Fun to see a First Lady in "The Gap" [Archive]

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loosechickens

6-12-11, 4:38pm

Just seems neat to me that the First Lady, Michelle Obama, isn't consumed by expensive fashion, knows what looks good on her (and while, I'm sure, she has her share of expensive, designer gowns for formal occasions), isn't afraid to find it in ordinary places.....

now, if she could just slip away from those pesky Secret Service agents, I bet she wouldn't even turn up her nose at thrift stores, hahahaha.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/12/michelle-obama-gap_n_875590.html

"The first lady departed for Camp David on Friday in the chain's "Impressionist Print Draped Dress," (worn as a tunic), white pants and sandals. As of this posting, the item is on sale for $29.99 on Gap.com (although it's only available in sizes small and medium).

This isn't the first time FLOTUS has been spotted in the brand's wares -- she previously wore a $10 Gap t-shirt to lunch with Nancy Reagan. She also caused a fast fashion frenzy after sporting a $34.95 H&M dress to sit down with "The Today Show," and also stepped out in a Merona frock (sold at Target stores) two summers ago."

Somehow, in a world where the rich and powerful seem to pile on more and more extravagance in their lives.....this seemed like a nice breath of fresh air.

click on the link for pictures.........bet the Gap is sold out of that item right now....:(

porcelain

6-12-11, 10:11pm

I really admire her :) Thanks for sharing this

Tradd

6-12-11, 10:28pm

Yeah, but when the Obamas were in England recently and visited the Queen, Michelle wore quite some expensive dresses - several thousand each, I remember seeing.

loosechickens

6-13-11, 12:59am

Oh, I'm absolutely SURE she has plenty of designer and very expensive clothes in her official wardrobe, or even in her personal one.....she IS, after all, the First Lady of the United States, and that would be expected, no matter what........I was just impressed that she seems to have enough of a sense of her "own" style, and to pick what she likes, rather than just live in that rarified world of expensive fashion.

To me, it's like the way we look at simple living, ourselves......we certainly spend money on some expensive things, but we also can really enjoy a bargain, finding something inexpensive that fits in our life, and not being driven by consumerism, etc. I like that in someone, where they buy what they like, not necessarily what's the most expensive thing they can afford. I could afford to spend several thousand dollars on a dress myself if it was important to me (it isn't), but I can enjoy finding a huge bargain in a thrift store for a few bucks, too. And I suspect Michelle Obama may be the same way. She didn't come from money, and seems like she still has her feet firmly on the ground insofar as spending huge amounts of money goes, although she can certainly afford it.

As we all know, here, affording something, and choosing to spend on it, are two very different things. I just thought it was fun to think that a First Lady would be buying clothes at The Gap along with her much more expensive, formal stuff......

iris lily

6-13-11, 1:14am

Gosh, she's just so--cool.

loosechickens

6-13-11, 2:01am

well, I don't know about "cool", but I appreciate that "down to earth" quality in her. Maybe because it's how I look at spending money myself.....sometimes we buy expensive stuff, sometimes we shop at thrift stores or for low cost items......just seemed kind of unusual for a First Lady, that's all.

I remember reading that she is much the same with clothing for her girls, and they are outfitted at "ordinary" stores for the most part, even though the Obama's could probably afford to shower stuff on them like young Paris Hiltons. Somehow, to me, it just seemed to illustrate both "thinking for oneself" and "getting good value for one's money", which is something that I think we simple living types can appreciate more than most.

ApatheticNoMore

6-13-11, 4:19am

Well even Sarah Palin supposedly had a thrift shop she loved to shop at (she also of course spent a lot of money on clothes, but she still got some things at the thrift shop).

Mostly I don't pay attention to how the rich and powerful live. We CAN'T JOIN them (and beat them? oh well ha, I don't know) and it really is a whole different world, having very little to do with life as it is experienced by most (of course we could all shop the GAP, although I don't much like that store).

loosechickens

6-13-11, 3:16pm

Yes, and I was one that was impressed with the fact that Sarah Palin, while governor, had her favorite resale and thrift stores and didn't hesitate to buy clothing there. I know that during the Presidential campaign, there was some overreaching, but after all, (I can't believe I'm defending Sarah Palin), she had been thrust into the spotlight.....I'm sure that a wardrobe that was suitable for her appearances in Alaska was woefully inadequate, and lots of clothing had to be obtained fast.

I didn't intend for this thread to have any political implications......far more that I was pleased that a First Lady was able to illustrate both a willingness to look for bargains, and an outlook that recognized that spending more money doesn't always mean getting the best value.

And Sarah Palin's habit of thrift stores and resale shops should be celebrated as well. I hope that she's still doing that now that the millions are rolling in. Because that's what's impressed me about Michelle Obama......that she hasn't left those habits behind now that she is in a different world with a very large family income.

The point is a celebration of our simple living philosophy, which is to not be caught up in materialism, masses of consumer spending, to think for ourselves, look for good value when we spend money, and to think for ourselves rather than allow advertisers to think for us.

Both Sarah Palin and Michelle Obama get kudos from me for those things.

puglogic

6-13-11, 4:15pm

The point is a celebration of our simple living philosophy, which is to not be caught up in materialism, masses of consumer spending, to think for ourselves, look for good value when we spend money, and to think for ourselves rather than allow advertisers to think for us.

Both Sarah Palin and Michelle Obama get kudos from me for those things.

Thanks, LC, and I agree wholeheartedly.

Greg44

6-13-11, 8:31pm

I had to chuckle when I read this in the paper this a.m. -- wow she is just like us! I just don't get all the fuss about what she wears, and the need for her to be a "fashion Icon".

Wearing dresses worth thousands of $$ just rubs me the wrong way, especially in this economy. I just have to believe that the whole GAP dress thing had political undertones. IMHO.

Wildflower

6-13-11, 10:56pm

I don't think the First Ladies pay for any of their clothes, they are given to them to wear by various designers including The Gap, if I'm not mistaken. But it was nice she wore Gap clothing for a day so she could be like us commoners. >8)

Glo

6-15-11, 12:09pm

I admire both the president and first lady for being down to earth.

redfox

6-15-11, 1:03pm

I just have to believe that the whole GAP dress thing had political undertones. IMHO.

Perhaps publicizing sensible clothing & reasonable dress... ?

Greg44

6-15-11, 7:42pm

Perhaps publicizing sensible clothing & reasonable dress... ?

There is so much attention put on everything she wears - I think her "handlers" take that into consideration when clothes are purchased. She does on occasion wear "less expensive off the rack", but with $ 500.00 shoes. She is not one of "us".

I personally don't own any $ 500.00 red sole shoes :laff:

Bronxboy

6-16-11, 9:54pm

I personally don't own any $ 500.00 red sole shoes :laff:
All the famous people wear them. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_shoes)

Anne Lee

6-18-11, 11:30am

Well, if I lived in the spotlight the way Ms. Obama, Ms. Palin or even most celebrities do, I would want someone helping me dress. I can't imagine undergoing that kind of scrutiny. I once read an extremely harsh and critical comment about Roseanne Arquette because she dared to wear her Pashmina shawl as a shawl rather than a scarf. Oh, the horror that a woman in a spaghetti strap dress would actually wear a shawl to stay warm on a California evening in February. >8) That was my defining moment when I realized just how foolish so much of this style business was.

I think the Obamas are the Kennedy's for a new generation. I really admire Ms. Obama as I work on childhood obesity issues and she's working very hard to turn that particular ship around.

Tenngal

6-19-11, 11:34pm

They are under intense scrutiny, although I saw that she commented once that she really just wears what she likes sometimes. I guess that accounts for some of the large forals that are not the best look on Michelle. It's OK, she makes up for it most of the time. I enjoy seeing her fashions and don't care about the cost. I don't think we are paying to dress Mrs. Obama.

poetry_writer

6-20-11, 10:57am

If Sarah Palin had done it ......it would be stupid. Does anyone honestly think Mrs obama shops regularly at cheap clothing stores/

peggy

6-20-11, 12:16pm

Sarah Palin HAS done it, and most, including many right here in this thread, have complimented her on it. Are you really so invested in the right wing Obama hate mode that you can't for the life of you imagine the first lady dresses how she likes to dress? That she shops at the GAP, which isn't exactly cheap clothing. That she just might have a little bit of a sense of style?
If you believe this about First Lady Michelle Obama, then you must believe Nancy Reagan, Laura Bush and Barbara Bush all had 'handlers' to dress them and tie their shoes. Or is it just democrats who can't manage to dress themselves? >8)

Greg44

6-20-11, 2:23pm

...If you believe this about First Lady Michelle Obama, then you must believe Nancy Reagan, Laura Bush and Barbara Bush all had 'handlers' to dress them and tie their shoes. Or is it just democrats who can't manage to dress themselves? >8)

Of course all first ladies have to have someone do much of their shopping - they simply don't have the freedom to move about in public. It seems like the moment she became 1st lady - the press went bonkers. Comparing her to Jackie O. That she would be a fashion icon. So I think most of the emphasis on what she is wearing is no fault of her own, it is the press that seems to be so obsessed with it. I don't remember the same attention to prior 1st ladies in recent history, but granted they have been "older" and more conservative in their dress.

But like it or not - I think because of this attention - they respond to it.

poetry_writer

6-25-11, 9:13pm

loosechickens

6-26-11, 12:39am

very interesting article here on how our First Lady's choices in clothing affect the stock value of various clothing manufacturers and clothing chains.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/michelle-obama-fashion-choices-influence-stock-market-nyu/story?id=12083501

excerpt:

"The study's author, David Yermack, professor of finance and business at New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business, performed a year-long analysis of the economic impact of Obama's apparel selections.

He found that her choices had a major influence on clothing markets.

"Each single appearance of hers could move a stock price by $14 million," Yermack told "Good Morning America."

According to Yermack's results, Obama made 189 public appearances between November 2008 and December 2009. During that time, she wore items from 29 publicly traded companies, including J.Crew, the Gap, Saks Fifth Avenue and Target.

Those companies raked in an estimated $2.7 billion as a result of Obama's donning their apparel, Yermack calculated.

J.Crew has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the first lady's sartorial selections. Obama has sported outfits from the popular mall chain on several high-profile occasions.

The day after she appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" dressed in a canary yellow outfit from J.Crew, traffic on the chain's website soared 64 percent. When she showed up at a cancer center in London dressed in a cream, hand-beaded cardigan and pencil skirt from J.Crew, the outfit sold out within hours.

Talbots, a brand struggling to change its frumpy image, also got a bottom line boost when Obama wore its $169-dollar dress for a photo on the cover of Essence magazine last year.

It's not just a specific label that can stand to gain. Stores that carry the first lady's favored brands -- such as Saks Fifth Avenue – also appear to benefit in the long run, Yermack found."

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edited to add, from the same article, since at least one poster seemed to be under the impression that First Ladies get their clothing free. Personally, I think it stems more, in Mrs. Obama's case, from the fact that she did not come from money, probably has a long history of dressing well, but frugally, and seems self directed and confident enough in her fashion choices to just pick what she likes. And so, even though she is able at this point to buy the most expensive of clothes, still just makes up her own mind, and sometimes that might be a very expensive, designer dress, and other times it might be some much less expensive, off the rack clothing from ordinary stores.

"Very few celebrities seem to have had similar impact on company stock prices, and Yermack believes that's because consumers know she doesn't get money for wearing any of her ensembles."