Overview
- Published Nov. 4, The Look presents a first-person account of Michelle Obama’s style choices with photos and explanations from her time in and after the White House.
- In the book, she writes that as part of the first Black first couple she was under a “particularly white hot glare” and that the Obamas did not receive the grace afforded to some other families.
- She told ABC’s 20/20 that being the first meant “everything matters,” and she avoided talking about fashion in office because it felt like a distraction from her work.
- Obama frames style as “soft power,” saying what someone wears can signal values, background, and culture, and she notes that women in public life are often attacked over their appearance.
- Right-leaning outlets amplified her “white hot glare” phrasing and tied it to earlier comments she has made about race in America.