From the day after Barack Obama was elected president, Women's Wear was speculating that wife Michelle might grace the cover of America's fashion bible, Vogue.

Now it's official. Michelle Obama will smile out from newsstands all over the country this March, in a magenta sheath by Jason Wu (who also designed the first lady's white, one-shouldered inaugural gown).

Photographer of the Queen and Suri Cruise Annie Liebowitz shot the cover and eight-page inside spread, which accompanies an article in which Obama speaks about motherhood - and of course, her personal style.

Every first lady since Lou Hoover (except for Bess Truman) has been photographed by the magazine, but Mrs Obama will only be the second to be on the cover. The first? Her husband's secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.