Michelle Obama skillfully avoided reacting to the fanfare over her fashion choices during her eight years as first lady. Now, a decade after leaving the White House, she is opening up about her personal style in her upcoming book, The Look.
Obama is preparing for the Nov. 4 release of her coffee table book, co-written with longtime stylist Meredith Koop, which details how she carefully curated her wardrobe for the role.
“I purposefully did not talk about fashion and beauty during the eight years in the White House,” she told People. “I was afraid it was going to take over everything.”
Obama has kept busy since leaving 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. She released her first book, the memoir Becoming, chronicling her life and tenure as first lady. She also hosts a podcast with her brother Craig, where she openly discusses her life and individuality in conversations she can now have freely since she’s no longer constrained by Barack Obama’s role as commander in chief.
“Fundamentally, I’m the same person,” Obama said. “But with each decade, I’ve grown wiser. I think I’ve become more confident about who I am. This version of Michelle probably cares less about what other people think.”
At 61 and approaching the empty-nester phase of her life, Obama felt “it was time to talk about that journey,” reflecting on her fashion-forward moments as first lady. The mother of two, whose daughters Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24, are stepping into adulthood, describes the process as completely liberating.
“This is the first time where every decision that I make is for me,” she added.
The Chicago native credits Soul Train with sparking her interest in fashion, noting that the stylish women on the show made her feel, “that’s what cool is.”
“That was Saturday morning viewing in the Robinson household. As a little girl, I would just marvel not only at the moves and being able to see your favorite artists, but the way the women dressed—just the color, the style, the flare,” she shared.
She credits her father, Fraser Robinson, for being the first to instill self-love and confidence.
“Look, being a tall girl—I’m 5’11”—and my father was very clear about standing straight and owning my height. It was like, ‘You do not slouch. You are tall, you are beautiful.”’I think it started there,” she said. “I’m still working on, every day, waking up, looking in the mirror and telling myself that I am smart and beautiful, and kind and worthy. I don’t think that work ever stops for women, particularly women of color, because sometimes you don’t always hear it back.”
Having navigated the power suits of the ’80s and the “complicated assignment” of dressing as the first lady, Obama now enjoys the freedom to live her life—and style her hair—on her own terms.
“It’s freedom,” she said of wearing her hair in braids. “Braids allow me to get them done, and then that’s one less thing that I have to think about. When I’m out of the public eye, I am swimming, I am playing tennis, and braids represent that kind of freedom for me.”
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