Author Kate Bett’s new book, “Everyday Icon (Photo Courtesy of Clarkson Potter Publishers)
The first lady has many respons-ibilities, she champions causes, she hosts presidential events and she gives white house tours, but Michelle Obama has added a new duty to the job requirement – fascinating the world with her fashion statements.
Author Kate Betts, former editor-in-chief at Harper’s Bazaar and Time Style & Design, analyzes the style of the first lady in the book “Everyday Icon: Michelle Obama and the Power of Style.”
Betts stopped by Neiman Marcus in Downtown in Dallas to discuss her first book that melds glossy pictures of Michelle Obama’s fashionable outings with a political approach to fashion reporting.
“I was kind of watching her like everyone was watching her throughout the campaign,” Betts said of her decision to write a book documenting the first lady’s style impact. “I was just very inspired by the idea that she had so much style, yet she was also very substantive.”
Unlike our most recent former first ladies, Michelle Obama takes fashion risks; she wears bold colors instead of safe neutrals and opts for feminine dresses instead of stiff suits.
“She has really shown us a reflection of ourselves as women today, and that is really what a first lady does ideally,” Betts said. “She is somebody who has both the privilege and the burden of reflecting our time and she definitely does that in everything she does, especially her style.”
Michelle Obama’s most memorable fashion moments include stepping into the spotlight in a Jason Wu draped one-shoulder organza gown at the inaugural ball, hanging out on the White House South Lawn in head-to-toe J. Crew and taking in the campaign win wearing a bold red Narciso Rodriguez dress on election night.
“She’s not someone who is a pop star or an athlete, she got to where she is on brains and intellect,” Betts said. “Yet, she is also the quintessential American woman if you think about it, as she represents the evolution of feminism in so many ways.”
Betts has covered Michelle Obama’s day-to-day wardrobe choices extensively and says what makes her style stand apart is beyond the label.
“She does it effortlessly and she shows that style is about so much more than what you are actually wearing,” Betts said. “It’s more about how you present yourself, how you speak, the causes you embrace, and the things that you say.”
