Michelle Obama, fashion icon

In this May 24, 2011, photo with Queen Elizabeth II, President Barack Obama and Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace, Michelle Obama is wearing a white gown by American designer Tom Ford, who has a home in London.

For the state dinner honoring Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, FLOTUS chose a full-length strapless gown in navy-blue silk with a yellow and red floral print by Taiwan-born, Canada-raised designer Jason Wu.

For the Sept. 25, 2015, state dinner honoring Chinese President Xi Jinping, the first lady went with a black silk crepe mermaid gown by Vera Wang, an American designer whose parents had immigrated from China.

First Lady Michelle Obama and China’s first lady, Peng Liyuan, visit the National Zoo in Washington on Sept. 25, 2015.

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Legislative Conference Phoenix Awards dinner in Washington on Sept. 19, 2015.

Michelle Obama waves to students after a visit to Howard Community College in Columbia, Md., on Sept. 17, 2015.

Michelle Obama greets local school children before reading a Dr. Seuss book to them in the White House as part of the “Let’s Read, Let’s Move” initiative on January 21, 2015.   (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

Michael Kors was one of the American designers well-represented in Michelle Obama’s wardrobe. Here she attends the 2015 State of the Union address in a gray skirt suit by Kors.

The first lady speaks during a rally for Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown at the War Memorial Building Nov. 3, 2014 in Baltimore.   (Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images)

Arm-baring looks were a FLOTUS favorite. In this photo she’s speaking during the Fashion Education Workshop at the White House on Oct. 8, 2014.

The first lady speaks at the Women Veterans Career Development Forum at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Nov. 9 in Arlington, Va.   (Paul Morigi / Getty Images for BPW Foundation)

Michelle Obama announces the creation of the Mayors Challenge to End Veterans Homelessness in the East Room of the White House June 4, 2014.  (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

Michelle Obama delivers remarks during a workshop titled “I’m Every Woman: The History of Women in Soul” in the State Dining Room at the White House March 6, 2014.  (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

For a state dinner honoring French President Francois Hollande, FLOTUS wore a Carolina Herrera gown with a black lace top and full taffeta skirt in periwinkle bue.

The first lady chooses a subtle, conservative dress with flower pin for the “Let Freedom Ring Celebration” honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. in January.   (Pool / Getty Images)

First Lady Michelle Obama, in a casual print top, textured leather jacket and dark jeans, and daughter Malia listen as President Obama speaks to volunteers at the Browne Education Center in Washington in January of 2012.  (Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images)

The first lady, in an elegant one-shoulder red gown, introduces BET honoree Maya Angelou during the BET Honors at the Warner Theatre in Washington in January 2012.  (Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press)

First Lady Michelle Obama wears a peach suit at a White House news conference in April 2011.  (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

First Lady Michelle Obama is dressed in elegant American style at the 2009 White House correspondents dinner in a mauve-chocolate empire-waist gown accessorized by multiple bracelets and necklaces. She wears her hair in flattering loose curls.  (Pool / Getty Images)

First Lady Michelle Obama, with President Obama, is dressed in traditional somber attire for the funeral of Vice President Joe Biden’s mother in 2010, but she also shows off a new bobbed hairstyle.  (Nicholas Kamm / AFP / Getty Images)

What’s black and white and green over the shoulders? Obama’s outfit during her speech on healthcare legislation at the White House in 2009.  (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

Michelle Obama leaves Alan Wong’s Restaurant after having dinner with family and friends in Honolulu in 2009. Christmas vacation in Hawaii is a tradition for the Obama family. Her black flats are from Maison Martin Margiela.  (Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images)

While on winter holiday in Hawaii, Michelle Obama -- pictured here with daughter Sasha -- stayed casual with wardrobe items like this blue Narciso Rodriguez shirtdress.

First Lady Michelle and President Barack Obama pose with Oprah Winfrey in the Blue Room of the White House during a taping of the ABC special, “Christmas at the White House.” Michelle wore a purple velvet Azzedine Alaïa number.

The first lady wears Narciso Rodriguez as she walks with President Obama on the South Lawn after returning from a trip to Oslo, Norway where the president accepted the Nobel Peace Prize.  (Alex Wong / Getty Images)

Mrs. Obama, wearing Azzedine Alaia, smiles from behind bullet-proof glass on the balcony of the Grand Hotel after waving to the crowds who had gathered outside for the traditional Nobel Peace Prize torchlight procession in Oslo, Norway.  (Chris Jackson / Getty Images)

Michelle Obama, wearing a pale blue Azzedine Alaia gown, arrives at the Nobel banquet in Oslo.  (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle at the Royal Palace in Oslo, prior to the Nobel ceremony in City Hall.  (Lise Aserud / Associated Press)

The first lady wears a purple coat designed by Narciso Rodriguez as she disembarks with President Barack Obama in the Gardermoen Airport in Oslo to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.   (Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images)

For the first state dinner of the Obama administration, honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur, the first lady wore a Champagne-colored strapless gown gleaming with silver floral appliqué by Mumbai-born, New York based, Indian American designer Naeem Khan.

The first lady -- in a J.Crew cardigan and Rachel Roy skirt -- arrives to speak at a preview for a 2009 State Dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House.  (Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images)

Michelle Obama, in a burnt-orange Isaac Mizrahi ensemble, stands with Gursharan Kaur, wife of the Indian prime minister, during an arrival ceremony in the East Room of the White House.

The first lady wears a lilac Anne Klein New York number to afternoon tea in the East Room of the White House on Nov. 18, 2009.

Michelle Obama and Jill Biden at a Service Nation event at George Washington University. Obama wore gray pants with a belted white-and-gray-patterned top.  (Kris Connor / Getty Images)

Mrs. Obama made the mixing of high and low a wardrobe signature. Here she belts a blue J. Crew coat over a Maria Pinto dress for the 2009 Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Who says it always has to be a designer gown? The first lady wears Talbots to an event celebrating classical music in the East Room of the White House.  (Tim Sloan / AFP/Getty Images)

Michelle Obama smiles as an award recipient curtsies during the presentation of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities Coming Up Taller Awards.  (Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images)

A wide, detailed belt holds the first lady’s animal-print cardigan in place during a White House leadership and mentoring event.  (Haraz N. Ghanbari / Associated Press)

The first lady is spotted in the popular animal-print trend as she hands out candy to White House trick-or-treaters.  (Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images)

How does your garden grow? The first lady holds a sweet potato during fall harvest of the White House vegetable garden.  (Tim Sloan / AFP / Getty Images)

Wearing one of her trademark cardigans, Michelle Obama runs barefoot on an obstacle course on the South Lawn of the White House in October 2009, during an event promoting exercise and healthy eating for children.  (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

Belted again but hardly casual, First Lady Michelle Obama speaks during a visit to the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington in October 2009. Alan Zanella, a retired Marine, stands with her.  (Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

The first lady addresses guests during the Miami Dade College Florida Campus Compact’s annual Awards Gala and Luncheon in Miami in October 2009  (Alan Diaz / Associated Press)

Mrs. Obama speaks about health care for children at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington in October 2009.  (Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

Michelle and Malia Obama walk back to the White House in October 2009 after attending a prayer service at St. John’s Church nearby.  (Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images)

The Obamas stargaze at the White House with area middle-school students and former astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Sally Ride.  (Martin H. Simon -Pool / Getty Images)

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, in a black halter dress, leave the Blueduck Tavern in Washington, D.C., after celebrating their 17th wedding anniversary.  (Olivier Douliery / EPA)

The first lady wears a Liz Claiborne New York on her return trip to the White House after she went to Copenhagen to try to secure Chicago as the place for the 2016 Summer Olympics.  (Michael Reynolds / EPA)

Michelle Obama, dressed in yellow, says hello to the International Olympic Committee members during the Chicago 2016 presentation on Oct. 2, 2009, at the Bella Centre in Copenhagen.  (John Gichigi / Getty Images)

The first lady and Oprah Winfrey chat at the opening ceremony of the 121st International Olympic Committee session at the Copenhagen Opera House on October 2009.  (Charles Dharapak / Getty Images)

Michelle Obama waves as she arrives at the Royal Palace in Copenhagen for a meeting with Denmark’s Queen Margrethe as part of Chicago 2016, a group that was trying to bring the 2016 Summer Olympic games to Chicago.  (Tariq Mikkel Khan / Associated Press)

The first lady dons a black and white Jason Wu suit as she arrives in Copenhagen at the end of September 2009 to work with Chicago 2016 to win the Olympic bid.  (Michael Tercha/ Chicago Tribune)

First Lady Michelle Obama turned to Jason Wu -- one of her go-to designers -- for this detailed black sleeveless dress she wore to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Phoenix Awards on Sept. 26, 2009.

One cannot survive on designer evening wear alone. Michelle Obama takes a casual stroll with family dog Bo on the South Lawn of the White House.  (Olivier Doulier / Getty Images)

The Obamas -- she in Thakoon -- welcome Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as he arrives for the G-20 summit dinner in Pittsburgh in September 2009.  (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press)

Michelle Obama in a polka-dotted Diane von Furstenberg dress at the Pittsburgh International Airport in September 2009, before her husband attends the G20 Summit in town.

The first lady wore a shiny red Michael Kors number when her husband spoke at the 64th session of the General Assembly at United Nations headquarters.

The first lady chats with vendors at the opening of the Freshfarm Market’s new farmers market on Vermont Avenue near the White House.  (Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press)

The first lady turned out to be a big fan of the floral print. Here the Obamas arrive for the Medal of Honor ceremony for U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Jared C. Monti at the White House Rose Garden.

Michelle Obama sparkles at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute dinner in September 2009 in Washington, D.C.  (Dennis Brack-Pool / Getty Images)

Michelle Obama paired a patterned skirt with a yellow top (yellow being one of her signature hues) and a turquoise cardigan for an event supporting Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid on Sept. 16, 2009.

The first lady, wearing a Moschino skirt and jacket -- pinned with a Sonia Rykiel pansy brooch -- stands with Sen. Edward Kennedy’s widow, Victoria, during President Obama’s speech on healthcare to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill.  (Mike Theiler / EPA)

The first couple in shades of blue at Logan International Airport in Boston on Aug. 28, 2009, the day before Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s funeral.  (Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images)

They can’t all be designer gowns: Michelle Obama goes summer casual in shorts and a tank top at Massachusetts’ Lobsterville Beach on Martha’s Vineyard.  (Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images)

Lunch break: The women of the White House wait to eat at Nancy’s restaurant in Oak Bluffs, Mass.  (Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha work their pre-Labor Day looks as the first family heads to Martha’s Vineyard toward the end of August 2009.  (Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images)

Michelle Obama goes economically as she wears a Merona dress from Target when she and daughter Sasha step off Air Force One at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport.  (Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images)

Michelle Obama bundles up and hugs daughter Sasha while watching Old Faithful errupt in Yellowstone National Park.  (Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) escorts First Lady Michelle Obama during a reception for new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor in the East Room of the White House.  (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

The first family gets ready to leave the White House for Camp David. Don’t worry, daughter Sasha came too -- she’s just not pictured.  (Ron Sachs / EPA)

Flower power: Michelle Obama coordinates the colors of her broach and dress at Virginia’s Norfolk Naval Station in July 2009.  (Steve Helber / Associated Press)

The couple that dresses alike: Barack and Michelle Obama coordinate color plans during a reception for ambassadors in the Grand Foyer at the White House in July 2009.  (Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

When it comes to color, Michelle Obama gravitated toward shades of yellow. Here she speaks at the 10th Design Awards luncheon in the East Room of the White House on July 24, 2009.

The first lady goes for bright shades of pastels at the Evening Parade at the Washington Marine Barracks in July 2009.  (Kristoffer Tripplaar / POOL, EPA)

U.S. and Ghanan First Ladies Michelle Obama and Ernestina Naadu Mills in Ghana.  (Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images)

Michelle Obama was done up in pearls and a Michael Kors dress when the first family disembarked from Air Force One upon arrival in Accra, Ghana, in July 2009.  (Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images)

When in Rome: Michelle Obama wore a veil by Italian design house Moschino when she and President Obama went to the the Vatican to meet Pope Benedict XVI.

While in Italy with her husband for the G8 Summit, First Lady Michelle Obama shines in yellow at the Palazzo del Governo of L’Aquila.  (Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images)

Michelle Obama, in a Jason Wu dress, shakes hands with Russian First Lady Svetlana Medvedeva at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Academic Musical Theatre in Moscow.  (Vladimir Rodionov / AFP / Getty Images)

Michelle Obama, in Narciso Rodriguez, arrives in Moscow with her family, including President Obama.  (Dimity Kostyukov / AFP / Getty Images)

The Obamas wave from Air Force One before they leave Maryland’s Andrews Air Force Base for a trip to Moscow. The boldly patterned floral dress and yellow cardigan were familiar elements of her look.

Michelle Obama celebrates Independence Day by paying tribute to one of her favorite American designers, Narciso Rodriguez.  (Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images)

Mrs. Obama wears a Gap cardigan and top as she walks to the White House’s South Lawn to harvest vegetables with fifth-graders from Bancroft Elementary School.  (Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

Barack Obama lags behind as twinsies Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni stick close together at the Caen Prefecture prior to the commemoration of D-day in Normandy, France.  (Stephane De Sakutin / AFP/Getty Images)