Michelle Obama

(Newser) - Fashionistas are hoping the new first lady can be a one-woman bailout for their struggling industry, the New York Times reports. Presidential spouses always move the needle a little, but Obama’s youthful look and sartorial smarts put her ahead of the pack. “She could potentially do what Jackie Kennedy did,” said one designer. “We need all the help we can get.” More »

(Newser) - Like millions of other children, the Obama girls returned to school today. Unlike the rest of the nations’ kids, they were accompanied by a cadre of police, Secret Service agents, and media, the Washington Post reports. The Obama family’s new life in Washington is off to its official start, with the president-elect acknowledging that leaving his Chicago home yesterday left him “choked up,” the Chicago Tribune reports. More »

(Newser) - Michelle Obama is taking flak because she's putting her law career on hold to help her kids adjust to life in Washington. In fact, however, she’s not leaving professional life at all: Her new role as first lady—"the hardest job she will ever hold"— comes with a staff, a budget, and the weight of expectations, writes Lauren Stiller Rikleen in the Washington Post . It's time we came up with a job description and a salary, too. More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama may decide how to stimulate the economy, but it's Michelle who's teaching America how to look good in it, CNN reports. She's dumped the traditional first lady look for a "recession chic" fashion—a brazen mix of little-known designers like fellow Chicagoan Maria Pinto and bargain buys from J Crew and Target—that inspires everyday women and has jolted a slumping retail sector. More »

(Newser) - Hawaii bid aloha to the Obamas as they arrived yesterday for a holiday break