Photo Michelle Obama wearing a Narciso Rodriguez design at the 2016 State of the Union address. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times
They said it was going to be nontraditional — and it was (relatively speaking). They said it was going to be optimistic — and it was.
They (representatives at the White House press office) were referring, of course, to the substance of President Obama's final State of the Union address Tuesday night, though that is not, as it happens, what I am referring to; I am referring to the optics that framed it. Specifically, the marigold sheath Michell e Obama wore, which pretty much put her wardrobe where his message was, capping seven years of highly effective sartorial politics.
Yes, there were more important things to think about than a dress on Tuesday. But if you believe this highly social-media-aware administration — the one that previewed the evening's speech on Facebook — did not calculate the subliminal signals that the two protagonists might send via every means possible on one of the most public, closely watched evenings of the year, well, I've got a birther for you to meet.
Especially because the dress was impossible to miss, thanks to its bright hue, identified by its designer, Narciso Rodriguez, as marigold, but labeled by Twitter observers, as, variously, mango, mustard and orange Starburst.
Continue reading the main story Slide Show Michelle Obama's State of the Union Style CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times
It was just as impossible to miss the fact that it telegraphed a mood that was unquestionably upbeat and sunny. Indeed, it was the brightest dress the first lady had worn to a State of the Union since 2012, when she appeared in bright blue Barbara Tfank, and a notable contrast to the last State of the Union, where she wore a zipped-up sober gray skirt suit by Michael Kors — and the dimensions were multiple.
The designer, after all, is Cuban-American; a fitting (no pun intended) nod to the resumption of diplomatic relations between the countries that is part of her husband's legacy, as well as to th e American fashion industry, for which she has been a notable booster. Though the dress was originally priced at $2,095 on NeimanMarcus.com, then reduced to $628, it is now sold out.
As it happens, Mr. Rodriguez has been a favorite of Mrs. Obama's since the first campaign, when she wore a red and black dress he made for election night. She wore his burgundy dress to her husband's first State of the Union in 2009. Then, as now, the dress was sleeveless. Then, as now, the first lady's sculpted arms were on display. Then, people freaked out a little (sleeveless! in February!), and she did not go sleeveless again to the annual speech until 2013. Now, no one blinked. Though, judging by the votes of Twitter approval, they did seem to smile.
Progress, of a kind.
