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Second hand clothes: Michelle Obama wears vintage and fashion world gasps
First lady Michelle Obama surprised the fashion world when she appeared at the recent "Christmas in Washington" concert in a black dress with a black lace overlay purchased from a New York vintage shop.
It is believed to be the first time that a first lady has worn a second-hand dress to a high-profile public event.
The concert was taped last Sunday and shown on TNT earlier this week. The tea-length black dress by the late U.S. designer Norman Norelli has a cinched waist, tulle skirt and square neckline — a style that was common in the 1950s. The first lady looked like she could have stepped out of the hit AMC series Mad Men.
While it came from a second-hand store, the dress wasn't cheap. VIntage experts told the London Daily Mail the one-of-a-kind dress likely cost around $2,500.
British newspapers in particular seemed shocked at the first lady's sartorial choice. "Michelle Obama wears vintage, sparks panic," blared a headline in the Telegraph, a leading London newspaper. Writer Belinda White observed that the first lady's choice will "come as a blow to all the adoring designers who cross their fingers and prey (sic) Obama will choose them for her next big photo opportunity, and all the women who rush out to buy her latest outfit."