Inappropriate Michelle Obama Outfits That Betray Her Relatable Persona

During her time as FLOTUS, Michelle Obama was celebrated as relatable for often shunning high-end designer duds in favor of high street styles. Alongside other mall staples, Obama was a J. Crew devotee who remained faithful to its matching two-pieces, comfy cardis, and flats. She wore head-to-toe J. Crew for an October 2008 sit-down with Jay Leno, where she confessed to purchasing the clothing online.

Obama also stanned for Talbots, Ann Taylor, and Target. She was caught on camera, with sunglasses and a baseball cap pulled down low in an attempt to cover her famous face, during a September 2011 shopping trip to the latter. Then, of course, there's the cringe September 2016 CVS shopping trip with Ellen DeGeneres that Obama and the public can likely never erase from their memories. It's hard to imagine her counterparts visiting chain stores — especially with DeGeneres in tow — let alone wearing commoners' choice of clothing. Although, in fairness, Melania Trump did wear a (hugely controversial) $39 Zara jacket to visit kids in a Mexico-U.S. border detention center in June 2018. But then, her outfit made it clear that she really doesn't care, so do you?

However, despite Obama's five-and-dime dedication, she's definitely had her fair share of unrelatable fashion moments, rocking some eye-wateringly expensive ensembles. Okay, they're not in the league of Trump's $51,500 Dolce & Gabbana coat or $50,000 crocodile skin Hermès Birkin bag, but there are still plenty of inappropriate outfits in Obama's closet that betray her everyday woman persona.

Michelle Obama couldn't do right for doing wrong when she visited Washington, D.C.'s Capital Area Food Bank for Feeding America in April 2009. There was no criticizing her willingness to put in some hard graft as she and Jill Biden made up food packages to hand out to people in need. But Obama was brutally slammed for wearing what some deemed an inappropriate outfit.

Nobody could criticize her attire from the ankles up, which comprised one of FLOTUS's trusty J. Crew cardigans with a white and yellow argyle pattern, a plain white tee, and cropped gray pants. However, there was a veritable firestorm over her footwear: a $540 pair of Lanvin sneakers (well, at least they weren't Air Yeezys). The Register Citizen was among the many who were up in arms. The paper accused Obama of being a hypocrite and of "the flaunting of wealth."

Michelle Obama's relatability creds took a serious nosedive in December 2011 when she and Barack Obama visited the Marine Corps Base in Kaneohe, Hawaii, on December 25. The couple stopped by to meet and greet current and retired members of the U.S. military as they chowed down on a special Christmas meal with their families.

Michelle and Barack were all smiles as they worked the room and posed for pics. Still, haters definitely weren't feeling the holiday spirit. Instead, they were laser-focused on the fashion felony they believed Michelle had committed. The crime in question? Her floaty, floral Comme de Garçons skirt, the price of which is unknown, but similar items retail for $1,000 to $2,500.

"She claims to be a champion of the poor and a fellow bargain shopper, but yet, here she is, sporting a dress that no unemployed American can afford," a disgruntled member of the fashion police sniped on the blogsite Naked DC.

The late Pope Francis built his reputation around championing the poor and decrying the evils of capitalism, greed, and consumption of material goods. So, it would have been interesting to know what he thought of the outfit Michelle Obama wore to meet him with Barack Obama at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, in September 2015.

Michelle's powder blue, belted A-line chiffon dress was reminiscent of her FLOTUS predecessor Jackie Kennedy's celebrated style. With a modest cowl neck, covered shoulders, short sleeves, and knee-skimming hem, the outfit was likely suitably demure to elicit the pope's approval.

However, the Carolina Herrera designer dress's $2,300 price tag would have had Francis clutching his Papal Pectoral Cross. And the less said about Michelle's silver Jimmy Choo shoes (similar styles retail for around $1,000), the better.

Michelle Obama looked suitably somber when she attended a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans' Day in November 2013. 

Her collarless Burberry mid-length Chelsea Heritage trench coat had an appropriate military flourish with a double-breasted closure of four rows of buttons. And, it was pertinently black in color.

But the coat's $2,850 price tag made it out of the reach of the vast majority of armed forces members, blowing Obama's relatability factor out of the water. Then, there were her knee-high stiletto suede boots. As many a heel lover knows only too well, stilettos and grass do not an appropriate mix make, even on a clear, dry day — and definitely not when walking on hallowed ground.

Michelle Obama looked like any other regular mom — albeit more glamorous and flanked by a legion of Secret Service agents — as she made her way to St. John's Church in October 2013. Michelle and her daughter Sasha Obama matched in plum colored dresses and outerwear as they held hands while strolling through Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C., to attend a Sunday service.

Still, there was nothing comparable about the cost of the mother-daughter outfits, with Michelle's being way more appropriate for lunching with dignitaries than praying at Club Jesus. 

The exact price of her long-sleeve, V-neck Azzedine Alaïa dress and matching cardigan is unknown. However, similar items by the Tunisian designer retail for $3,650 and $1,690, respectively, making for an ungodly praystation price tag.