my comments, keep it moving...
@ desertwind,
The D.C. insiders haven't seen this since maybe Clinton, but the Obamas are taking it to a new level. This is who they are and they had a very active social life many evenings a week in Chicago as well as the weekend. They both kind of go like Energizer bunnies probably b/c they workout a lot. In Chicago, the President was always going to diners, breakfast spots, pizza and deli joints to connect with the people and to just get good food. Yes, they eat high-end on date nights but I respect they're just being themselves in their temporary home. I love that they're breathing new life into DC and bringing business to so many establishments that they go to.
I love a fancy meal, but nothing beats a good rib or burger place to treat myself with comfort food from time to time. I applaud Michelle for showing what moderation is, good eating habits without going overboard with it and staying away from processed fast food. A burger at McDonald's is not like a good gourmet burger like she had today. Some fast food is nothing but chemicals and no meat.
Iris - Your post is so wonderful. Thank you so much. I want to re-post this that you said so beautifully:
"I think its not just black women seeing things this way. There are more and more magazines, blogs, forums dedicated to average women, curvy women, disabled women, tall women, petite women, black/white/asian, etc and thin women too. There’s something for everybody! I feel that in the recent years there’s been a collective epiphany. More and more women see that attractiveness begins with self confidence. Being at peace with one’s own body is transformative!" Amen!
That's exactly what I was trying to get at! Let's help all women (and men, too, for that matter) feel good about the shape God gave them. Let's all liberate ourselves from the stereotypes the designers, the magazines, the self-appointed experts want to impose on all of us. Let's celebrate our diversity in all its manifestations.
to whoever started the conversation about Mrs. O's body type: i hear a lot of coded language used in the media when it comes to discussing her body; i wish folks would leave her and other women alone when it comes to their bodies but alas that's the culture we live in.
there was one blogger a while back who went on this big thing claiming to know all about what size Mrs. O wears, and the size 12 that she clearly pulled out of her ass made it into quite a few mainstream media discussions. yeah she has a much more normal looking body than most of the women we see in the media, but she's still very trim and toned; she has hips and a butt, but for a black woman hers are really not that remarkable.
anywho i forgot most of what i wanted to post on this topic, but i will say that while it drives many white feminists crazy to see so much emphasis put on her appearance, as a black woman i love having her held up as a standard of beauty and femininity, because black women are very rarely ascribed those qualities in this culture; having her out there helps mainstream black standards of beauty.
oh and she looks adorable in that photo from today.
OO God, I knew this conversation will end up this way when the whole race conversation started. Why can't Mrs Obama just be looked as a beautiful woman. People always have to reference her race which in this case is irrelevant. I have seen black woman slimmer, have you seen senegalese women, ethiopian women? they tend to. be tall and very very slim..and many others....There are also white women that are very curvacious. I don't know whether it's ignorance or racism or hate that drives some retarded comments we see sometimes.......
Let me add: As people probably know, the Obamas have like a 96% approval rating among blacks. A few of you who have problems with my comments, you should see black-oriented websites (MediaTakeout, Bossip, Concrete Loop, etc. are the biggest ones) when posters comment about Mrs. Obama's oufits. When Mrs. Obama is on fashion point (the all-black dress she wore to the German event on their European tour was widely praised), she gets her due kudos. When she's off fashion point (e.g., the inauguration gown had many critics), oh man. My criticisms are EXTREMELY TAME compared to what you'll read there. Calling a hot-mess outfit a hot-mess outfit not worthy of who she is as a woman is hardly viewed as "hating".
Some of you are just obsessive and thin-skinned about what YOU PERCEIVE to be any slight about Mrs. Obama. Mrs. Obama is a public figure and will be alright, regardless of what is said or not said about her.
@Moja31: You're right. I love how Mrs. Obama's high profile is forcing some of these big-name fashion designers to step up their game. They're used to getting access to First Ladies. Well, earn your keep like everyone else and put more black models in your shows, and you may get her business.
All I can about our Flotus booty is that her husband love every inch of it! I'm certain he is enjoying every squeeze, pinch, bite and bat. Love her and she has something that we don't have. She has that handsome, tall, intelligent, good, nice great integrity man. Yes, she is black and beautiful and she is the BOMB!
Can't we all just get along?
Aw... just kidding.
Re Michelle and the status of her clothes purchases. I don't know, but believe she buys all her clothes. I suppose some of the higher-end pieces from Ikram's may be purchased at wholesale rates. The inaugural gown was made with understanding it would be donated to the Smithsonian if Michelle wore it. Nancy Reagan was criticized for accepting loaned designer duds and had to pay taxes on that. The UK PM's wife, Sarah Brown, often rents (not loans) clothes at 20/30% of the cost of the garment, but I don't know if Michelle has done that.
We're only four months into this administration and, by next Fall, I imagine, we'll probably see Michelle repeating some gowns (updated with different hairstyle & accessories). Actually, I'm dying to see more of that red gown worn to Alfalfa Dinner and hope Michelle wears that on Saturday night!
Michelle was busy yesterday. She gave a great interview in her lovely floral blouse with the Department of Defense on military families. This woman just keeps going and going. Why the MSM won't cover this is beyond me. Anyway, just a video from Thursday to highlight what a woman of substance our First Lady is:
www(dot)pentagonchannel(dot)com/ (scroll down to playlist)
or
www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=6l14smekSp0
Goody said: "All I can about our Flotus booty is that her husband love every inch of it! I’m certain he is enjoying every squeeze, pinch, bite and bat. Love her and she has something that we don’t have. She has that handsome, tall, intelligent, good, nice great integrity man. Yes, she is black and beautiful and she is the BOMB!"
You are soooooo right! And aren't we all just a little bit jealous? (with a mischievous smile...)
@mara, lets not generalize, I'm a black woman as well but we all are not curvy, I'm 6ft and thin, we as black women come in all shapes and sizes
Tales of FLOTUS Past: Remember when Laura Bush wore a red Oscar "The Grouch" de la Renta dress to a Kennedy Center event (that annual cultural award thingie) and, after the photocall but before the dinner, she had to change because three other ladies were wearing the exact same dress?
Today:
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, are attending a parent-teacher conference at their older daughter's school.
The Obamas left the White House on Friday afternoon for the 20-minute ride to the Washington campus of the Sidwell Friends School. That is where their older daughter, 10-year-old Malia, is a fifth-grader.
Bev,
There are very strict rules about what the First Family can accept as gifts. If I remember correctly, anything over $25 becomes the property of the country. So when you see that the President has been given gifts by various foreign leaders, you can be sure that that's for show, and the things wind up almost immediately in the hands of the White House curator.
As this "I heard" stuff is from the freepers trying to do damage.
Everyone can blame the White House and TIME for the Alaia/Kors mix-up!
From WWD:
... Meanwhile, between the Costume Institute flap and his dress reportedly being worn by First Lady Michelle Obama at the Time 100 dinner, Azzedine Alaïa is having quite the week in the spotlight. Trouble is, that square neck tank dress that was part of the First Lady’s widely praised ensemble (along with a Peter Soronen corset belt) on Tuesday evening was actually designed by Michael Kors. “I’ve been digging out of the Alaïa hole all day,” said a good-natured, if exasperated, spokesman for Michael Kors, which sent out a press release setting the record straight. The spokesman also obtained a correction from the popular First Lady fashion fan site, Mrs-O.org, where that outfit had drawn hundreds of rapturous comments and guessing games. The spokesman said the dress was simple enough to go unidentified, but that Ikram Goldman had given the designer the heads up in an e-mail. The erroneous Alaïa credit, which was reported in WWD and many other news sources, apparently came from the White House via Time.
Mrs T - do you know if a picture (frontal view) of the red corset gown MO wore to the annual Alfalfa dinner is in either the Norwood Michelle Style book or in the Fashion Week Daily mag?
Iris - great post.
New VIDEO regarding the Michelle and her mom interview:
www(DOT)cnn(DOT)com/video/#/video/living/2009/05/08/nr(DOT)matters(DOT)obama(DOT)mother(DOT)cnn
Mara, that was also my view of all those designers who were whining about her not wearing their clothes. these are the same designers who don't care about other black women wearing their clothes; they don't put black women on their runways or in their ad campaigns, they don't even rush to dress the biggest black actresses in hollywood. they didn't care about dressing Mrs. O before she was first lady, and wanted to act all entitled now that she's pretty much the most watched black woman in the world. i loved that she wore that one dress by Sophie Thalleat (sp?), the designer that did a show full of black models, i hope Mrs. O features more minority friendly designers in the future. if folks want to throw fits about dressing her, aside from learning to show her a little respect, they'd better start paying attention to the many black women out there who are just like her, that they've been happily and often proudly ignoring for years. I love that she's mainstreaming black beauty, femininity, motherhood etc. those are aspects of black culture that are long overdue for some recognition.
i couldn't help but smile when i heard an old white guy like jack cafferty say that he found the first lady attractive, and it's the same reason i wasn't totally outraged to see her make maxim's hot 100 list (they said the president was lucky to come home every night to the hottest first lady ever); for too long whiteness has been a necessary precondition for all that is deemed desirable or womanly in our society. the same way that her husband helps change narratives about what it means to be a black man in America, michelle is helping change the way mainstream white culture views black womanhood; and i love her for that.
FWIW, this is a side issue, but I'm not even sure Mrs. O has big hips. That is, if we saw her walking down the street, I don't think that we would say "wow, look at the hips on that one!"
Some of that, I think, is just a trick of photography. I think we all know that starlets who look "regular" on TV, are usually extremely slender in real life.
@Iris: "I feel that in the recent years there’s been a collective epiphany. More and more women see that attractiveness begins with self confidence."
Great post, Iris. Didn't this media booty obsession (oh the shock! the horror!) begin some years ago with Jennifer Lopez' butt? That's when I remember it. It was really ignorant. Then recently there were photos about a celebrity's weight gain, Jessica ?, and she responded, so what. That's the cultural transformation. That's what every woman and girl needs to do wherever she is, in blogs, letters to editors, in person. It will even save young peoples' lives, from anorexia and bulimia.
These media types (not journalists) are doing this to sell stuff and keep their jobs. When it is no longer interesting and therefore saleable for them to pick apart female bodies to that extent, they will stop.
Mrs. Obama is giving us all a huge gift by her example, celebrating her own body and clothing diversity, and not trying to fit into that damn DC suit! God bless her.
Guys I just had to show ya'll this. Talk about the power of Mrs. O. So as stated above by Janelle Mrs. O did a interview with the pentagon channel. And we all know she wants to help military families. So today I go to Michelle's facebook page and theres all these messages saying Michelle you need to meet Ginny and it has a youtube link. So I go to the link and it this woman who lost her son by another soldier and she wants to meet Michelle Obama to start a national dialogue about the emotional state of servicemen when they go to war.
Please check it out:
Go to you tube and type in Help Ginny go Big. I might link it as well but I know it would be stuck in moderation.
Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4jjM-tkJWI
Thank you to all the posters on this thread. Although it has gotten a little testy at times, it has really educated me a white woman with a big butt. And I do believe it is the butt that is the desirable AA trait. It is in the back not the sides.
Keep the comments coming, but remember that we are all on the same side.
We love Michelle and want to see her in the best light -- even if we don't always agree what that is.
Everyone, I think we might see Mrs. O out this Sunday. I just have a strange feeling that the Obamas might make a surprise visit this Sunday for Mother's Day to one of the churches they are vetting. These traditions were very important to them in Chicago, and I know they hate the focus and chaos that comes with going somewhere public right now. I'll know by 10:00 or 11:00 am EST this Sunday if my hunch is right. They never announce it until the motorcade has arrived. I could be wrong, but I have that feeling.......
Upcoming events...
May 9th (Saturday) 7pm - The Obamas attend the White House Correspondents Dinner.
May 12th (Tuesday) - The Obamas host a poetry jam in the East Room to celebrate poetry, music and the spoken word.
May 16th (Saturday) - Michelle Obama delivers Spring 2009 commencement address at the University of California, Merced.
I have friends that will do anything for big butts! So when you're bless with it, flaunt it! Black men loves it, and white men are learning to appreciate it!
Go here:
youtube(dot)com/watch?v=n4jjM-tkJWI
This had me in tears, watch it till the end where she asks for Michelle's help
Hello to everyone! I just wanted to tell Mrs. T that I follow this blog religiously and am always interested in what Mrs. O is wearing, almost as much as I care about what she is saying. I really enjoy the discussions that are had here and hope to add my two cents every now and then.
First Lady Michelle Obama Interview with Liz Murray on Military Family Issues
Part One:
www(DOT)youtube(DOT)com/watch?v=6l14smekSp0
Part Two:
www(DOT)youtube(DOT)com/watch?v=xT4jvOG6NS8
photo from trip to parent/teacher conference; different outfit from the burger run, but still working the cute ponytail.
www(dot)daylife(dot)com/photo/0dur4Wu7L32eA?q=michelle+obama
Ha! Everyone needs to see this great video about Michelle's ARMS. Be sure to click on the video top left to turn on volume.
http (COLON) //current(DOT)com/items/90029412_sarah-haskins-in-target-women-obama-arms(DOT)htm
couldn't get earlier connect to photo after parent teacher conference. try http://www.daylife.com/photo/0dur4Wu7L32eA?q=michelle+barack+obama+may+8+2009
Hello! Am enjoying this blog so much. Thank you, Mrs T, for the original idea, and for your posters. Mrs, O is, truly, a pearl of a girl. Evening fashion is beyond A plus; day fashion needs some editing, and this very intelligent and aware young woman will certainly do it. Enjoy all the comments, and happy to be reading this blog. Sally