that dress (and cardigan)

[walkitout]

Apparently it has generated some talk:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/that-dress-everyone-has-an-opinion/

I yammered for a good two minutes about how much I liked that dress. And then after the speech, I think I said it again a couple more times.

I _really_ liked that dress.

Comments

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

I thought she got away with the dress, but it's not something I would have picked (Jill Biden's chartreuse suit was even less so, though it was beautifully cut).

But it does irk me to see all the comments about her being about the dress. I don't mean from you, I mean the media going nuts. From you, on another occasion, I know I would hear plenty about MO as a person, as a lawyer, etc. (and I bet I'm going to hear *why* the dress is connected to that in your mind, because your mind connects EVERYTHING). The media, no. She's gonna be a clothes-peg to them. I'm hearing her called "Michelle O" (a la "Jackie O") already. And you KNOW the paper dolls must already be on the market.

clothing, politics and connections

[walkitout]

Heh.

There's a bio out about her named _Michelle_ written by someone who overlapped her days at Princeton (but did not know her at the time). I'm thinking about getting it. The author (a woman whose name escapes me at the moment) was on C-Span recently (BookTV, of course!) and told stories from it. My personal favorite was about some publication that parents could buy space in to say things about their graduating kiddie (I think this was from Harvard Law) and what the Robinsons senior said about Michelle -- very charming, in that incredibly blunt way that Mrs. Obama has that the media (and not just the right wingnuts) tends to misunderstand on a regular basis.

I haven't necessarily paid all that much attention to the First Family. They don't engage in the kind of behavior that would attract my condemnation (unlike, say, Cindy and Her Little Drug Problem, Laura and her Vehicular Killing, etc.). I probably _should_ post positive, even fawning remarks about things like the Mrs. Robinson-takes-care-of-the-girls profile I read, and how she feeds them fried chicken even tho Mom might prefer organic something or other. I think this is _exactly_ the right role for the girls, mama and grandmama.

I don't know that the dress is connected in my mind to anything in particular, other than to note that that black X in the middle that risked cutting a lesser woman in half works remarkably well on a tall woman like Michelle. I liked that the whole family "worked" together with a black-and-red theme. I especially liked the red clothes on a "blue" family.

Years ago, I remember getting irked at all the no-one-cares-what-the-MEN-wear commentary. So I made a point of snarking about _everything_ I saw men wearing on TV -- the more political and *SERIOUS* the stuff coming out of the guy's mouth, the harder I went at the hair style, facial grooming, choice in ties, width of lapels, quality of shirt, blah, blah, bleeping, blah. The first insight I had from that was that you could pretty reliably predict political viewpoint from haircut on men (but you have to calibrate to the region and the year -- a haircut means one thing in 1970 NYC and a wholly different thing in 2008 Peoria). The second insight I had was that it's a _whole_ lot easier to remember who all these idiots are when you pay attention to their clothes and grooming. The third insight I had was that it's actually a _lot_ of fun to critique men's tie/shirt/jacket choices. But it's not really compatible with paying attention to the details of what that man is saying.

Has anyone else noticed the ubiquity of the purple tie (and I do mean purple: deep, solid -- not a print, not lavender or paisley or striped or anything) this Election Season?