Michelle Obama's Style

Sentiment—and the '70s-era recession—led Mrs. Carter (pictured with daughter Amy) to recycle the off-the-rack blue chiffon gown she wore to her husband's gubernatorial inauguration six years earlier. "I think she was trying to make a statement about being economical and being 'just folks,'" fashion historian Valerie Steele has said. The gold-trimmed dress, which was designed by Mary Matise for Jimmae, was topped with an evening cape by New York designer Dominic Rompollo.