Michelle Obama America First Lady Smantha Cameron Sarah Brown Carla Bruni
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Another focus has been her work
for military families, drawing
national attention to their issues
through events, meetings with
military advocacy groups and
passionate speeches.
AN�INSPIRATION
Mary’s Center, a community-based
non-profit organisation focusing on
mother and child care for Central
American immigrant women, is
another of the First Lady’s projects.
Describing Michelle as “beyond
inspirational,” the centre’s CEO,
Maria Gomez says: “She made
us feel as if we were her closest
friends, as though she had a deep
interest in all of our issues.” And
it seems Michelle had a profound
effect on the centre’s teenage
clients. “They asked her very hard
questions and she was able to
tackle each one in a very concise
way, but also in a way that left a
mark for the rest of their lives,”
says Gomez. “We still have teens
that say: ‘I want to be the President
of the United States, I want to be
the First Lady.’ What else can you
ask for? Her visit transformed the
lives of those teens in that room.”
Her impact, it seems, has
no bounds. So influential and
respected is she that after Michelle
donned her gardening gloves and
got to work planting a White House
organic garden to underscore
the importance of healthy eating,
similar gardens crept up across the
country. Gina McCauley, creator of
popular blog MichelleObamaWatch.
com, says: “A lot more women are
rethinking their commitment to
fitness. It’s hard to eat a doughnut
when the First Lady is eating fresh
green beans!”
And far from the clichés of
demure traditional wife, or political
ball-breaker, Michelle seems, well,
real. “She has young children and
a full schedule,” Himel-Nelson
says, “but her family is thriving.
What an amazing role model she
is for every woman out there.”
Whether she’s organising
sleepovers for her girls, or relating
her own family story to highlight
the need for better healthcare,
Michelle embodies hard work and
community. From her humble
beginnings as “just a typical little
black girl,” to the White House she
proves nothing is impossible.
“She is a role model for all of us.”
Says Maria Gomez: “She’s showed
us that she is a human being just
like any of us and she’s taught us
the importance of dreaming and
wanting to succeed in life.” And
that, perhaps, is the true
definition of style.
MICHELLE OBAMA
SUBSTANCE OVER STYLE
Style At the Tory Party
conference, Samantha’s £65
Marks & Spencers dress made
the headlines. The tabloids are
now pitting her against Sarah
Brown in a ‘style-off’. Progressive.
Substance From aristocratic
stock, Samantha has little to do
with the day-to-day politics of her
husband, preferring to focus on
her own career. But she is integral
to the ‘brand Cameron’ team,
helping to write a lot of her
husband’s speeches. She’s also
thought to have been the guiding
force behind his more relaxed and
left-leaning Conservative policies.
Stylist looks at the clothes and campaigns of three high-profile political wives
TORY LEADER’S WIFE
SAMANTHA LEAVES THE
POLITICS TO DAVID
SARAH BROWN IS
SARTORIALLY AND
POLITICALLY OUTSPOKEN
SAMANTHA CAMERON SARAH BROWN
CARLA BRUNI
Style Sarah has come under fire
many times for her style in the
tabloids. But would the Press
do this to a male politician, or
Harriet Harman’s husband.
No, exactly.
Substance Brown uses her PR
background as a force for good. She
goes to Glastonbury, tweets more
often than Stephen Fry, and has
teamed up with Naomi Campbell
and Marc Jacobs on a project for
her charity, the White Ribbon
Alliance, which calls for better
childbirth conditions for women
worldwide. She has also been vocal
in her defence for the NHS.
FRANCE’S FASHIONABLE FIRST
LADY, MRS BRUNI-SARKOZY
ALWAYS MAKES A STATEMENT
Style As an ex-supermodel, Bruni
has been in the style spotlight.
She was accused of ‘mimicking’
other wives’ style. Not possible
that she’s simply adapting her look
to the appropriate dress code, then?
Substance Carla is an Ambassador
for the Global Fund
to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria,
and founded the Carla Bruni-
Sarkozy Foundation to improve
immigrant housing and education
in France. She recently launched
carlabrunisarkozy.org, to record
details of her political life, and is
filming a documentary which will
air in France later this month.
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