The Meaning of Michelle by Veronica Chambers

Author:Veronica Chambers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

She Slays: Michelle Obama & the Power of Dressing Like You Mean It

TANISHA C. FORD

She was a vision, bold in marigold, a marigold Narciso Rodriguez sheath dress, that is. The reality was that few had tuned into the State of the Union address to hear the words of a lame duck president. Most were in it to see First Lady Michelle Obama, “Lady O,” as she is affectionately called, who dazzled from the time the camera panned up to her seat where she sat perched on high in the House of Representatives’ chamber.

And she did not disappoint. Michelle waved to onlookers as her signature fringe brushed her long eyelashes, effortlessly working her Black girl magic on the crowd. Later, we would learn that she had done it again. The FLOTUS broke the internet! Her vivid sartorial confection sold out on the Neiman Marcus website before Barack Obama could even finish his final speech.

When Michelle dresses the world watches, which is why her decision to wear a designer’s garment can make him or her a household name overnight. She has helped to launch and/or elevate the careers of designers of color including Tracy Reese, Naeem Khan, Duro Olowu, and Maki Oh. And seemingly overnight, Michelle Obama has joined the pantheon of Black women actors, singers, models, and socialites who have set the world ablaze with their signature looks. What sets her apart is her participation in the tumultuous space of American politics within which she must dress and present herself to the world.

From her color palette and favorite silhouettes, to the flounce of her bangs, Mrs. Obama has become a fashion tour-de-force. Her style team ensures that every look is flawless, and she wears a variety of designers to keep her look fresh and timeless. She has covered nearly every magazine: from Vogue and Ebony to Time and Fitness. While many first ladies have been featured in magazines, the breadth and variety of Michelle’s covers speak to her wide appeal. Fashion critics and industry insiders in particular have embraced Michelle as the fashion maven-in-chief. But they were merely confirming something Black women already knew: Michelle Obama is a bawse! Clothes can only enhance what exists within the person. A true stylista has to bring something to her garments. There’s no doubt, Michelle serves fierceness.

Her Black womanness matters to the millions of Black women and girls who admire her, feel protective of her, even though they’ve never met her. I am one of them, a Black woman professor who studies fashion in the academy—a place that does not always embrace style or Blackness.

In many ways, I feel our journeys run parallel: Black girls from the Midwest—her from Chicago, me from Fort Wayne, Indiana. I started my professional career while the Obamas were in office, and I was navigating some similar race and gender issues as Michelle (on a much smaller scale, of course): in what spaces were Black women’s bodies allowed, how should our bodies be adorned, and what does our adornment

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