Michelle Obama Makes the March Cover of Vogue

President Obama’s campaign focused heavily on change, and what’s the surest sign that change has come to the United States? A 45-year-old African-American woman is on the cover of Vogue! 

(All kidding aside, Oprah Winfrey was about the same age when she appeared on Vogue’s cover in 1998.)

An abridged version of André Leon Talley’s profile of the First Lady is already online. True to ALT form, it’s as much about him as it is about Michelle Obama. He went to a party at Oprah’s home in Santa Barbara and sat next to Tina Turner! He was in Chicago’s Grant Park on election night! Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi invited him to sit in the bleachers at the inauguration! Presumably, the content about Mrs. Obama appears in the print edition.

One of the criticisms I’ve read about the cover is that appearing in Vogue is beneath the first lady, who should ostensibly be focused on more pressing matters. But isn’t it unfair to assume that she can’t be as informed about style as she is about matters of state? Appearances count in politics as much as they do in the fashion industry—and, at least, the fashion world is upfront about it. If Michelle Obama is conversant about both Narciso Rodriguez and national service, I can’t see how that’s a negative.

Comments

[Rio]

It's a decent enough article and Michelle looks absolutely beautiful on the cover, but how come there was no mention of what she would be focusing on in terms of policy (work/family balance, etc.)?

"What Michelle Obama is less focused on—in direct inverse proportion to the focus of the public—is fashion."

Yes, the 45 million people who tuned into President Obama's recent news conference just wanted to see who designed his suit! And then they'd learn what the government was doing to put money back in their pockets so they could spend it on designer suits themselves! Shut the fuck up, ALT.

[Glossed Over]

Seriously. ALT seems a particularly poor choice to write this article. If he's as close to Michelle Obama and has as much access as he implies (sitting with friends instead of the media on the train to D.C., for instance), wouldn't that make him uniquely suited to write about something other than the contents of her closet?

[Anna]

I love her she is so elegant!