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Olympic-Inspired Fashion Thanks to Michelle Obama

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We all know and love Michelle Obama, right? Her grace, her intelligence, her leadership, and first and foremost, her impeccable style are what draw us to her. But there's no denying that you avid fashion followers have been hearing all the hoopla surrounding her choice of outfit for the pre-Olympic reception and meeting with the Queen over the weekend. She's been criticized for dressing too casually in Her Majesty's presence, so her weekend choice took some by surprise, though it was championed by others. Her $7k capsleeved silk and viscose with silver embroidery J.Mendel number was fit for, well, a Queen...and a FLOTUS. But all of this Olympic fashion talk has got us feeling a bit patriotic. So, below, some suggestions of looks from Saks and Neiman's on Michigan Ave and Barneys on Rush we'd like to wear in honor of our favorite Olympic sports to root on the USA, and of course, our fave first lady of fashion.

Swimming and Diving
These neoprene pieces from Cynthia Rowley's SS2012 line are so different, but ingenious. They remind us of the water, but are stylish enough to wear to the opening of RM Champagne Salon this week. What's even cooler about them, literally, is that even in the heat, they adapt to body temp and outside air temp, so they'll cool you off in the sun.

Gymnastics
We love the grace, agility and athleticism of those petite and strong gymnasts (go Gabby Douglas!), so we'd definitely want to show off those same attributes in ourselves wearing one of Roland Mouret's perfectly tailored body con dresses. We'd show off not only our strength, but our femininity as well. Could we look any hotter?


Track & Field
Although we won't be doing much running...hell, we probably won't be doing much walking in these shoes, but after putting these Nicholas Kirkwoods on, we feel like we can fly. Check 'em out, they even look like they have wings!


Equestrian
We admit, we don't really like watching this sport; we only watch because the riding caps, jodhpurs, boots and blazers look oh so chic. Michelle Obama loves a blazer too, doesn't she? As evidenced by the above. So we do too. Now this silk blazer by Prabal Gurung is definitely NOT proper riding attire, but we don't care. It looks great for a night on the town with some vertiginous heels or boots...we did say Olympic-inspired...

Cynthia Rowley

810 West Armitage Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614 Visit Website

Neiman Marcus

737 North Michigan Avenue, , IL 60611 (312) 642-5900 Visit Website