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| By Kwaku Alston, Ebony |
NEW YORK - First lady Michelle Obama is becoming a fixture on the Vanity Fair International Best-Dressed List — but it's soccer star David Beckham who earned a spot in the hall of fame.
The most eyebrow-raising choices on the magazine's annual list of top tastemakers are in the "originals" category, which includes cover girl Lady Gaga, John Galliano and Helena Bonham Carter.
Gaga channels the "Dada Catholic girl" in the spirit of Gypsy Rose Lee and Rosie, the Jetson's robot maid, the magazine says, while Bonham Carter, who says her favorite items of clothing is her "bloomers," is inspired by Vivienne Westwood and Marie Antoinette.
Galliano's finds his role model in Oliver Twist, and his favorite shoes are his "lucky biker boots."
Vanity Fair sends ballots to thousands of people, in the U.S. and abroad, believed to have the inside track on style, including designers, retailers, editors, socialites, photographers and entertainers. Amy Fine Collins, Aimee Bell and Reinaldo Herrera oversee the 71-year-old list, which the magazine inherited from the late fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert in 2004.
This year marks Mrs. Obama's fourth consecutive appearance, noting she has practically single-handedly revived arms, belts, cardigans, shifts, high hair and kitten-heel pumps, and it's the third year for France's Dior-wearing Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. British first lady Samantha Cameron is making her debut, with the magazine pointing to her wardrobe full of brooches, bib necklaces and the labels Phillip Lim and Erdem.
Fashion as a category is, of course, well represented with Tory Burch, Elber Albaz of Lanvin, Georgina Chapman of Marchesa, Stacey Bendet Eisner of Alice & Olivia, and Glamour editor in chief Cindi Leive making the cut, as well as Ralph Lauren's three adult children, David, Dylan and Andrew. Royals have their style ambassadors in Princess Mary of Denmark and hall of famer Germany's Princess Mafalda of Hesse.
Diane Kruger, Carey Mulligan, Javier Bardem, Martin Scorsese, Alec Baldwin, Pharrell Williams, siblings Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal, and couple Ed Burns and Christy Turlington provide the star wattage.
Source : www.startribune.com
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| © Copyright, Jemal Countess/WireImage.com |
Why He’s A Style Icon
Barack Obama has transcended politics and become an American Icon by adhering to the very old rule of dressing for the job you want. Most campaign-trail politicians in America like to appear in jeans to show they are one of the people, but Obama’s campaign already had that image and feel, so he never had to dress down for the cameras. In the process, he has taught men how to wear suits again. The clean lines and drape of his jacket never seem ill-fitting or bulky.
The trouser cuffs break across his cap-toe oxfords just enough to perfectly end the slim silhouette that begins with the soft shouldered jacket. More importantly, by always wearing a suit so well, he never looks out of place. Few realize that he began his campaign wearing Ermenegildo Zegna suits, but just as Nicolas Sarkozy was lauded in France for wearing Prada, Obama soon found himself at the center of sartorial questions. Rather than change his look, however, he merely changed to similarly designed and fitted suits from Hart Schaffner Marx. Here, then, is another lesson to be learned: Be yourself and true to your own style no matter the designer or manufacturer.
Dress The Obama Way
The foundational rule of Barack Obama’s style is to keep your wardrobe simple with finely made dark suits, a crisp white shirt and the camera-friendly pale blue tie or a deep red tie just to change things up. At his most casual, you might see him wearing the suit without the tie or perhaps without the jacket and the tie with his sleeves rolled up just above the wrist. It is here at this moment that all men who aspire to greatness should take note: Obama rolls his sleeves in even folds revealing his only accessory -- a sublime watch given to him as a gift from his Secret Service detail. At the beginning of his campaign, he sported a Tag Heuer on a black leather band, but nowadays he wears the Secret Service chronograph, which bears the seal of the United States Secret Service on a black dial with a black Buffalo leather strap. Source : www.askmen.com
First Lady Michelle Obama, dressed in a pale green pantsuit with an Erickson Beamon belt, speaks in front of dance students from Duke Ellington School of the Arts and the Joy of Motion Dance Center. The students rehearsed a song from the Broadway show "Hairspray" at the White House.Source :www.today.msnbc.msn.com
