Be honest, if you saw a woman at the grocery store wearing this outfit, what would you think? London’s Daily Mail is calling it “fashion-forward”, while I’m calling it laughably bad. I don’t care if some expensive designer thought it up.
Other than the number of rows of ruffles, I see that outfit on campus all the time.
I’ve gotten used to what looks to me like a skirt-over-pants.
Okay she may be fresh and hip sometimes, but that outfit blows moose udders in hell. She misses as often as she hits it.
I still love her. And it’s refreshing to see someone take a pass on the “boxy suit and pearls” look that has plagued Washington for decades. I’d rather see this than that.
I don’t hate it in theory, but in practice, it’s not working for her. Horizontal anything across the hips isn’t a flattering look on most women. It *might *have worked better if her hair weren’t slicked back, but since it is, the eye is drawn to the hips, with nothing above to balance out that width. Also, *none *of it seems to fit her as well as it should.
I’ll cut her some slack. Everyone goes a little crazy when they get their first glue gun.
I saw her in a black outfit the other day that looked really nice on her. That outfit, or at least in that photo, is just bad. Accents her weaknesses and minimizes her strengths. And is really out of place when surrounded by guys in suits.
Something a college student would put on for a stroll to the 711.
wow, I was really expecting to like it. I’ve always though Michelle Obama looked great in every outfit I’ve seen her in, but that is fail. It is really unattractive on it’s own and quite unflattering to her in particular, which takes some doing as most of her other outfits make it clear she has a fabulous figure.
I doubt I’d see this outfit in the grocery store. Or anywhere in Houston right now–we aren’t having two-cardigan weather. I could imagine a chic Houstonian in the tunic–perhaps with skinnier pants or leggings.
Maybe Ms Obama was trying to stay warm. She was also trying to salute British fashion–which produces some really weird get-ups. Vivienne Westwood? Zandra Rhodes? Wish we could have seen the outfits she rejected! The design broadens her just a bit–but it would make most women look like hippos.
It’s a relief to have a first lady who can have fun with fashion. Rather than a poor creature who is usually so tranq’d out that she doesn’t realize those outfits designed by her Gorgon Mother-In-Law’s upholsterer don’t do a* thing* for her.
What she said.
Seriously, I’ve seen 997 outfits on her I’ve loved, 2 I’ve been iffy about, and this. She’s still a fashion icon the likes of which we haven’t seen since Jackie Kennedy.
I don’t like the rows of flowers, but it’s an otherwise ok outfit. Not impressive, not horrific. I just think it’s ok.
If I saw someone wearing that outfit in the grocery, I’d think they didn’t pack warmly enough for their visit and were wearing two days’ worth of clothes at once.
I’ll chime in, however, that it’s refreshing to have a first lady who takes herself lightly enough to have fun with clothes.
She’s the mother of two active kids, hangs out with kids all day, and plays in the dirt, fercrissakes. I love that she dresses appropriately for her day to day life as “First Mom”, which is her primary gig. I’ve never seen her misstep in official situations, with the exception of that really unfortunate red-and-black nightmare on inauguration night. Not inappropriate, mind you…just butt-ugly.
Heh. That’s one of the ones I was “iffy” on – didn’t think it was ugly, just not my taste. (Not inauguration night, I don’t think – Election Night?)
Yeah, one of the two big nights, I forget which. I was really put off by the dress. For a moment I feared people would go back to the polling places and ask for their vote back! 
I have a picture of the Obama family from election night on my wall in my office, so I’ve been looking at Michelle in that black-and-red-dress since last November. It does not look terrible. It was the little black shrug that made it look funny, but even in the picture that I’ve been staring at all this time, she does not look Bad.
That strange top, though, ugh. But I see people in crap all the time that I would never ever wear if I had love-handles out to here, for example. Since she looks great most of the time, I forgive her for choosing what seems to be a fun top that didn’t totally work. It’s just one day out of her life.
(Maybe we can dig up another shot from the same day and see if it looks universally fugly from all angles?)
I wouldn’t blink if I saw that outfit on someone at the grocery store. It’s not me, but it isn’t outrageous.
That said, it strikes me as a little casual to be paired with men in suits, and I agree with those that say that it makes Michelle Obama look really wide across the hips–I think the dark pants don’t help there, although mostly it’s the stripes.
Ha! 
Yeah, I think it’s a “miss” too, but I give her credit for taking chances and trying to have fun with her wardrobe.
Here’s a buncha Michelle fashion photos: http://images.google.com/images?q=michelle+obama+fashion+photos&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLJ&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=Dx0xStbFBpaYMrGptLMH&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title
But this is another “ouch.” http://fashionmanifesto.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/michelle-style.png
