WEKA TANGAZO
The meaning of Michelle Obama’s upper arms is a topic to which we will clearly need to return at length before this presidency is out, but for now let’s talk about the dress. The colour was the prime talking point of the State of the Union address, before designer Narciso Rodriguez confirmed that it is officially “marigold”. (The exact same colour was mustard when J Lo wore it to the Golden Globes two days earlier, but go figure) The sunniness of the tone was a deliberately upbeat note, chosen as the Obamas begin the final, legacy-minded stretch of their White House tenure. Compare and contrast with last year’s serious, dark-toned skirt suit, which chimed with her husband’s 2015 speech focussing on income inequality.
WEKA TANGAZO
By, Naomi Kipangula
The meaning of Michelle Obama’s upper arms is a topic to which we will clearly need to return at length before this presidency is out, but for now let’s talk about the dress. The colour was the prime talking point of the State of the Union address, before designer Narciso Rodriguez confirmed that it is officially “marigold”. (The exact same colour was mustard when J Lo wore it to the Golden Globes two days earlier, but go figure) The sunniness of the tone was a deliberately upbeat note, chosen as the Obamas begin the final, legacy-minded stretch of their White House tenure. Compare and contrast with last year’s serious, dark-toned skirt suit, which chimed with her husband’s 2015 speech focussing on income inequality.
The dress evoked elements of the
first lady’s greatest fashion hits. The inauguration of 2009 is a key reference
here. First, the intriguing color recalled the dress and coat she wore that
day, a a paler yellow which sparked a similar naming frenzy. (For the record, some called it citrine, but here at
the Guardian we backed lemongrass.) For Obama’s arrival last night, her
marigold dress was teamed with a purple coat, a daring color combination which
also harked back to that inauguration, when the first lady wore olive green
gloves with her pale yellow coat, and Malia and Sasha wore bright, jewel-toned
scarves in contrasting colors. Bright colors for optimism, and surprising
combinations for daring: these are central to the Michelle Obama fashion
message.
The dress’ designer was Narciso
Rodriguez. Rodriguez also designed both the black and red dress Michelle Obama
wore on election night is 2008, and the sleeveless shift in aubergine (or
rather, “eggplant”) which she wore for the first State of the Union address, in
2009. Here, again, Michelle
Obama is deliberately reminding us of the excitement and
glamour of those first chapters of her time as Flotus. In a conclusion, you
need to remind your audience where you started. Naturally, this Flotus is all
over that
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