Michelle Obama In Vogue

First Lady Michelle Obama appears on the March cover of American Vogue in a dress she picked herself. The dress featured on the cover shot is by Jason Wu, the man responsible for the giant cupcake Michelle wore to the inaugural ball. Fancy that!

The decision to abstain from being styled or lent clothes by a well-known designer sets the tone for the interview, which shows Michelle has concerns other than fashion…

The eight-page spread, written by Andre Leon Talley, the magazine’s Editor-at-Large, focuses primarily on Michelle Obama’s role as mother and wife. Because what else matters, really? But Michelle does show that she has interests beyond those the American public - and relatively out-of-touch editor for high-fashion magazines - continually attempt to project onto her public persona.

For the shoot, Michelle selected options from her own closet, going with her mainstays: Cuban-American designer Narciso Rodriguez [Ed. note: Sorry to break in here, but. Wow. We know it may be cheesy or silly, but we can't help but feel a little proud at the thought that the country's First Lady wears clothing by a Cuban-American designer. And that she's selected to wear clothes by two such designers. It doesn't go unnoticed, is what we're saying. K. Back to being a grump.] 

On the topic of ongoing fascination and criticism of her sartorial choices, Michelle says: ”I’m not going to pretend that I don’t care about it. But I also have to be very practical. In the end, someone will always not like what you wear - people just have different tastes.”

That Michelle! She’s just a good ‘ol Suburban mom like yours or ours. Who happens to be Harvard-educated, a successful lawyer and married to the President. 

Apparently, it is something of a tradition for the nation’s first ladies to appear in the pages of Vogue. Every first lady since Lou Hoover appeared in the Fashion Bible, with the exception of Bess Truman. Michelle Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have been the only two to make the cover. (Which sounds a little suspect to us. Are we alone in thinking Laura Bush, while never trendy, dressed pretty well?) We’ve got to wonder about the strategy behind this. It isn’t as if Vogue is relatable or accessible, nor has it ever marketed itself as such. Is this a way for first ladies to connect with America, really? Or does it serve as a move to further pain the First Family as “American royalty,” so to speak? And what of the historical and societal tendency to equate first ladies with fashion, rather than intellect or charity? 

Michelle Obama lands on Vogue’s March cover  [Newsday]