During his eight-year presidency, we, as a country, really got to know Barack Obama: We saw his loving relationship with his wife and daughters, and his friendship with Vice President Joe Biden. But one thing we didn't notice? Over his many years in the White House, and attending countless state dinners, Obama was wearing the same suit. That's right: Barack Obama is an outfit repeater, just like the rest of us.
Earlier this week, Michelle Obama drew everyone's attention to this missed detail when she spoke at Apple's developer conference in San Jose, CA. While each and every state dinner outfit of Michelle's would make headlines, Barack's look, shoes and all, would fly under the radar.
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"This is the unfair thing," she shared during her speech. "You talk about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, no matter what we do, he puts on that same tux. Now, people take pictures of the shoes I wear, the bracelets, the necklace ― they didn’t comment that for eight years [Barack] wore that same tux..., same shoes.”
According to the Huffington Post, though, Obama didn't wear just one tuxedo for his entire presidency; he appears to have worn a different jacket sometime between the 2014 state dinner with France and the 2015 dinner with Japan. Minor differences in the lapel show that he switched things up a bit over the years; however, both were seen at multiple moments.
Still, Michelle Obama brings up an important point about how the press chooses to cover men's fashion versus women's. “He was proud of it too,” she said while speaking to Apple executive Lisa Jackson at the conference. Obama shared that her husband often took pleasure in how little time it took him to get ready. “He’s like, ‘Mm, I’m ready. I’m ready in 10 minutes. Mm, how long did it take you?’ And I’m like, ‘Get out of here.’”
Since leaving the White House, the press has turned Obama into somewhat of an laid-back style icon, thanks to his go-to pieces, like his brown leather jacket. Dad fashion has never looked so good.