Carla Bruni's Political Chic: It's Deja Vu All Over Again

I have a confession to make. While it seems everybody was applauding Carla Bruni's Dior coat and pillbox ensemble when she accompanied her husband on an official visit to the United Kingdom, I couldn't help but cringe when I saw the images. Yes, she looked stunning in that ensemble and she looked even more stunning in her Jackie Kennedy-style Dior suit and structured handbag on Bastille Day but it still made me cringe. My discomfort with her style transformation stems at least in part from the belief that this is not really who she is. Moreover, could her references to the former American First Lady be any more obvious? Pas tres subtil Madame Sarkozy. I experience the same discomfort when I look at Michelle Obama. Her nipped waist jackets, pearls and hair flip aren't exactly subtle references either and the constant attempts made by her husband's campaign to reference the Camelot legacy make her style choices appear even more cynical than Bruni's.

While they may each receive their share of acolytes for conforming to this style, at this rate I doubt either will leave a lasting mark on our fashion conscience. Jackie Kennedy's style had a dramatic and lasting impact on others because it was intensely personal. While it may have been devised with some input here and there from Diana Vreeland and her sister Lee Radziwell, it was then and still is all her own. And because it was her own very personal style, it fit her lifestyle, her needs and was a genuine reflection of who she was - an upper-class American socialite from New England whose primary occupation at the time was being a wife and mother. She was a product of her time and her sartorial choices reflected this. When I see Bruni so self-consciously imitating that style, it begs the question: Why is an Italian supermodel turned folk-singer aping an upper-class New England blue blood's style? The question is even more relevant when asked in relation to an Ivy League-trained African-American lawyer from working class Chicago. To me, Bruni and Obama look like they're playing dress-up in another woman's clothing and I find this unbecoming. Being inspired by someone else's style is one thing but slavishly reproducing it is quite another. It's also entirely unnecessary. Both women are attractive and despite their current incarnations as political wives, both women are highly accomplished in their own right. One would think that each woman has a strong enough personality and sense of identity to forge her own sartorial style. Instead, both women apparently prefer to tread a well-worn path forged generations before them by someone they actually have very little in common with. I really wish they would try a little harder - we're badly in need of genuine style leadership.

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Comments

[Helene]

I've toyed with the idea of sending each of them a copy of Simon Doonan's new book "Eccentric Glamour". Dare me to?

[Ms. P&C]

A very brave and appropriate statement! Most would probably tow the line and compliment them on being so polished, but I agree with you - this is nothing new.

Perhaps it is a recipe for political success? I think there is an inherent safety in this look because of its classic stylings and broad appeal. But again, no, not style leadership at all. (I love that phrase BTW...!)