Thursday
Sep292011
Mrs. O Goes to Target
Thursday, September 29, 2011 at 10:15 PM 
Photo by Charles Dharapak / AP Images
Thursday, September 29, 2011 at 10:15 PM 
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Thursday, September 29, 2011 at 10:15 PM
Reader Comments (70)
Thanks Mrs. T! Just another example of what a unique First Lady we have!
I'd have soon not seen these pictures. Mrs O deserves a level of privacy. We all know she goes outside of the White House to have lunch and see sights in and around DC with herself, staff, and her children. She is oft quoted as saying she loves Target, but laments not being able to go there due to this very thing. Next we will have stories about what she bought. She is dressed down and in a hat and sunglasses, that alone signals she is not wanting to engage or be engaged. At that time she is a private citizen going about her business. She has let us see a small part of her life, but we don't know everything and we don't need to know. Mrs T, you have often said that you hesitate to show pictures of her during her private time (as on vacations), and I implore you to take this shot down and close down this thread. Thank you.
I love the fact that we have a First Lady respecting the economic times we are in and shopped at TARGET! I LOVE HER!
To those who have a problem with this thread, I offer this point. Mrs. Obama was in Target for 20+ mins before checking out and being recognized. This photo wasn't intruding on her experience during her visit.It wasn't taken of her in the aisle or dressing room. If it was then even I would request for it to be taken down. But it wasn't -she was leaving the store. Let's not be hypersensitive, ok?
I for one am glad that she finally made it to target; that was my first thought when i saw the pics. so i say Yeah for her!!!!
I love that she works at Target, but I am puzzled how a well known AP photographer would be the one to take the picture. How would he know she was there? I don't want to believe it but it unfortunately seems like it was planned as a media thing.
Busted!
Two teams are going to wake up tomorrow with major headaches:
- Team Michelle Secret Service
and
- Team Reebok.That meeting is going to be brutal.
I don't think she would mind Mrs.T posting the photo. It is already all over Facebook and there is word that the photographer was tipped off, although I don't believe this was so. Apparently she shopped with an assistant for 30 minutes and was only recognized by her cashier. The SS arrived before her in casual dress to scope it out. It was uneventful and I don't think the photo could hurt or be considered an invasion. But that's just my humble opinion. I certainly understand how people want to respect and protect her privacy.
Thank you Mrs T for posting this photo, I for one appreciate it and I like Mrs Ov's casual outfit. I am always getting fresh ideas on stlyle from our Mrs O and I consider them style lessons. So yep, the yellow T under the blouse, I am so copying! And I really like her big shoulder bag!
*Mrs O*
I don't know what this Target store is but if it is similar to TK Maxx or a 'grab a bargain' store then I salute Michelle Obama for shopping frugally in these meagre times especially when the naysayers are quick to put her down everytime she puts on an outfit. I love the floral shirt, it would look great with dark blue jeans.
Earlier this week Kate Middleton was spotted in Top Shop, trying on clothes and queueing to pay like everyone else. Going out and shopping in your favourite haunts, when you've gone from being a nobody to a somebody, can give a tremendous sense of normality. No other first lady has been as scrutinised as our Michelle and I think she has handled herself remarkably well. EVERY woman has a right to shop every now and then.
I have a couple of reservations about this photo. Firstly, I believe the public figures need private time. If this was a slightly intrusive snap, then good on Mrs. O for smiling. With respect to @mmharp, I don't make a distinction between dressing-room/aisle/shop exit; if this was a private visit, it was a private visit wherever she was in the shop. Secondly, I am uncomfortable with the political spin attached to this photo. You know: 'First Lady has her feet on the ground, shops at Target just like you'. While this may not have been the intention of the photographer, I wouldn't be surprised if this photo appears again with that deliberate subtext before the November 2012 election. And that just muddles up public and private lives again. Perhaps I am just a little naive in wishing to make a clear distinction between the two. What do other posters think? (FYI: it's fine to think, 'Well, she could've just said she liked the bag'!)
I was just reading other sites about this photo & wanted to go back here to see where the majority stands. I'm glad that most people didn't find this to be a malicious attack. @ English Observer, if we fail to use sound judgement & clear distinction, then we fall prey to your 2nd point of polictical photography. Distinction is a necessity (as you mention towards the end of your statement). If this photo was of her shopping down aisle 2, I would be upset. But as the 1st Lady, a photo was bound to happen. I am just glad it was at the end & not during her 20mins of peace. Some aren't offered that right. Ok, I'm done! Next pic, please LOL!
I really think we are overanalyzing this photo too much. It's just a nice snap that someone took a shot of realizing it was the First Lady. I shop there often and was over the moon to see she actually shopped there to get a few things. Great outfit she has on!
I read that our Michelle was in Target for 30 minutes......I'm impressed! Look at the bags. It would take me much longer to get that much stuff, I move slowly through the racks. She's a power shopper for sure. Did anyone check out The Wellies that her assistant is wearing? Snazzy!
Being a regular target shopper, I make my list and am usually out in 30 minutes. We live in a busy NJ suburb so you do not want to linger. Get in early before the crowds. I hate now that we just snap pictures and feel free to share them. In the old days, this would have been a private keepsake.Nice picture.
I really enjoy your site, Mrs. T! I think the First Lady has influenced my fashion sense and I think it's cool that she is at Target, demonstrating again how down to earth she is, even though this outfit in particular is nothing to write home about. Now I know she is more of a fitness/health advocate, not an environmental one per se, but ... with all the cute reusable bags out there, why, oh why, is she using plastic bags?! SMH. She's still a very classy and inspiring woman, but I just hoped for more in this respect.
I think it's cool because I know the Target she was at; I shop there all the time (Jestina, Target is a down-market store similar to TK Maxx -- in the states we call that particular store chain TJ Maxx -- except in addition to clothing, it sells housewares and in some stores, food and groceries)
I do find it somewhat suspicious that an AP photographer happened to stumble across her. But still! Michelle Obama shops in "my" Target! I will go there every day now for the next two years in hopes that I can spot her. :-)
There's another picture of her in the store that shows my favorite bodyguard! Trying to look all cool and casual in his baseball cap even though he's like 7 feet tall.
The posts here once again display the duality of living a public life. Yes, we know that even the First Lady has the need to shop at Target sometimes, but on the other hand, she IS a very public figure. I'm sure she has the expectation that SOMEONE will see her SOMEWHERE, and that pictures WILL be made available of that encounter. Unfortunately it comes with the territory; she could have just as easily have sent someone to shop for her, like she probably does most of the time anyway to avoid this very thing.
As long as no one bothered her while she was out, or as another poster said, gets in her business about what she bought, I'm sure she will appreciate that small piece of privacy in her life.
Stay strong, Mrs. First Lady- we all love you, and would do nothing to hurt you or your family.
She looks adorable as usual. Chic Mom out and about picking up things. I would love to think she was just taking a break from the WH....however, it looks like a political photo op to me.
Anyone know about her shirt?? LOVE IT!
does anybody know where Mrs. O got the cute camel colored purse and red shoes from? Target?
I agree with English Observer - and believe this will have some consequences down the road.
Personally, I don't want a First Lady from any country shopping at Target unless it is the site for a speech or event. The whole thing seems odd.
I'm on the side of privacy on this one. Either it wasn't meant to be a public event or it is a political photo op. Her expression doesn't seem to indicate the latter.
Much as we might like to wish otherwise, the boundaries between private and public for public figures have been erased long ago. Why? Because we--yup! that's you and me who love a blog like this one--will look at the images. We will buy papers that publish them. Our "innocent" love for people we admire isn't. We are complicit.
It's a Faustian deal: The public demands images and the paparazzi provide them. The papers and paps make money. Lots of money at the celebrity's expense. Newspapers understand that and no longer respect the difference--as they once did--and fail to report a slightly tipsy politician or celebrity during "off" hours out of respect Though they can't turn off the 24/7 scrutiny, at times celebs can manipulate that to both personal and charitable ends.
The reality and bane of a public life--especially for the super-stars--is that there is no privacy but for large, walled properties and top-level security. (Which means you're still being watched. A bodyguard can't ever be too far away.) If you are a super-star, you'd better have the mental resources to deal with it and integrate it into your life as you have no other choice.
As for this particular photo, I tend to suspect a political ploy as Ann #1 does. If it was truly an incognito visit MO might have been whisked out the back. And why is a perfectly-placed AP photographer hanging out at Target?
People this was a staged photo and anyone who thinks otherwise is totally clueless.
I am impressed, shows Michele is just one of us. Very normal. I like to put on my track pants
, sneakers , cap and dark glasses and go about and be with myself and I.
@christina
Saw that 7 ft body guard in a another photo, love him
@Christina, good luck with that. I hope you succeed.
If I would have been in there and saw her on aisle any number, I would have probably been speechless and then would have signed to her, "I LOVE YOU", LOL! She probably would have been thinking, "look at this crazy girl, she is going to blow my cover", Personally, I think she needs to get a better disguise. She has on bright colors with her signature pop of color in her red shoes (you can't see them in this photo). I would know off top that is my First Lady.
I don't know, maybe my admiration for her has clouded my judgement, but I can't believe that Mrs. O would knowingly take part in a photo op. I just think that is not her style, especially when I have seen her say that she misses being able to go to Target and shop. Also, doesn't the people who own Target or have head positions donate to republicans, so if it was a photo op, why choose that store? I think,maybe she stopped at Target to buy some travel size items because she is campaigning in Oregon today and other things for her family.
While I love seeing this pic, I do hate that she got caught.
Obama Diary has pics: http://theobamadiary.com/2011/09/29/a-face-in-the-crowd-3/. In the photos there, does Mrs. O look like she is trying to downplay her presence?
Let the conspiracy theorists conjecture that this was a planned photo op, and let us concentrate on fashion.
Because there is a permanent press presence at the White House, it is almost impossible for any members of the First family to leave the premises without being noticed. Having recently read about the lengths to which the White House went during the operation against Osama Bin Laden just simply to order pizza without tipping off the press that something was afoot, I am not surprised that this is an AP photo. If it was not an AP photographer, then it was a savvy shopper who knew how to channel and sell the photo to AP. Can you imagine the uproar if Mrs. Obama had done what some female cabinet members in past administrations have had to do in order to shop in peace--make appointments to shop when stores are closed? I'm just happy that Mrs. Obama looks so happy and gracious.
I think this was all just for a photo-op. She wanted to be seen here to look like she is "one of us" shopping at a store with common folk. Think about it...how many times have we actually seen pictures of Michelle Obama out shopping at Target before? NOT MANY...I would love to see her be a regular shopper at these types of stores but something tells me she's just doing it as a publicity stunt. Sorry.
"I salute Michelle Obama for shopping frugally in these meagre times "
These items should go well with the $42,000 bracelet she was wearing last week. Meager times indeed!
Her outfit is cute.
I don't know about "staged" but if it were a random photographer with a big corporation that AP is and they took an unauthorized shot I imagine they would get in trouble with the head bosses because they wouldn't want to jeopardize the ability to take pics at a later date.
It is advantageous, given that 2012 is around the corner, to show Michelle being "normal". We fans already know that she almost daily rewears items from her closet and goes to J Crew but it can only help others to see her shop at a discount store.
I don't think it was staged in a bad way but I don't think it is a coincidence that a professional photographer was not only there but wasn't stopped by Michelle's bodyguards from taking a pic.
Being "caught" while out shopping happens to famous people. Look back at Jackie Kennedy, Princess Diana, and now the Duchess of Cambridge. These photos are worth a lot of money to
professional photographers so there is no way to stop it. Remember, this is a free country and
a free press. We wouldn't want it any other way. I happened to be at the Carlyle Hotel in London
when Princess Diana left a luncheon and there were dozens of photographers awaiting her exit.
I was lucky enough to be allowed to stand with them and I saw her exit in a beautiful pink suit.
I will never forget it!
Anyone who thinks this is a photo op is witless. Since when do the Obama's do that? Try, NEVER.
For a start the secret service have to know where they are going, and the press pool only have to follow the damn car to know exactly where any member of the family is at any given time. Stop it with the drama and negativity.
I don't even know what the surprise is, Mrs O hasn't ever stopped going out and doing normal things. Neither has Mr O come to that.
The owner of the blog is at liberty to write any posts she likes and this is no different to any other. Mrs O at Target is no different to Mrs O at a state dinner in my view, if the photo was taken without her disapproval.
Therefore, she looks delightfully normal, returning her trolley and carrying her shopping bags. I DO like her handbag.
Nyon--
She is campaigning in Maine and Rhode Island today--3 fundraisers and a round table with military families.
People are so jealous of Mrs. O. So what if it was a photo-op? She has said several times that she likes to shop at Target. She's worn a dress from there on a few occasions. Target is not foreign to her and I like that she shops there. I wager that Target does not mind the publicity. I can assure you that they will experience a bump in sales (I just left a location after her pictures zapped me into things-I-need mode). She's an economic boost. And it really is the economy, stupid!
@serious, get over it, the $42000.00 bracelet was borrowed. OK!
The photographer, Charles Dharapak has stated he was given notice that Mrs. Obama would be at Target. This is a planned photo op.
This post has certainly brought about some 'interesting' comments.At first I was naive enough to think the Secret Service people were not in plain sight...then I realized they were just in plain clothes. I think I'll remain naive about whether or not this is a staged photo op. No picture will ever make me think that Michelle Obama is just like me.
She is a Harvard and Princeton educated attorney who is married to the President of the United States. She is nothing like me other than that she is female and she is African American :) I love her for who she is, I don't want her to be like me. I know that some of our comments here are based on our own opinions and others seem to be based on what we believe to be true.
Someone made a comment about the diamond bracelets FLOTUS recently wore as if she had paid 40K for a single bracelet. It has been documented that she 'borrowed' three diamond bracelets from the designer each of which was valued at about 15K so let's try to be factual ladies when we're not expressing our opinions :)
I don't care if it was a photo-op! She has said many times that she likes target. We know she wasn't raised in Chanel, so this shows she likes to do the kinds of thing that she used to do, and that the vast majority of us do all the time. She knows her way around a Target, b/c she IS a lot like us. And, "serious", I know she also has expensive clothing and jewelry, and we all know she's not shopping at Target b/c the Obamas are strapped for cash! She's shopping there b/c she genuinely likes SOME of their merch. That's her message: if you like it, don't fail to buy it b/c you think it will be perceived as something "less than". If you like it (and can afford it), then be proud of your taste and wear it! I love that about the 1st Lady!
I agree with Angie...totally staged...totally ridiculous. If Mrs. O is trying to encourage public opinion that she "feels our pain," then this "hey, I'm just like you" garb is a huge miss...especially when she continually appears in designer duds...puhleeze!!!
I was watching the news and they did a story on this. Apparently, the AP reporter did some digging to find her there. Mrs. O has mentioned in past interviews that she shops at Target sometimes, as well as grabs lunch/dinner on the DL. This isn't her first time shopping there, and I suspect that the media has been trying to catch her for quite sometime.
IF it was PLANNED good for them. Where is JOHN BOHENR'S wife shopping. What are they doing to put money back in our ECONOMY!! I LOVE IT!!! GONE GIRL!!!!
F.Y.I. Jill Biden was spotted at Target about two months ago. A Newsweek article from earlier this year said Michelle was spotted shopping at a Petsmart, a few months ago she was seen a bar, only reasons that info got out about her being at a bar is because a famous hockey player took a twitpic of her. Jill Biden has been seen shopping at the sales rack at Neinmans or Barneys in V.A. this year or last year. WAPO said Michelle was seen shopping with Sasha and her friends last month at some mall. Thus, they have never "stayed" in the house.
Plus, someone can find the article from March or April Newsweek that DISCUSSES her aides saying their mission is to ALLOW her to go to Target one day, well they succeeded about 5-6 months later. By the way, the article was about her "having" to come out of hiding since the campaign was about to start.
Here is a quote from the Newsweek article about her really wanting to go to Target.
___________________________________________
But on a personal note, her closest aides confide that there is one place in D.C. that she has been desperate to visit for another taste of life outside the White House—but so far it has not been possible. “She really wants to go to Target,” says one confidante. “We have to make that happen.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/06/05/michelle-obama-white-house-rebel.html
More from the article
______________________
Hiding beneath a baseball cap, the first lady of the United States has picked through sale racks in the frenetic Tysons Corner, Va., mall with girlfriends, bought supplies for her dog at Petco using her own credit card, and dined at some of D.C.’s hippest eateries largely unrecognized. So secretive are her outings that when Washington Capitals hockey superstar Alex Ovechkin tweeted a photo in April with his arm around her at a busy Washington restaurant, media organizations were convinced it was a fake.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/06/05/michelle-obama-white-house-rebel.html
The charge that this is faked is utterly unfounded and cynical.
BTW Mrs O's shirt is OLD NAVY as per my twitter friend who owns the exact same one.