Michelle Obama's

CHICAGO - NOVEMBER 04: Michelle Obama waves to the crowd as U.S. President elect Barack Obama walks on stage to give his victory speech at an election night gathering in Grant Park on November 4, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois. Obama defeated Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) by a wide margin in the election to become the first African-American U.S. President elect. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) less CHICAGO - NOVEMBER 04: Michelle Obama waves to the crowd as U.S. President elect Barack Obama walks on stage to give his victory speech at an election night gathering in Grant Park on November 4, 2008 in ... more Photo: Joe Raedle, Getty Images Photo: Joe Raedle, Getty Images Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Michelle Obama's 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

A fresh take on fashion is coming back to the White House. Eight years of first lady Laura Bush's just-so suits did not inspire. Former first lady Hillary Clinton's changing styles were more entertaining than influential.

Not since Jackie Kennedy Onassis has a first lady been this interesting to watch. Two Mrs. O's, both with a heightened sense of style - it seems almost surreal.

First lady-to-be Michelle Obama strides onto the fashion stage with her 6-foot-1-inch frame, bringing a spirited style (lots of bright hues, prints, chunky jewelry) and hipness to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. As if that weren't enough, fashion lovers also have Carla Sarkozy, France's new first lady, to look up to. Almost as tall (at 5-foot-10), the Dior-clad Sarkozy epitomizes French chic in impeccably tailored coats and dresses, a perfect contrast to Obama's all-American casual chic style.

Obama, who is said to make her own fashion choices without the help of a stylist, mixes it up, true to her Democratic ideals, which also happen to embrace the way most women dress today. She wears Gap as well as up-and-coming designers like Thakoon, and Chicago's Maria Pinto, and designers like Narciso Rodriguez, whose red and black frock from the spring 2009 collection she wore on election night, a choice that was roundly criticized as too unconventional. But 10-year-old Malia's red taffeta bubble-hem $110 Biscotti dress was not only a winner - it was designed in Oakland.

Biscotti co-designer Kerin Lou didn't recognize the dress at first because Malia wore a different belt and a cardigan that hid the velvet straps - "it wasn't until the day after that we realized it was our dress." The company plans to put the style back into production for the holidays. Meanwhile, you may still be able to find it at Nordstrom.

Michelle Obama is relatively new to the spotlight and not as spot-on as Jackie O. (virtually impossible), but she is likely to strike a balance between comfort and convention, favoring dresses over pants and body-conscious clothes over conservative looks.

She won raves from American women when she appeared on "The View" in a $148 black-and-white floral Donna Ricco dress (from a mall store called White House/Black Market) and she wore a J. Crew ensemble that cost less than $400 for an appearance on "The Tonight Show."

Obama says she's uncomfortable with the focus on her wardrobe, sort of. "It's hard," she recently told ABC News. "I'm kind of a tomboy jock at heart, but I like to look nice."

She faces a challenge as a fashion role model. This is a time of more thoughtful spending, unlike the '80s when Nancy Reagan - who wrapped her small frame in elegant suits and spectacular evening gowns by established greats such as James Galanos, Oscar de la Renta and Yves Saint Laurent - brought patrician glamour to the White House.

There's been a big fashion disconnect the last decade or so in the White House: The solid-color suits favored by Laura Bush are polished and professional and go no further. As she stayed in the shadow of her husband, her wardrobe choices echoed that idea, making it easy for her to blend nicely into the background.

Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, tried too hard to make a fashion statement about her role in Washington, but without a keen eye or innate sense of style, she fell short. When she finally sorted it out, she settled on the perfect look for her, the all-business pantsuit: safe, solid and serious.

But President-elect Barack Obama's huge victory last week signifies not only a seismic shift in the political spectrum, but in the way fashion will take on a role in the White House. He may be earnest about everything, but the message that his wife has sent out these past two years is of someone who has fun with clothes. She's a confident woman, comfortable in her body, who wears dresses that show off a bit of shoulder or back, someone who likes bare legs, flats, isn't afraid of prints and patterns, and plays around with accessories.

"I have a feeling that there won't be any flash or ostentation in her choices over the years," said Jean Oppermann, assistant chair of the fashion design program at the California College of the Arts. "She loves color and she has great style, a classic, unfussy look; she wears the Jackie O. '60s-style sheath very well. And she has an awareness that she's coming to the White House in a time of great financial crisis. I think she will dress fashionably but with an eye to practicality in terms of cost."

In fact, the whole Obama family makes a well-thought-out fashion statement when the parents and daughters Malia and Sasha, 7, dress in complementary colors, as they have for most important appearances, such as the nights Barack Obama accepted the nomination for president, and on election night.

The new first lady-elect is already most of the way to finding the right balance between safe and savvy; and fortunately for fashion lovers, she says no to boxy jackets, buttoned-up blouses and overdone hair and makeup.

Whether she gets a yellow sweater from J. Crew or from the runway, she has for the most part, says Oppermann, made it work.

"Let's face it, I think she could throw on a potato sack and belt it and still have style."