back to media coverage
Michelle Obama: Running in style
By Krys Stefansky, The Virginian-Pilot - August 6, 2008
After she wore a sleeveless dress on "The View" in June, the black-and-white print with the nipped-in waist went from the TV talk show to sidewalks everywhere.
In July, Vanity Fair put her on its International Best-Dressed List for the second year in a row.
Other magazines, like a recent issue of People, flash her easy-to-wear outfits on newsstands and in grocery store checkout lines.
There's no guarantee Michelle Obama will get to be first lady, but she's already being held up as a first in fashion.
The buzz about her clothing confounds political pundits.
"If I was advising a candidate, I wouldn't spend two seconds on what his wife is wearing," said Brian Kirwin, a Virginia Beach-based political consultant. "But, with Obama needing the younger people to turn out, I would really make sure that the fashion statements were today and not yesterday."
Just how to achieve that currency is way beyond Kirwin's ken. He bowed to the expertise of Norfolk image consultant Sandy Dumont.
Helping people put their best feet forward is Dumont's passion. According to this image architect, Obama is doing everything right from top to bottom.
Obama's chin-length bob, worn turned under or flipped out, is perfect for her.
"When you have curly hair like that you don't have a lot of options. You either get a cut that falls into place or you straighten it," Dumont said.
Obama's simple sheaths, with or without matching jackets, send a confident message.
"I would have to liken her wardrobe to that of Jackie Kennedy," Dumont said. "They have a similar figure; not a slim waistline."
Dresses with gently curved seams or belts suggest an hourglass figure.
"She's wearing her skirts at a fashionable length," Dumont said. "There's nothing worse than women who don't want to look the least bit sexy so they wear their skirts at mid calf and it's dowdy."
"She likes jewel tones. They say, 'I'm not a wallflower, not shy and timid.' The jewel tones are more refined and classy. Food colors are more flashy - bright orange, lime green. They're not as elegant and refined. The colors that she wears are very classy and flattering to her skin tone.
"That black and white dress that she wore that got so much attention was nondesigner," Dumont said. "That says, 'I don't need to spend a lot of money to look good.' "
Sometimes the candidate's wife adds strands of big beads.
"They say, 'I am bold; I make a statement about who I am,' " Dumont said. "That's called making a statement, where little pearls do not. They're very demure and not meant to be noticed too much."
According to Dumont, Obama has professed to never wearing stockings. Dumont addresses that issue at many corporate workshops and says the rules for stockings are changing. She tells her clients that bare legs may be seen as a bit promiscuous but that if a woman can appear
to be wearing stockings when she is not, she can get away with it.
Obama's evident fondness for open-toed shoes is also not corporate.
"But she's her own woman, doesn't like to be a conformist. She says, 'I like to have my own look,' " Dumont said. A good pedicure is the key to getting away with peep-toe pumps.
Any advice for the candidate's spouse?
Because Obama's look is monochromatic, with brown skin, brown eyes and dark brown hair, she should always wear lipstick, Dumont said. "Not to make her lips pop but to make her face pop. It makes the eyes stand out more when you have on lipstick."
Krys Stefansky, (757) 446-2732, krys.stefansky@pilotonline.com
