Michelle Obama Up Close and Personal: Excerpts from March Vogue

What does Vogue's Editor at Large André Leon Talley mean when he writes that Michelle Obama embraces a fearless relationship with fashion? He explains in this extensive Style.com excerpt from March Vogue's feature on our new First Lady. Photos by Annie Leibovitz.

Talley, too, is captivated by Michelle's tendency to bestow hugs like cupcakes and spread good cheer lavishly everywhere she travels. Our First Lady professes a true desire to again make the White House the people's house. She speaks of her future there as almost a collective experience. It's never "me" and "mine" and "some," but "we" and "our" and "all." She's like the neighbor organizing a block party: Everyone is invited.

Talley confirms what we already know about Michelle, based on her appearances over the last week. She doesn't come from a culture of exclusivity, and she doesn't appreciate a "members only" attitude.

The First Lady sees the White House as a national classroom, a true mirror of America. She hears jazz and classical music and imagines White House chef, Cristeta Comerford creating a community cooking lab -- do we see a new Michelle-Style cooking channel in the works?

Mrs. Obama herself describes it this way: "We want entertaining in the White House to feel like America, that we are reminded of all the many facets of our culture. The Latino community, the Asian-American community, the African-American community.…Hip-hop, spoken word—we want to bring the youth in, for them to hear their voices in this."

OK, Leon. What about the fashion?

What makes Michelle feel good are clean-cut American clothes with a youthful vitality. Her actual focus on fashion is in inverse proportion to the public's.

"I love clothes," she admits. "First and foremost, I wear what I love. That's what women have to focus on: what makes them happy and what makes them feel comfortable and beautiful. If I can have any impact, I want women to feel good about themselves and have fun with fashion."

Michelle stresses that she's not focused on the glamour associated with fashion. Pragmatism is what matters when she gets dressed.

The tone of Talley's interview sums up the place of fashion in Michelle's life. Reflecting on his first meeting with Mrs. Obama at the divine Ms. O's -- Talley's name for Oprah -- Legends Ball in 2005, Talley can't remember what Michelle Obama wore.

His memories are what she said, the vast expanse of her knowledge on so many topics.

Fashion is the subcontext for Andre Leon Talley's interview, even if his life does revolve around Vogue. As I wrote yesterday, the Michelle Obama women are a different breed, with a modern, less self-conscious . . . more Anthropologie relationship with clothes.

In Michelle's case, J Crew is her Anthropologie. But the point is that our First Lady is a Fashion Independent, following her own spirit, working with Ikram Goldman to identify clothes that express her own unique personality.

Michelle's challenge to each of us, is to find our own fashion style, too. Clothes that reflect and self-express our own personalities are far finer than those that make us fashion robots.

Now for any of us inspired by Michelle's challenges around community, good works, better education and other important issues, she wants us all to be copy cats.

I haven't read the entire Vogue interview to see if the First Lady throws in any comments about her lithe figure or her workout routine. I can guarantee that she's fine with our following her lead there as well. Now about the hugs . . . well surely no one asks whether or not she prays for a lot more hugs all around the country.

Enjoy the Style.com Michelle Obama read, and buy Vogue to get the entire feature.

Anne

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