Why Michelle Obama Should Stick to Her Own Style

While most photographs of Michelle Obama, show how attractive, photogenic and elegant she is, the recently published photograph adorning the front page of Vogue Magazine is less than flattering. 

Michelle was also photographed recently reclining on a sofa, presumably at the White House dressed in a beautiful apricot silk top with matching cardigan and tweed skirt in apricot, chocolate and beige.  She was wearing a simple pair of earrings but no other jewellery.  Her shoes were not visible, but I am certain they were simple, stylish and matched her outfit.  She looked relaxed, confident and well-groomed; the height of understated sophistication and dressed in colours that really suit her colouring.   Her dark hair, eyes and lashes, together with her warm brown skin, places her nicely into the “Deep and Warm” colour group.  This means that deep, rich colours with warm or yellow undertones flatter her best.

Unfortunately, whoever dressed her for the photograph on the front page of Vogue Magazine, did not consider this when choosing the fuchsia pink shift dress she is wearing.   This particularly shade of pink, is very strong and very cool.  That is to say it has blue undertones, which is quite wrong for somebody with “warm” colouring.  When I look at this picture, the first thing I see is the dress.  As Coco Chanel once famously said “The badly dressed woman, people remember the clothes.  With a well-dressed woman, they remember the woman”.  

 In nearly every other photograph I have seen of Mrs Obama, she has dressed in simple yet chic, classic items that are in colours that enhance her not detract from her.  In the Vogue photograph, her pose looks unnatural and the combination of a high neckline the way she has been asked to sit, makes her arms look muscular, rather than toned. Although she is clearly a beautiful woman, she does not look her best.  

Not even high profile women, such as Michelle Obama can get it right every time but I feel the body language displayed in the Vogue picture suggests that she is not entirely happy with this particular look.   Perhaps in future, she should follow her own advice and stick to what she feels confident in and therefore comfortable wearing.