Interview With Kate Betts About Everyday Icon Michelle Obama Book
Everyday Icon: 8 Iconic Michelle Obama Looks and Why They Matter

"Michelle Obama is helping liberate a generation of women from the false idea that style and substance are mutually exclusive," explains fashion journalist Kate Betts. In her new book Everyday Icon: Michelle Obama and the Power of Style, the former Harper's Bazaar editor-in-chief notes that historically first ladies had to choose between the role of traditional homemaker and caretaker (think Jackie Kennedy) or serious career women (Hillary Clinton). Much like their everyday counterparts. Whether or not they cultivated a personal style often reflected their decisions. But according to Kate, Michelle Obama has become the first to seem authentically herself in both camps. Michelle's synthesis of style and smarts, explains Kate, indicates that assumptions about women's roles have changed.
Kate told me in an interview that Michelle reminds us that our style can go beyond the latest fashion trends, and "become inextricably bound up in who we are and what we believe in." To give us a taste of her book, Kate selected a few iconic Michelle O outfits and identified what message each sends. Check them out now.
Rebirth

Blushing Bride

Fashion Faceoff

Style in Motion

Ladylike

Warhol-Inspired

Full of Surprises

No Fear
