International   

The First Ladies of fashion

— Photo: AFP

Fashionistas: U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.

Ever since Michelle Obama left for Europe with her husband, taking along a wardrobe of designer clothes and revealing a new hairdo, her meeting with Carla Sarkozy, the wife of the French President, had been anticipated as a fashion face-off between two stylish first ladies.

Their meeting on Friday, at the Palais Rohan in Strasbourg, France, was not quite that. Indeed, Ms. Obama and Ms. Sarkozy looked remarkably similar, suggesting that both women know fashion — and themselves — pretty well. Each wore a coat with a soft bow at the neck and low-heeled shoes. Ms. Sarkozy’s gray lambskin coat was a Dior, while Ms. Obama’s Jacquard silk coat was by the American designer Thakoon Panichgul, as was her short-sleeved fuchsia dress.

Considering that both women have been compared to Jacqueline Kennedy, and that Ms. Sarkozy is a pop singer and former model, people might have been surprised by the dull sobriety of Ms. Sarkozy’s outfit. But in the year since her marriage to President Nicolas Sarkozy, the French First Lady has proved to be far more refined in her look than trendy.

In terms of her appearance, Ms. Obama seems to have exerted herself far more for the Group of 20 summit gathering and the NATO meeting than she did for the inauguration, perhaps because the stage is, in effect, bigger.

Beginning with her mid-Atlantic outfit change on Tuesday, when she stepped off Air Force One in Essex, England, in a yellow Jason Wu dress, her wardrobe has been subjected to intense media scrutiny. She had a new hairdo, drawn back at the sides, and what appeared to be expertly applied makeup. sThe choice of a soft Isabel Toledo skirt to wear to Buckingham Palace on Wednesday — in contrast to one of her businesslike pencil shapes — suggested a calculated plan to look relaxed and feminine next to the queen, who was in pink with her handbag looped over her arm.

In France, Ms. Obama has shown a bit more flair and moxie with her choice of the ultra-fitted Thakoon dress, her hair again loose and soft. She is in France, after all, land of haute couture. — © 2009 The New York Times News Service

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Top LTTE leaders felled, says Sri Lanka
U.S. drones a thorny issue
To present Iran a clear choice
Chinese leaders join green drive
Indian detenu freed
Border security to be tightened during elections: Prachanda
Pakistan documents 16 temples for conservation
Sanjay Jha, top-paid CEO in U.S.
The First Ladies of fashion
Papers brush women out of Israeli Cabinet

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu