After a hiatus, the Times is back to adoring first lady Michelle Obama. Fashion writer Eric Wilson's Thursday piece in the Styles section, "Don't Get Gravy on Her Gown [1]," celebrated first lady Michelle Obama as a literal "fashion plate" - she's being featured on one of those tacky porcelain commemorative plates.
That rather dubious honor didn't stop Wilson from extolling "the First Lady of Fashion."
First Lady Michelle Obama is now officially a fashion plate.
Not that there were any doubts before, mind you. Often called the First Lady of Fashion, Mrs. Obama has a sense of style, as we all know by now, that rivals Jackie Kennedy's. She has boosted the spirits of the American fashion industry with her unconventional mix of avant-garde newcomers and off-the-rack Talbots, and claimed a Council of Fashion Designers of America style-icon award along the way.
In January 2009, the headline over fashion writer Guy Trebay's story also hailed the first lady as the sole savior of the fashion industry: "U.S. Fashion's One-Woman Bailout? In Michelle's approach to dressing, a faltering industry sees hope [2]."