Mrs Obama's $2,095 Dress at the State of the Union Address

a reply to: Athetos

Yup at the cost of 0.00000674$ US per person in the the USA. Assuming everyone contributed equally.

No we didn't.

"Mrs. Obama pays for her clothing. For official events of public or historic significance, such as a state visit, the first lady's clothes may be given as a gift by a designer and accepted on behalf of the U.S. government. They are then stored by the National Archives."

Who Pays The Bill For Michelle Obama's Fabulous Clothes

The whole point of anyone in America sending a poor message by wearing a pricey dress is ridiculous. The U.S. is a consumer culture, period. A huge population of Americans "waste" money every single day. Here are some stats from 2011-2012.

Beer: $96 billion—enough to make 199,937,239 barrels!
(Brewers Association)

Pretzels: $550 million
(Reuters)

St. Patrick’s Day: $4.14 billion
(National Retail Federation)

Over-the-Counter Teeth Whiteners: $1.4 billion
(MSNBC)

Mental Floss Link

originally posted by: Atsbhct

They certainly could, because couture dresses are usually sent back to the design house.

That would not be a gift, that would be a loan.

originally posted by: theantediluvian
a reply to: bucsarg

I don't really see a mixed message. The key point Obama was making was that we believe that everyone should get a fair shake not that everyone should be equally successful. It's about guaranteeing the existence of opportunity not ensuring the results.

Oh no, that's what conservatives say, not liberals. Liberals literally mean that everyone should be equally successful. Why else must we have wealth redistribution and socialism?

a reply to: windword

Not me. I can't afford it.

And yellow is not my color even if I could.

Her dress delivered more substance than He did.

LOL This is petty as ____. What about virtually every other person's outfit there (except Kim Davis)? Do you seriously not know how expensive top class business suits are? Not to mention, First Lady Michelle was always more successful than Barack until he became a Senator; and she made more money than him up until when he wrote his famous book while campaigning for the Presidency.

In other words, she's highly educated & pretty well off, and has been for a long time. Fixing income inequality doesn't mean people have to take a vow of poverty.

a reply to: ReadLeader

Okay then, someone gave you money for your products or services. You have customers or clients I presume? Do your customers or clients have the right to dictate to you what you can and can't spend with your income that they gave you?

a reply to: kaylaluv

The point, is that the funds for the dress most likely came from the taxpayers, to the Obamas checking account..; that was the point...

a reply to: bucsarg

Look at it this way - she could have spent $50,000 on the dress. They make enough money to allow her to do that. The fact that she only spent a couple of thousand instead should mean something, right?

Your analogy of a rich person showing up for 30 minutes to hand over cookies is pretty dumb if you ask me. Michelle has done a lot more than just hand over some cookies to some poor people. I don't think she sends a bad message if she buys a nice dress to her husband's last SOTU address.

Something tells me that if she wore a dress from Target, you would be complaining how tacky it was for the wife of the leader of one of the most powerful nations on the planet to represent herself in a cheap dress.

originally posted by: ReadLeader
The point, is that the funds for the dress most likely came from the taxpayers, to the Obamas checking account..; that was the point...

If it was part of his salary then what is the issue?

a reply to: ReadLeader

It doesn't matter. It's his money once it hits his bank account. His, not ours.

a reply to: bucsarg

A 200,000 dollar dress, I'd have issues with.

2K?

Meh.

My wife has a 2,000 dollar dress, but she's classier than Mrs. Obama.

melina trump's wedding dress cost $100,000.

my guess is if she's first lady ALL her dresses will cost upwards of $2000 or more.

their money, imo.

I'm with dbcowboy, I don't think $2000 is all that much really.

originally posted by: kaylaluv
a reply to: bucsarg

Look at it this way - she could have spent $50,000 on the dress. They make enough money to allow her to do that. The fact that she only spent a couple of thousand instead should mean something, right?

Your analogy of a rich person showing up for 30 minutes to hand over cookies is pretty dumb if you ask me. Michelle has done a lot more than just hand over some cookies to some poor people. I don't think she sends a bad message if she buys a nice dress to her husband's last SOTU address.

Something tells me that if she wore a dress from Target, you would be complaining how tacky it was for the wife of the leader of one of the most powerful nations on the planet to represent herself in a cheap dress.

And if she wore a dress she made herself, they'd probably complain that First Lady Michelle was "uppity", thought she knew fashion better than the professionals, and didn't want to support American designers.

I am no fan of the Obama's, but this is just petty or out of touch with what nice clothes costs. A $2k dress is pricey, but hardly considered over the top expensive - especially for a classy evening gown.

While I don't think the First Lady should be wearing $50k dresses, I don't think we should regulate her to shopping at Banana Republic either.

Good grief.

a reply to: bucsarg

Her Narciso Rodriguez dress was on sale at Neiman Marcus for around $600. If she paid more, she was ripped off!

originally posted by: Edumakated
I am no fan of the Obama's, but this is just petty or out of touch with what nice clothes costs. A $2k dress is pricey, but hardly considered over the top expensive - especially for a classy evening gown.

While I don't think the First Lady should be wearing $50k dresses, I don't think we should regulate her to shopping at Banana Republic either.

Good grief.

I have seen classy and absolutely gorgeous evening dresses that were cheap. Fabric is fabric. If it is in a wonderful fabric and style and you look amazing in it, why spend a lot when you don't have to? If someone judges a woman by status and how expensive her clothes are then something is wrong.

a reply to: Night Star

Quality fabrics cost a lot. It is also about the tailoring, fit and finish.

I like nice clothes and occasionally splurge. You can absolutely tell the difference. While I can't speak on dresses since I am guy, I certainly know the difference when it comes to men's clothing.

I remember when I was a young and wearing business suits. I used to think people were crazy paying a lot for nice neck ties. I thought why would anyone pay $100 or more dollars for a Hermes tie versus a tie $30 tie at Macy's? One Christmas, a family friend bought me a Hermes neck tie. I immediately could tell the difference. The fabric was nice. It felt heavier and more substantial. It tied perfectly every time. My cheapo ties were a world apart.

The same thing with dress shirts. Shoes. Watches. Leather goods. Especially dress suits. You can't even compare a $2000 or $3000 Brioni suit to the buy 1 get one free rags at Mens Wearhouse.

Quality cost money. Yes, there are some frivolous items like t-shirts that people buy just for the label, but people who appreciate high quality clothing absolutely can tell the difference. High quality clothing is typically not found at your run of the mill shopping mall.

Curious. Where did she get it from?

I mean her original inauguration parade suit was from J. Crew and was a point of great remark and admiration in 2009 as to her down to Earth and frugal but stylish taste. This does seem to be a departure, politics aside.

Did she use an on-line coupon, credit card rewards points or Kohl's cash? I didn't think so.