The Most Inappropriate Outfits Worn By Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama — attorney, author, and former first lady — is a style icon for the ages. Her White House looks demonstrated her stunning transformation, but even the greats can get a look wrong sometimes. Yes, even Michelle has delivered a less-than-slay outfit on a few occasions. This isn't about any kind of sartorial schadenfreude but rather taking comfort in the fact that someone as flawless as the former first lady can sometimes miss. 

Many of Michelle's fashion faux pas were team mistakes. As Capricia Penavic Marshall, the chief of protocol for the United States from 2009 to 2013, told The New York Times, planning for the first lady's clothing is a serious project: "No one just decides one day that this is what I'm going to wear." Everything that Michelle wore had to be approved for political and cultural adherence. Even so, slipups happened.

In her memoir, "Becoming," Michelle wrote of the style challenges she faced. "I tried to be somewhat unpredictable, to prevent anyone from ascribing any sort of message to what I wore. It was a thin line to walk" (via Elle).

While taking and distributing a first lady's official White House portrait might seem like an old tradition to modern viewers, the custom only became official in 1961. According to Today, Mark Shaw's photograph of Jackie Kennedy wasn't originally taken in an official capacity, but it became so widely distributed that it is now regarded as her "official" portrait. Since then, every first lady has designated one photo to be her official image.

Michelle Obama caused quite a stir, however, when she chose to go sleeveless in her first official White House photo. The picture depicts Obama standing next to a table in a sleek black shift dress and a classic pearl necklace. As per a report from ABC News, even though she looks stunning and elegant, some called out the first lady for being too informal. But Politico White House reporter Malika Henderson shared, "It is very much her signature look, so I wasn't that surprised." Perhaps the world just wasn't ready for Obama's amazing arms.

For some people, there's no one more famous or important than the Pope, so it makes sense that Michelle Obama busted out her best dress when she met Pope Francis outside of Washington, D.C. in September of 2015. As reported by the Daily Mail, the first lady stepped out to greet the Pope outside of Andrews Air Force Base in a $2,300 Carolina Herrera dress in a lovely powder blue color. The dress also boasted a chic yet demure cowl neck and a flattering waist tie belt. Her daughters, Malia Obama and Sasha Obama, were also dressed to the nines in patterned graphic skirts and short sleeve black blouses.

While the Obama family looked great, Pope Francis was probably not pleased with their expensive attire. His Holiness is well known for calling out capitalism and warning believers of the dangers of indulging in money. Whoops. Despite the conflicting messages, the Pope greeted Obama and her family with a warm smile. Perhaps even the Pope is good at being passive aggressive.

The first lady has a lot on her plate, including balancing the complexities of official State appearances in other countries. That might be her toughest job, because each individual country Michelle Obama visited when she was the first lady had its own set of rules, customs, and preferences. And sometimes, the country's official rules differed from their citizen's preferences, like when the Obamas visited Saudi Arabia in January of 2015. As per a report from Time, Obama drew heat from Saudi Arabians because she didn't wear a headscarf. People took to Twitter, posting angry comments like "Michelle Obama should've stayed in Air Force One as a sign of boycott rather than flouting rules of another country" with the hashtag "#Michelle_Obama_NotVeiled".

Even though people were mad, Obama hadn't actually broken any rules. Time also reported that though women from foreign countries are required to wear demure, loose-fitting clothing while visiting Saudi Arabia, they're not required to wear a headscarf. Poor Obama. She even got in trouble when she was following the rules!

In January 2011, then-President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a state dinner at the White House for Chinese President Hu Jintao. Michelle wore a vibrant red gown by Alexander McQueen's Sarah Burton. Michelle looked stunning, and it's reasonable to assume that she wore red because it's a popular and auspicious color in Chinese culture. However, some felt that Michelle should not have worn a gown by a British designer, and instead highlighted a designer from either America or China.

In fact, Oscar de la Renta spoke to Women's Wear Daily, saying he felt that this was a miss. "My understanding," de la Renta said, "is that the visit was to promote American-Chinese trade — American products in China and Chinese products in America. Why do you wear European clothes?" He went on, "I'm not talking about my clothes, my business. I'm old, and I don't need it. But there are a lot of young people, very talented people here who do."

De la Renta wasn't the only person confused by her choice of designer. Kate Betts, author of "Everyday Icon: Michelle Obama and the Power of Style," told The Guardian, "Red is an obvious colour because [it is a symbol of good luck in China], but you'd expect an American or an American-based designer for an occasion like this. However, Bets conceded, "But [Obama] is always surprising, and that's why we're all riveted by her."