Last week I asked for opinions about Michelle Obama’s McQueen: did readers agree with Oscar de la Renta’s outrage over her going with a foreign designer for a state dinner? Some said, yes; others thought it inconsequential; and one blogger weighed in with a comment that somehow put my uneasiness with the dress into eloquent words:
“I think Michelle and Barack Obama are mixing celebrity far too much into politics. For her to be wearing such an ostentatious dress of any high fashion designer I think is a bit wrong. Even Carla Bruni who used to be a model tuned down her wardrobe significantly since becoming first lady of France. Prime Ministers and Presidents are not supposed to be extortionately wealthy people and are supposed to lead by example. Wearing couture and inviting every celebrity under the sun to the White House for dinner just adds to the glossy unreal world that is coming out of every magazine and tv screen. and that’s fine when you have celebrities and models doing that because that’s all part of the entertainment industry, its why we watch them, but politics is most certainly not entertainment and I don’t agree with the way the Obamas are muddling the two worlds together.”
The author, Josceline, is a 21-year old student from London living and blogging in Seville, Spain. She also just signed on to Twitter and you can follow her here. Thanks to Josceline for bringing a whole new angle to the discussion.
Vivian, the Italian costume design assistant who writes sexy-chic Stylebizarre was kind enough to feature my comment in her post “How to Organize a Closet”. For some reason I waxed all passionate and verbose on the topic of closet editing and Vivian deemed it worthy of a mention, and I’m grateful! The full article is well worth a read, too, for many useful tips on organizing even a small space to suit the needs of any clothes hoarder/fashion lover.
Last week, Bella Q of Citizen Rosebud gave me, Brooke of Center Sage, and Stephanie of the Loud Mouth huge support for the Refinery 29 Next Style Blogger competition in the form of an entire dedicated blog post to us, complete with our profile pics. Then I found out that two of us (Brooke and I) were ineligible because we are Canadian! Not that they are against Canadians…it’s just that it’s open to U.S. residents only. I feel it’s worth noting that I contacted Refinery 29 after reading the terms and conditions which stated the contest was only open to Americans and was told they were amending the rules to allow contestants from around the world. So I entered. A few days later I was notified that they had decided to keep it as is. So no Canadians. No harm done, however as I’m happy for the extra exposure to my blog.
Also, thanks to Jennine from IFB and the renowned blog The Coveted for stopping to leave a thank you on my post about the upcoming Evolving Influence conference. Besides being busy with the conference she has been put in the uncomfortable position of defending her blog against an imposter. Jennine has worked four years to build her brand and it’s disheartening to think someone can come along and start up a blog by the same name. To show your support for Jennine, please sign the petition in the sidebar at IFB. If you’re not familiar with Jennine or her work, I can tell you I consider her the high priestess of fashion blogging and owe her a debt of gratitude for the wealth of resources and platform she’s provided to us all.
Happy last day of January! Love to hear your thoughts on any of the above topics.
Thanks so much for the mention Laura! Bella’s post warmed my heart. It’s amazing how supportive the blogging community is and I feel so lucky to be part of it. I didn’t know anything about the blogging community when I started my blog but it turns out that the people I’ve met are the best part. They’re what inspire me to blog!
On that note, my heart goes out to Jennine. She’s worked so hard over the past few years to successfully build her brand and has created an amazing community and platform that supports all bloggers in every way possible. It just seems so unfair. I will for sure be signing that petition.
Thanks again! x
You’re welcome and thanks for your suppport, too. It’s true it’s a shame what’s happened to Jennine but she’ll rise above it in no small part due to this community.
Laura, I am bummed you are not in the running, but I agree with you the exposure to your blog can’t hurt. I feel thrilled when I saw hundreds of hits have come from Refinery29 to my blog. Bonus! And thank you so much for yet another sweet mention of me. Let me just say for the record I love seeing my pic on your blog, hee hee.
And what an honor to get a note from Jennine. She is such an inspiration for me, and seriously has improved the quality of life for the fashion blogger. xo. -Bella Q
the Citizen Rosebud
I agree about Jennine! And if you meet her at an IFB conference, she is THE most humble sweet woman you could ever hope to meet. A great example for all of us.
thank you very, very much for the mention! so kind of you, I’m so glad I came across your blog, its fascinating and you’re ever so nice!
thanks again!
I’m very glad you came, too! I adore thoughtful comments and appreciate your kind words.
Politics and celebrity have always mixed, they both hold a lot of power with the public and have always been able to ‘help’ each other. Marilyn Monroe and JFK are one example, and if folklore is to be believed she didn’t just ‘sing’ for him. So the Obamas aren’t doing anything new. Jackie O always wore couture and took risks and is now seen as a renowned style icon.
As for Michelle O’s dress, what’s the fuss? She didn’t wear anything outrageous especially as she wore McQueen, this was a muted number in comparison to what she could have worn from this designer. Oscar de la Renta’s outburst to me was disrespectful and some right-wingers would argue he’s Dominican not American (even though he renounced his Dominican citizenship for his American one) because he was born and bred in the Dominican Rep. It’s all very subjective. You can please everyone. We are living in modern, multi-cultural times and I think she is being judged unfairly as she can wear a lot more choices due to her stature and ability to wear clothes well.
Got that off my chest!
CamilleA
http://ka-st.com/blog
Thank you! I love an honest response that comes from the heart (and mind). It’s so true you can’t please everyone. I heard a great comment about that fact with regard to planning a buffet menu. If you only had what everyone agreed they liked there would be maybe olives at the buffet and nothing else. It’s a wonderful analogy for the importance of embracing others’ right to their opinion even when it doesn’t match our own.