A new breed of fashion icon
By Nadine Kam
Courtesy Loree Rodkin
First Lady Michelle Obama rocks Loree Rodkin earrings at the election night victory rally in Chicago.
Well, the McCain camp got one thing right when, pre-election, they compared Barack Obama to Paris Hilton. It’s the rare political figure who becomes a fashion icon and there has been much talk about his suits (custom-tailored from Chicago clothier Hart Schaffner Marx), as well as his wife Michelle’s (J.Crew and Chicago designer Maria Pinto).
Much was made of Michelle’s black widow dress on election night. Wearing a sweater over it was unfortunate and I thought a suit would have been more appropriate, but her jewelry, by L.A.-based designer Loree Rodkin, sparkled. The white gold and diamond triple dangles with oval, marquee and pear shapes retails for $10,275. You can check out the Ala Moana Center store for more of Rodkin’s fine jewelry and costume designs at a fraction of that price.
Just like Paris, Nicole and the Olsens, we’ll likely to keep getting wardrobe and accessory updates along with the Obamas’ political report cards over the next four years. That has to be good for retailers, who can now lay claim to demographic that usually puts substance before style. To me, the two go hand in hand. It’s possible to have substance, which I read as intelligence and influence, without style, but it’s rarer to find style without intelligence to back it.
