Michelle Obama's Fashion Secrets Revealed in New Book

In her new book "The Look," former First Lady Michelle Obama provides a behind-the-scenes look at her fashion choices during her time in the White House. The book, co-authored by her stylist Meredith Koop, is set to be released on November 4, 2025.

Obama explains that as a "famous person" but not a "starlet," her clothes could never "speak louder than anything [she] had to say." As a "working, active first lady," her outfits had to be ready for a wide range of activities, from gardening to giving speeches. She rarely wore white, as she "didn't want [her] clothes to stop [her] from engaging people."

Koop recalls a specific instance where she and Obama disagreed on a dress for the 2016 Democratic National Convention speech. Ultimately, Koop convinced Obama to wear a cobalt blue Christian Siriano dress, as it "felt right for the message - clean, confident, blue for the moment." The dress also highlighted Siriano's story of dressing women who weren't sample size, expanding the idea of who gets to wear beautiful clothes.

Obama's fashion strategy was to "lift up all the designers who otherwise wouldn't have the chance to dress a First Lady" and "break some norms." With the help of her "trifecta" team, including Koop, she was able to pull off this vision during her tenure.