Michelle Obama chooses Jason Wu for inaugural balls

Jan. 20, 2009 5:25 PM PT

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Another young American designer and up-and-coming talent. Wu is 26 years old, was born in Taiwan and studied at Parsons in New York. The gown is an unusual choice. Obama is wearing white in the winter and white at night. (President Obama’s white bow tie and tux combo is even more unusual.) The gown could even be a wedding dress. But Michelle Obama is rewriting the fashion rules and she looks every inch the style icon she is becoming. The one-shouldered style is sexy and the powdery hue reflects the trends we saw on the Golden Globes red carpet. And won’t it look nice in the Smithsonian alongside the other first lady gowns?

--Booth Moore

Who’s Jason Wu? The designer of Michelle Obama’s gown

Photos: First ladies’ inauguration gowns

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Michelle Obama chose Jimmy Choo’s green ‘Glacier’ pump for Inauguration Day ensemble

Photo: Elise Amendola/ Associated Press

All the Rage

Booth Moore

As Los Angeles Times fashion critic from 2004-15, Booth Moore logged tens of thousands of miles covering the runways from L.A. to Paris and interviewing style leaders such as Karl Lagerfeld, Tom Ford and Donatella Versace.