The $850 million Obama Presidential Center opened on Chicago’s South Side in June, honoring the civic legacy of former US President Barack Obama.
During the center’s dedication ceremony on June 18, the former president emphasized that the center was a display of deep civic history and encouragement — and “not just a place to see Michelle’s dresses, although I understand that will be the top attraction.”
During the center’s opening week, I toured the museum with other enthusiastic visitors and stood in line with many of them to take a close look at some of the former first lady’s most iconic fashion moments.
While the life-size Oval Office replica, where visitors can pose for pictures behind a replica of the Resolute desk, appeared to be one of the most popular attractions in the museum during my visit, the glass-covered display case showcasing Michelle Obama’s fashion didn’t fall far behind.
The dresses, many of which are on loan from the National Archives’ Obama Presidential Library, are displayed in a glass case under specific humidity and lighting conditions to ensure their preservation, Obama Presidential Museum director Louise Bernard told InStyle.
Here are the 12 dresses I saw on display at the Obama Presidential Center, along with the history behind each iconic look.
When I first walked into the exhibit, I saw all the dresses lined up.
When I was visiting, I noticed the exhibit was among the top attractions for visitors, along with the life-size Oval Office replica in front of it.
“Fashion is about so much more than just a pretty pair of pumps or the perfect hemline,” the first lady said in the museum’s audio tour. “For so many people across the country, it is a calling, it is a career, and it’s a way they feed their families.”
The first look I saw on display is her iconic Narciso Rodriguez dress.
The first dress in the lineup is a sleeveless black-and-red dress by American designer Narciso Rodriguez, featuring an hourglass silhouette emphasized by silk fabric at the waist.
Obama wore the dress on election night in 2008.
The first lady paired the dress with a shrug-like cardigan during the 2008 election night celebration in Chicago’s Grant Park.
Obama’s first look as first lady-elect of the US was also the first glimpse of the fashion-focused snark and praise that would follow her in the media during her White House tenure.
“It sparked instant debate among viewers, with some calling it an eye-catching statement and others, an eyesore,” The New York Times wrote at the time.
The second look is a yellow-green Isabel Toledo dress and its matching overcoat.
Obama’s inauguration look by Cuban-American designer Isabel Toledo is a lemongrass-colored dress with a matching overcoat featuring a satin-backed wool lace pattern in a classic silhouette.
The green J.Crew leather gloves she wore with the look are also on display, along with a sketch for the look drawn by the designer’s husband, Ruben Toledo.
The outfit was Obama’s first look as first lady.
The first lady paired the dress and overcoat with a crystal necklace, green leather gloves, and matching Jimmy Choo pumps.
Her first look as the first lady of the US was praised for its bright, optimistic feel.
An embroidered Naeem Khan dress is also on display.
Designed by Indian-born American designer Naeem Khan, the next dress in the display case is a green embroidered cocktail dress worn by the first lady during a fashion-focused event.
The first lady wore it to the opening of the Metropolitan Museum’s Anna Wintour Costume Center.
The first lady wore the dress to the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Anna Wintour Costume Center at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, arguably one of the most important fashion events she attended during her tenure in the White House.
“The floral embroidered frock was the perfect way to usher in the change in seasons — and the museum’s rebrand of one of the most celebrated spaces in fashion,” the Hollywood Reporter wrote at the time.
I also saw a Thom Browne coat and knee-high boots look.
The bright red coat by the American designer features a V-neck and a refined A-line silhouette and was paired with leather gloves and black Jimmy Choo knee-high boots, the latter of which are also on display.
Obama wore the outfit to welcome French President Francois Hollande to the White House.
The first lady wore the coat during a 2014 arrival ceremony hosted at the White House for the then-French President Francois Hollande.
A custom Tracy Reese dress — which the former president has named as a personal favorite — was next on my tour.
A sleeveless hot pink silk jacquard dress designed by Black American designer Tracy Reese was next on the display case.
The dress, which features hints of gold, rust, and copper on its fabric, along with a scalloped accent hemline and silver-and-blue floral details, was paired with matching pink J.Crew suede pumps.
The dress was later released to retail consumers for under $500.
The first lady wore the dress during the opening night of the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
The dress, which pays homage to the colors of the American flag.
“I had no involvement in what dresses were going to be up in that case,” former President Obama said in an InStyle interview. “But I was pleased that one of my favorites — I don’t know that much about fashion, but I know what looks good — and one of my favorites turned out to be in there.”
“She looked very cute, and it showed off her legs a little bit,” he added with a wink.
A Prabal Gurung dress was one of the few that the first lady wore repeatedly.
The white mikado dress designed by Singapore-born Nepalese-American fashion designer Prabal Gurung features an A-line silhouette, an above-the-knee hemline, and pink-and-purple abstract orchid designs.
In 2013, Glamour called it the “perfect springtime dress” thanks to its “perfect combination of fun and ladylike sophistication.”
Obama wore it during a daytime appearance on “LIVE with Kelly and Michael.”
The first time the public saw the first lady wear the Prabal Gurung dress was during an October 2012 TV appearance on “LIVE with Kelly and Michael.”
She also wore it the following year to welcome Prince Harry to an afternoon tea in the White House.
She wore the dress a second time at a 2013 Mother’s Day tea at the White House for US military mothers and their children.
An unassuming Target print dress was the one I found most interesting.
The next piece on the display case has one of the most interesting stories — and was one of the first lady’s repeated favorites.
The sleeveless black-and-beige geometric-print dress from Merona for Target is by far the most affordable piece on display.
It is also one of two dresses in the display case that are not part of the National Archives’ Obama Presidential Library and are instead loaned courtesy of the first lady herself.
The first lady mostly wore the dress during non-official travel, including a 2009 family vacation.
Obama was first spotted wearing the Merona dress during a family vacation to the Grand Canyon in 2009.
At the time, Glamour reported that the dress retailed for $19.
The studded Sacai belt she paired with it on this occasion is also on display at the center, also courtesy of the former first lady herself.
She also wore it during a visit to the Naval Air Station Oceana Summer Camp in 2011.
Obama then wore the dress again in 2011 during a visit to a summer camp for military children. She also re-wore the Sacai belt during the visit.
She was spotted wearing the dress again during the first family’s holiday vacation in 2012.
The dress was seen twice during the first family’s 2012 holiday vacation to Hawaii, when she wore it while deplaning and boarding Air Force One.
Some outlets called the dress the “FLOTUS go-to travel dress.”
The dress was the one she was most often spotted wearing during the presidency.
“It was important to Michelle Obama to wear clothes over again, not just once and put them away — because that’s what we all do,” Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation, told InStyle.
A bright lemon-green Kenzo dress is also on display.
Next in the display case is a bright yellow-green dress by Japanese designer Kenzo featuring a printed pattern and a flared silhouette with long sleeves.
A Roksanda gold-accented belt and black Jimmy Choo pumps that the first lady paired with the dress were also on display at the center.
The first lady wore the dress during a 2015 trip to Japan.
Fashion critics highlighted the dress’s “girly” look and its connection to the trip’s purpose of promoting girls’ education.
“In choosing to meet young women in clothes that, perhaps, make her look like them,” The New York Times wrote at the time, “Mrs. Obama was implying: You can dress like a girl and dream about getting a Ph.D. (or a law degree, if we are being picayune), too.”
I also got to see her elegant Tom Ford gown.
The next dress on the exhibit case is an elegant ivory silk evening gown. The column-like sleeveless dress by American designer Tom Ford features a ribbon detail and a criss-cross halter neckline.
The dress is showcased alongside the Lacrasia lambskin opera gloves and diamond earrings by Cathy Waterman, which the first lady paired with the dress.
The first lady wore the outfit to a 2011 State Banquet at Buckingham Palace.
WWD called the State Banquet “perhaps one of the fanciest occasions she’ll ever attend as first lady,” while the Hollywood Reporter said that the first lady “looked polished and chic.”
A striking red Jason Wu gown and red satin heels are next on display.
Another striking ball gown was also on display. The red silk chiffon gown by Taiwan-born Canadian designer Jason Wu features a criss-cross halter neckline, floral velvet detailing, a satin belt, and a U-shaped diamond-encrusted ring that holds the halter straps together.
The dress is displayed alongside the Jimmy Choo satin pumps that the first lady wore with it.
Obama wore the gown to the 2013 inauguration ball.
The gown worn by Obama for her husband’s second inaugural ball was designed by Jason Wu — who also designed the gown she wore to the first inaugural ball in 2009 — making what CBS News called a “fashion tradition” of the first lady.
“To have done it once was already the experience of my life,” the designer told the outlet. “To have a second time is tremendous.”
I noticed a Versace gown was a major attention-grabber in the exhibit.
The last ball gown on display at the Obama Presidential Center’s fashion exhibit is a rose-gold Atelier Versace chainmail gown that weighs about 15 pounds. The dress features an asymmetrical off-the-shoulder neckline and draped details throughout.
The dress was on display alongside a custom sketch by Donatella Versace, as well as the matching rose-gold diamond ring and earrings that the first lady wore with it.
The first lady wore the striking gown to her final state dinner in 2016.
Obama wore the Versace gown to a State Dinner honoring then-Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his wife, Agnese Landini, at the White House.
Vogue described the gown as “a curve-hugging piece that could easily have been worn to the Grammys by Beyoncé” and declared it “the best dress of Mrs. Obama’s fashion administration” in what they said was the “ultimate first lady mic drop“
The last dress I saw in the exhibit was a geometric Michelle Smith for Milly gown.
The last dress on display at the Obama Presidential Center Museum is a black, white, and red geometric gown by Michelle Smith for Milly.
The stretch cotton poplin dress, loosely based on a dress from the designer’s 2017 runway collection, features a sleeveless high-halter neckline and a floor-length pleated skirt.
The former first lady wore the dress for her official portrait at the National Portrait Gallery.
The dress was seen on the first lady in her official portrait for the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, painted by Amy Sherald.
I loved this striking and unconventional piece; the portrait leans on the dress’s geometric elements to enhance the modern look of the first lady.
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