From the moment Michelle Obama strode onstage at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night baring arms, her appearance and her words were a reminder of why she had been such a powerful communicator as a first lady — and as a writer and speaker thereafter.
As she wrote in her memoir, “Becoming,” she came to understand that if the spotlight was going to be thrust upon her, she might as well use every photon available to her own ends — including those focused on what she wore. It is, after all, part of showing up.
So as she spoke in support of Vice President Kamala Harris, as she spoke of her mother as well as all mothers, of morality and decency (and lies and racism), she did so in a pantsuit — but not one that looked much like the traditional political woman’s pantsuit.
Rather she wore one that took the pantsuit forward, that took it to the next stage. Sound thematically familiar?
To be specific, she wore a dark navy sleeveless jacket belted over cropped trousers. The lapels of the top were de- and reconstructed to cross over the throat in an almost militaristic way, and the shoulders jutted out to frame the biceps. It was both understated and edgy, kind of armorial. This was going to be a fight, her tunic and her speech suggested, and everyone should gear themselves up to get out the vote.
Her most striking accessories were her exposed arms, which had, during her time in the White House, become a symbol of her personal strength and thus a lightning rod for both criticism and praise, and her waist-length power braids, her hair having functioned as a sort of declaration of independence after leaving the East Wing.
When her husband, Barack Obama, became the first Black president, she hadn’t felt the American people were ready for Black hair in a first lady, she told Ellen DeGeneres. But as a former first lady, she is free to make her own choices. Just as she felt free on Tuesday to remind the world that the presidency could be one of those “Black jobs” Donald Trump had talked about.
As it happens, the suit was by Monse, the small, independent label founded by Fernando Garcia, a Dominican-raised New York designer, and Laura Kim, an Asian American (and one of the founders of the Slaysians, a group of fashion insiders formed to combat anti-Asian hate). Mr. Garcia and Ms. Kim are also the designers of Oscar de la Renta, the brand that has dressed first ladies for decades and which Mrs. Obama wore when she was living on Pennsylvania Avenue and still does.
The fact that Mrs. Obama — and her stylist, Meredith Koop, who has been working with her since her time in the White House — chose the smaller fashion house over the establishment name was fully in line with Mrs. Obama’s practice, developed as first lady, of using her platform to highlight lesser known businesses (especially fashion businesses) and designers who represent the stories she is telling: about entrepreneurship, the melting pot, the American dream. The election.
You didn’t need to know the details to appreciate the suit. But if anyone cared to find out, the information simply added to the greater argument she was making. It’s not that what she wore was the point, but it helped make her point.
Just as the fact that Mrs. Obama and her husband eschewed bright colors onstage for more somber tones was a reflection of the reality that while the mood in the room may have been about “hope” and “joy,” as they each said, they were also coordinated in conveying the seriousness of the moment, the “uphill battle” that was coming.
If her arms and her braids were her telling details, the silver tie was his. Neither the typical candidate’s party-specific red nor blue (nor even purple, the combination of the two), it conveyed the position of elder statesman that Mr. Obama now plays. It was the tie of someone no longer in the fray, but above it.
His wife may not have repeated her famous line from 2016 about “going high,” but in their own ways, the Obamas dressed for the idea.
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