Michelle Obama and Ann Romney: Politics of Style - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Michelle Obama and Ann Romney: Politics of Style

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The wardrobe of both wives shape the political discourse as much as any scripted speech. – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Michelle Obama and Ann Romney: Politics of Style


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For the past four years, Michelle Obama has
educated Americans on emerging fringe American
designers and the art of mixing high-low fashion.
Tuesday night at the Democratic National
Convention was no different. Dressed in a pink
and grey cocktail-length dress, designed by Tracy
Reese a mid-range-priced couturier made famous by
the First Lady over her husband's term in office.
The dress showed off Obama's famously sculpted
shoulders, a physical embodiment of her platform
for healthier living.
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
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Her shoes, of course, were J.Crew's 245 suede
pumps. That mass-market meets fringe designer
method worked the first time around, and remains
a solid message to fans you can have it too. 
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
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Ann Romney's Oscar De La Renta red dress at
the Republican National Convention was equally
strategic. The silk taffeta dress from De La
Renta's pre-fall 2012 collection was decided on
with the help of Romney's senior adviser,
according to the New York Times. It was a party
win, in the estimation of The Daily Beast's Robin
Givhan. She called the look "judiciously
feminine" and "pitch perfect." But critics
thought the dress' 2,000 plus price-tag
contradicted the grounded message in Romney's
speech.
Photo by Donna Svennevik/ABC via Getty Images
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Oscar De La Renta, who also designed the blue
dress Romney wore the following day, was a
favorite of Laura Bush and Nancy Reagan during
their husbands' presidencies. He's also not a
favorite of Michelle Obama's, as Fashionista's
Executive Editor Leah Chernikoff pointed out. It
begged the question from fashion critics was
Romney's convention dresses a strategic homage to
eras long gone in the White House?
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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In contrast, Obama's Diane Von Furstenberg black
and white patterned dress, worn Monday during a
DNC soundcheck, was in keeping with her
fashion-forward, even slightly edgy style (edgy
for politics, of course).
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
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Overall, Michelle Obama's wardrobe plays like a
woman's magazine full of service tips for
updating looks on a budget. For example, she
recently recycled last year's red check dress
from the popular online retailer ASOS by adding
royal blue belt. Belts are Mobama's fashion bread
and butter.
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
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If Romney has a signature item, it's the chunky
necklace. From turquoise to white, her jewelry is
usually eye-catching and slightly unconventional.
Necklaces like this white tear-drop choker by
Queen Bee Designs, a Washington DC based jeweler,
update the classic, First Lady pearl strand with
misshapen and less ostentatious-looking stones.
"The fact that her jewelry is understated and not
flashy works in her favor, given her husband's
financial standing," writes a jewelry blogger at
delivermediamonds.com.
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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For Romney, the science behind her wardrobe is
still lab-based. "To date, no signature style
has emerged," Givhan wrote of Romney's style a
few months back. "No aesthetic point of view has
been delineated."
Photo by Getty Images
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For the most part, Michelle has avoided heavily
accessorizing lately. She lets her arms do the
talking, in sleeveless knee-length dresses.
She'll get her 'pop' from a pair of pumps or a
metallic belt, paired on theTonight Show with a
dress by wears Bibhu Mohapatra. The look is in
keeping with her dual image as fashion-insider
and down-to-earth shopper.
Photo by Margaret Norton/Getty Images
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Ever since Romney was criticized for wearing a
990 Reed Krakoff shirt on morning TV, her
fashion choices have taken on new gravity. After
the CBS debacle she was photographed in Khaki's
and fleece. When she's been dressed up for an
event, rarely is the designer credited. Keeping
price tags protected may be part of a strategy
considering the close attention paid to her
family's wealth, or it may be simply Romney's
disinterest in wearing known labels. Romney
definitely has style but she's learned the hard
way how loudly it can speak.
Photo by Jeff Neira/CBS
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But political fashion mastermind Michelle hasn't
had a flawless record either. In July on a trip
to Buckingham Palace, she wore a J. Mendel jacket
worth 6,800. After Romney's bird shirt took so
much heat, the first lady's pricey top was an
instant target for opponents. "I had better not
EVER hear another word about a mere 900 blouse
on Mrs. Romney's back or Sarah Palin's 300
shoes. EVER," wrote one conservative blogger. A
few weeks later it was back to basics, as she
stepped to the DNC podium in her J.Crew heels.
Photo by Getty Images
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