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Gunn: Michelle Obama not sole fashionista in D.C.
By: Kiki Ryan and Jeff Dufour
Washington Examiner
05/26/09 12:05 AM EDT
Michelle Obama, her style and what it's doing to Washington have been the talk of the town since January, and although we won't argue that her fashion sense is a rarity in the White House, how true is it that Washingtonians' style has picked up thanks to the new first lady?
We caught up with "Project Runway's" Tim Gunn who gave us the low down on everyone else in Washington and — good news — we may really have Obama to thank for making us a much more put together place.
"I saw the most profound difference in how people were dressed," Gunn said of his most recent visit to Capitol Hill, lobbying for intellectual property rights for fashion designers.
The native Washingtonian was again in town Saturday from New York to accept an honary degree at his alma mater, The Corcoran College of Art and Design. Compared to the pre-Obama era, he said, staffers seem to be picking up on his tips that "silhouette, proportion and fit" are the keys to looking good.
And it's not just congressional staffers that have him impressed. Gunn told Yeas & Nays the Speaker of the House knows how to "make it work."
"I've always celebrated Nancy Pelosi's style," he said. "What I love about her in particular is she's not afraid to say 'I'm a woman.' Her clothes show off her beautiful hourglass shape." He also wondered whether her style has had a "trickle down" affect on Capitol Hill to other members.
And what about that other powerful woman in the administration?
"Forgive me ... but I sometimes wonder if Hillary Clinton knows what gender she is," Gunn quipped. Note: forgetting femininity is a fashion "don't."
While Gunn did affirm the fact that Michelle Obama is a stylish as all the hoopla that surrounds her, one area that seems to be bugging him are the constant comparisons to former first lady Jackie Kennedy.
"She was like a rare tropical plant under a bell jar," said Gunn of Jackie O. "One never felt she was accessible ... versus Michelle Obama, you feel like you could run up and give her a big hug."
The runway seems to finally be coming inside the Beltway.
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