Michelle Obama’s fashion choices as the First Lady were heavily scrutinized.
On a recent episode of her IMO podcast, Michelle, 61, recalled how she “got off Air Force One wearing shorts and was crucified for it” during her time as First Lady.
The Becoming author explained that in August 2009, she and her husband, then-President Barack Obama, were told they would be going on a hike in the Grand Canyon and then have tea afterward, so she needed to pick an outfit that would work for both occasions.
The mom of two said she asked Barack, 64, what he was wearing, and realized he had a much easier situation when it came to switching up his wardrobe.
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“He was like, ‘Well, I’m gonna throw on some sneakers, I’m gonna take my jacket off and roll my sleeves up’ because that’s what men can do,” she remarked. “White shirt, no collar, no tie. That was how he changed.”
“I was like, ‘But after this we’re supposed to go to somebody’s house and there’s a tea,’” she recalled. “I can’t wear hiking shorts there, and I can’t wear a dress to hike. That would be crazy. People would call me ‘disconnected’ and ‘un-American.’”
In the end, Michelle shared that she “opted for the thing that felt mostly me,” which was “Bermuda shorts,” explaining, “this is how a normal person would go on a hike.”
“The fact that we had to spend time thinking about that kind of stuff in ways that my husband didn’t — it was really infuriating,” Michelle confessed.
This story Michelle Obama Recalls Being ‘Crucified’ For Wardrobe: ‘Infuriating’ Barack Didn’t Face Same Dilemma first appeared on Globe. Add Globe as a Preferred Source by clicking here.