First Lady,Last Word

There she was. On our TV screens,finally showing India what she’s really made of. Michelle Obama,at a local public school,doing the koli — the folk dance of the Maharashtrians — with such gaze-grabbing grace that you heard nothing of whatever the anchors were rambling. Being wife to a man in the hottest seat in the world is no mean task. Stealing his thunder is genius. Western-attired first ladies have always been news fodder for their sartorial styles. And not since Jacqueline Kennedy has a first lady’s fashions garnered as much attention as Michelle O. Mrs Obama has repeatedly won nods from women across the board for her wardrobe choices. She’s quickly developed an easy-to-read signature: frocks with soft jackets,oversize pearls,waist belts and brooches,and what was once considered a breach of protocol — naked shoulders.

Lady Diana was only too happy to eschew her hats once she wasn’t princess anymore. Her post divorce attire — bare shoulders,dresses that revealed her knees and shoes that revealed her toes — was considered so sexy,those deliciously witty British tabloids termed it ‘revenge couture’. But Mrs Obama celebrates doing things her own way. She deliberately picks American indie designers to dress her and boosts not only their business but also her cool quotient. That she is the most fashion-savvy first lady ever — possibly more than Jackie O — isn’t hard to discount,when you recall her polka-dot dress from Moschino,a small Italian fashion house adored for its girlie-ness. But we love her most because she deconstructs one of fashion’s greatest oxymorons: effortlessly chic.

‘Effortlessly chic’ is a term that’s bandied about senselessly in every fashion glossy by anyone who feigns a slouchy insouciance. We have all too often heard our socialites mouth: “What,this old thing?” and wanted to stomp on their feet knowing fully well they spend half the day getting dressed for the evening. Or encountered someone with an unusual sense of casual,making street-style work for a soiree. We all hate women who behave as if they haven’t looked in a mirror while getting dressed,and how they can’t help turning out so fine.

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Effortlessly chic is a fashion lie. And Mrs Obama shows us why. She is a mix-and-match fashion master; she pulls off items that seem uncoordinated at first but makes them all fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. She danced in a black-white chequered dress with a pink jacket at the local school,and rocked a busy floral skirt with a lace blouse at Mumbai University. Obama is never about label-toting,like the other strikingly beautiful first lady — Carla Bruni. Obama adores the high-street (American) label J Crew and costume jewellery too. Her switching out of knee-high boots and a crinkled parka on Air Force One into a pewter button-down number proves a studied elegance.

Michelle Obama is a fashion icon not just because of what she puts on; she teaches us an invaluable lesson (one we haven’t learnt from the zines) —You can wear the air of indifference,but chic is in the preparation. namratanow@gmail.com