Wear What When

United Colors of the Obamas

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Jan 21, 2009 at 12:00PM4 Comments

I keep feeling like poor Maria Pinto—the Chicago designer who didn’t dream up Michelle Obama’s one-shoulder gown—is having a crappy day. What with all the buzz Jason Wu 26-year old Taiwan-born designer who did. Eh, I’m sure I’m just being too sensitive.

As we critiqued the president’s—wow, that was fun to say!—tux and the first lady’s dress last night (verdict: we can’t get behind the stiff, uber-formal white tie thing; the dress, well, I see a lot of wedding gowns, and that leaves me kind of lukewarm about white ball gowns), one of my friends asked if the timing wasn’t perhaps perfect for a return of United Colors of Benetton circa 1988. And then that got us talking…

I’d need to do some research and look into the company’s current ownership - can I get an intern on that? - and then there would be my personal mission to shop only made-in-America threads, but yes, considering how Michelle Obama’s been curating her closet with foreign-born Americans in the midst of global economic lessons and (hopefully!) a return to health care policies and related social issues that actually matter — I’d call this world a perfect storm for some in-our-faces, multi-generational, multi-ethnic, gender-bending, issue-driven, the-medium-is-the-message layers and layers and layers of fashion advertising, sure.

Bring it on—or, I mean, you know, bring it back.