Michelle Obama's Dresses Help Fashion Designers
Obama's Outfits Boost American Designers Thakoon & Maria Pinto
Sep 13, 2008
Whilst Cindy McCain and Laura Bush both chose to wear Oscar de la Renta for their speeches at the Republic National Convention, Michelle Obama favored Maria Pinto, a little known designer from her home town of Chicago, when she delivered her big speech at the Democratic convention in St Paul, Minnesota.
Seventh Avenue designer Oscar de la Renta has been in the business for more than 30 years and is often recognized as the unofficial couturier to first ladies. However, Obama showed her willingness to showcase modern new designers, such as Thakoon Panichgul, and a Chicago-based designer, Maria Pinto, whom Michelle has been using for years. Even Barack Obama's custom-made suit, which he wore at the DNC to formally accept his democratic presidential nomination, came from hometown Chicago-based designer Hart Schaffner Marks.
Michelle’s Jackie-O Fashion Style
When Vanity Fair added Michelle Obama to the top of their best dressed list in July 2008, they dubbed her “our lady in sheath,’ in reference to her passion for sheath-style dresses, which accentuate her slim silhouette.
Michelle’s fashion sense has been likened to that of Jackie-O, with her simple yet elegant style and trademark big beads. In its April, 2008 issue, Vogue magazine featured Michelle as an “It” girl, commenting on her Jackie-O style strategy.
According to Style.com’s “First Lady Fashion Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain,” this potential First Lady “has been hot on the designer heels of Jackie Kennedy — think oversized pearls and chic sheaths.”
When Michelle appeared at the Democratic campaign rally in St Paul where her husband declared victory as the presidential nominee, she wore a purple silk crepe sheath and large fake pearls. Her photograph was splashed across the front news pages and as a result, her outfit received predominantly favorable reviews from the word’s fashion press. Even the New York Times likened her style to Jackie-O, in Guy Trebay’s article “She dresses to win,” of June 8th, 2008.
Maria Pinto – Obama's Convention Speech Dress
The blue-green Maria Pinto dress, which Michelle wore to give her big speech at the DNC in St Paul received favorable media reactions. CBS News quoted Laura Schwartz, former adviser to the wife Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, as saying, that her turquoise dress “expressed confidence and a sense of humility,.
Michelle undoubtedly gave Maria Pinto's designs, a shot in the arm, as the dress received huge press coverage. Chicago-based Pinot is an example of living the American Dream, having built her business up from nothing.
Thakoon Panichgul Designer
Michelle also selected another up-and-coming American designer, Thakoon Panichgul, when she wore a rasberry and lavender print silk dress from the Thakoon Resort 2009 collection, as she embraced her husband on stage at the Democratic convention, when he officially accepted his Presidential nomination on behalf of the party. Washington Post’s Robin Givan, in his September 7, 2008 article “First Ladies and the Fabric of the Nation,” estimated the price of Michelle's Thakoon outfit to be around $1,500.
Thai born Thakoon is a relative newcomer, with his first collection launched onto the fashion scene in 2004. He is known for his ability to combine unusual fabrics and for feminine, modern and innovated, simply shaped outfits with jarring prints and gimmicky flourishes.
Donna Ricco Dress
So far Michelle has embodied a cheap-chic credit-crunch-friendly approach to fashion, avoiding too much bling and staying away from too many high-end designer pieces.
When she co-hosted ABC’s The View in June 2008, she wore an elegant empire-line black-and-white Donna Ricco dress, which the New York Daily News (June 20th 2008) claimed cost $148. Within a few hours the same dress, from the Donna Ricco Collection was flying off the shelves at White House Black Market, and her website received more than 2,000 hits. The dress can currently be found on Ricco's website, Donnaricco.com, for $99.
Ricco designs under two labels. The higher-end, Donna Ricco New York, and the Donna Ricco Collection — known for its affordable and wearable women’s fashion designs.
From Little-known Designer to Household Name
During the remainder of the US election campaign, Michelle Obama’s fashion choices will continue to be scrutinized and compared to (would-be) first ladies. In this time of economic crisis, just as Sarah Palin has given a boost to optician's sales with her trademark Kawasaki rimless frames, Michelle has given welcome support to a some lesser known American designers, like Narciso Rodriquez's red and black election night dress, helping to transform them into a household name.
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