cimorene: cartoony drawing of a woman's head in profile giving dubious side-eye (sleek & stylish)
[personal profile] cimorene
I really don't like these designer sketches for the Obama family's inauguration outfits.

I think that unless the president is dressed in a formal tuxedo, then his family should not be dressed in evening gowns. What this says to me is that he's a serious man in his professional business suit and his wife isn't a partner - in a way isn't necessarily an adult. She's just there for decoration, so we make sure to put her in something she can't do much of anything in except smile. Now, of course, at an inauguration, in actuality, all of them are just there for decoration: the president could wear stilts or a gorilla suit for all he has to do. But they don't put him in that - they don't even put him in a tuxedo.

Men's business wear is designed to give plenty of freedom of movement and the impression that he could jog around town kissing babies, or fight off terrorists on Airforce One if he's Harrison Ford, or trek across the desert comfortably if the Apocalypse happened to come. The corresponding women's wear doesn't even look like she could stand up to a swift change in weather for the cold or windy or rainy, or a patch of mud (unless someone was there to lay their cloak across it for her).

I could go off on a rant here about the overwhelming prevalence of dresses and skirts in store window mannequins in contrast to the much smaller proportion of women who actually wear these things, as opposed to trousers of some sort, on the street. But although it's related, I'm not actually against some sort of dress at the inauguration. Dresses are okay; I just think they should be dresses you could take at least somewhat seriously, and not dresses that look like Fairy Queen costumes from A Midsummer Night's Dream, if they're meant to be worn in the middle of the day. (If it was for an actual ball, I wouldn't object to ballgowns.)

Allow me to point to the style of French First Lady and supermodel Carla Bruni : Red carpet - casual - with Queen Elizabeth - in Dior for day at Westminster.

(no subject)

Date: 13 Nov 2008 09:44 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] norah.livejournal.com
Depending on the fabric of the Toledo one it could be acceptable. But not awesome.

I think they should also ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE FIRST FAMILY TO BE. Sasha doesn't usually wear her hair like that. And I almost never see Michelle in anything below the knee or anything that isn't tailored to her curves- which doesn't mean she wouldn't or that she couldn't rock it, but she has a style already. And those designs ain't it. The blue dress wasn't too bad until I got down to the mermaid skirt, and seriously, MERMAID SKIRT LOL.

(no subject)

Date: 13 Nov 2008 12:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cimness.livejournal.com
I like the Toledo one the best, but I'm not crazy about pouffy, pale lilac and filmy in the same garment. At least it's not a mermaidskirtLOL, but it still looks like a frilly little flower girl dress for a semi-revolting wedding. I like Michelle Obama's tailored and exotic looks a lot and I would never think "oh, beauty pageant dress!" if asked to design for her - at least, I'm not a designer, but I can't imagine that I would...

(no subject)

Date: 13 Nov 2008 12:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] perhael.livejournal.com
Is it wrong that I would totally hit Carla Bruni?

(no subject)

Date: 13 Nov 2008 12:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cimness.livejournal.com
You mean cause her husband is a fascist? Dude, she's posed naked, she is totally up for imaginary hitting.

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