Michelle Obama will soon be the nation's first lady and mom in chief, but others are expecting even grander things from her, like saving the fashion industry.
The flagging fashion industry, for one, is hoping that the future first lady will inspire women to keep on buying despite the dour economy.
"We're all obviously trying to look at the silver lining," designer Norma Kamali told ABCNews.com. "Where do we look for hope, an opportunity to create good feelings for the customer? There is real hope with Michelle Obama. I think she can keep women interested in purchasing."
Obama's name surfaced at a recent meeting of The Fashion Group International, a professional organization for members of the fashion industry. The topic of discussion was the economy, and one member wondered aloud whether Obama could bolster the industry during the current economic downturn.
"I think she will absolutely impact the fashion industry," Kamali said. "She represents a real woman, a real woman's body, a real woman's lifestyle. She will purchase clothing that represents what women should be buying or wearing. She's not going to dress in a dowdy way. She's going to want to feel good like every woman and be very practical and sensible in her purchases."
Obama has already demonstrated a certain sensibility in the way she chooses her clothing. When she appeared on "The Tonight Show" last month amid revelations that a $150,000 wardrobe had been purchased for Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Obama told host Jay Leno that she and her husband have a policy of purchasing their clothes.
She pointed out her ensemble: Her yellow cardigan, printed yellow and brown blouse and pencil skirt was purchased online from J. Crew and got cheers from the audience.
"You can get some good stuff online," she said. "When you don't have time, you've got to click."
J. Crew acted swiftly to capitalize on Obama's unexpected endorsement. Its Web site promoted her outfit, which cost $414, on a page that said: "All politics aside…this outfit gets our vote."
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