Bloomberg/Getty Images
Bloomberg/Getty Images
It’s a family affair in Chicago today, where the Obama family is celebrating the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center. While Barack and Michelle Obama kicked off the festivities earlier this week with an address to stakeholders, today’s ceremony marked a rare Obama family public gathering.
Former first daughters Malia and Sasha joined their parents at the South Side museum and library, where they eschewed the prim and proper style that defined their White House childhoods. Instead, Malia and Sasha—now 27 and 25, respectively—showed off the distinct styles that they have cultivated as adults.
Malia riffed on business attire in an oversized light gray blazer replete with a cinched waist and a plunging neckline. The elder daughter stuck to tonal dressing, pairing the jacket with a charcoal gray miniskirt and a coordinating pair of square-toe pumps. Sasha, for her part, stuck to the boho beat in a drapey white off-the-shoulder top and a matching midi skirt from Lauren Manoogian. She accentuated her waist with a large brown leather belt with an oversized buckle and kept the leather-and-metal motif going with a pair of Miu Miu slingbacks.
In the lead-up to the opening of the Obama Center, Michelle’s fashion choices have been nothing short of conscientious. Earlier this week, she made a poignant sartorial statement in a custom Acne Studios skirt featuring a portrait of her late mother, Marian Robinson.
Today’s celebration also telegraphed thoughtfulness. Michelle, meanwhile, turned to an American designer to meet the moment. Thom Browne fashioned her a navy-and-white seersucker tweed jacket, worn with a matching calf-length skirt. Though certainly a well-considered choice, the white cotton corset underneath the jacket is a departure from the buttoned-up style that she sported as first lady. She accessorized with jewelry from Rainbow K and Yvonne Léon.
Just as Michelle loosened up her FLOTUS style, the same can be said for Malia and Sasha Obama: with their personalized takes on first family fashion, the Obamas have found the freedom to explore their individual tastes since leaving the White House.
This article was originally published on Vogue.com.
