Ann Romney in Oscar de la Renta during her speech at the RNC.
The dress was silk taffeta with cuffed sleeves and a small V-neck, the exact color of which fashion observers described as being everything from fire-engine red to cerise to “Jolly Rancher red.” It came from Mr. de la Renta’s pre-fall 2012 collection, according to the designer’s representative.
In The Financial Times, the fashion editor Vanessa Friedman pegged the cost of the dress at somewhere between $2,090 and $2,490, based on similar styles she spotted on the retail Web site Net-a-Porter.
The choice of what to wear on the convention stage was apparently the subject of much behind-the-scenes wrangling between Mrs. Romney and some of her husband’s advisers. The day of the speech, as Mrs. Romney flew to Tampa with the soon-to-be-named presidential nominee, she told reporters that she was surprised to learn the political team thought it should weigh in on her fashion choices. “The funniest thing of all is that Stuart Stevens, who wears his shirts inside-out, is advising me on what dress I should wear tonight,” she said, referring to the campaign’s senior adviser.
After the speech, a Romney adviser said of the tussle between Mrs. Romney and Mr. Stevens: “She won.”
Early reviews from the fashion news media were largely positive about what many called a safe choice. “We’ll leave it to the political pundits to determine whether Romney succeeded in humanizing her husband and appealing to the all-important woman voter,” said a writer for Fashionista, “but it’s hard to deny that she looked great and delivered her speech well — she was comfortable in that dress.”
FLOTUS Michelle Obama in Tracy Reese. Shoes by J Crew
We have already discussed the significance of Ann Romney’s Oscar de la Renta shirtdress at the Republican National Convention, so fairness demands an examination of Mrs. Obama’s dress, which was made by Tracy Reese. By most accounts, Mrs. Obama came up the winner, in a beautifully fitted dress that seemed a savvy choice in the era of high-definition televisions.
From a distance, the dress had a shimmering effect, like wet paint in a blast of unreadable pastels, but in close-ups, viewers could practically study the pattern of the gold brocade. You could imagine a group of handlers backstage having considered this choice with the same degree of calculation as Cinna in “The Hunger Games,” when he creates a gown of flames for the big-screen debut of Katniss Everdeen. They were asking the same question, anyway: What would it look like on television? The dress was sleeveless, as is Mrs. Obama’s signature, showing her strength and playing to her message of physical fitness.
Her hair and makeup were also wildly praised, but not her silver-blue fingernails. If you think that is being too nitpicky, try Googling “Condoleezza Rice” and “lipstick.”
Even the choice of designer sent a message. Mrs. Obama has frequently worn dresses sent to her by Ms. Reese, a successful self-made businesswoman who happens to be African-American, which on Seventh Avenue is a rare breakthrough. Ms. Reese’s prices are also in the middle ground. While the dress Mrs. Obama wore has not yet been produced for stores, very similar styles from Ms. Reese cost $395 to $450, which fits perfectly with the Democratic pitch to the middle class. Mrs. Obama’s pink pumps were from J. Crew.
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Originally Posted by Ti-Amie
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