Like many people, I admire a lot of things about our First Lady, Michelle Obama. She's a brilliant woman who seems to have achieved the impossible feat of balancing being a loving mother and wife while still promoting and working on things that she believes in. I know that no matter how hard a person in the spotlight tries to be upright, someone is going to have something to say and I think that anyone who seeks fame and celebrity status should just accept this a a part of the package.

But Oscar de la Renta, Vera Wang and Donna Karan are being pretty ridiculous. They're apparently upset because Mrs. Obama is giving upcoming designers and mass retail labels some exposure by wearing their clothes at some of her recent high profile appearances. Oscar is especially catty...saying that while he respects what Michelle Obama is trying to do, it's "wrong" for her to "go in one direction only." He goes further to say "you don't wear a sweater to Buckingham Palace" referring to the sparkly J.Crew sweater and skirt (which I happened to think was very cute) that Mrs. Obama wore to meet the Queen.

Umm...Michelle Obama is grown and she has the right to choose what she wants to wear. And we all know that the only thing they're worried about is not getting the shine that they're used to getting from past First Ladies wearing their clothes ( Nancy Regan, Laura Bush and Hilary Clinton all wore his clothes when they were First Ladies). And maybe Michelle just likes Jason Wu's stuff better than the big names. Why does she have to be attacked for her personal style? Everything's being blamed on the recession now and I guess Oscar, Vera, and Donna have been affected like everyone else. So I guess like some people, they resort to irrationally lashing out at people. And I have to say this is not too smart. You want her to wear your clothes, right? So you insult her style choices to get her to do so? If I were Michelle Obama I would never wear any of these people's clothes because it's already apparent that they see her a just a marketing ploy. I have to give credit to Donna and Vera since they weren't as nasty with their comments. But Donna still said she hopes that "this is a phase" like Michelle's a 2-year-old or something. I mean, just thinking about it, none of them really design stuff that I think Michelle would wear anyway. Donna doesn't use enough color, Vera seems to focus on weddings, and Oscar's stuff is the closest to what I've seen her wear but it's kind of too mature for her. All of them are great designers, but get over yourselves, please!

I think Michelle Obama's effort to give some shine to other designers falls in line with the theme of her husband's vision for the presidency. Just like the president, she's giving people a chance who wouldn't have gotten a chance otherwise and I like that. People are going to have to accept the fact that this couple does things differently and I don't think the old way is coming back anytime soon. That evidently includes switching out the stand by First Lady designers with ones that are fresh and new. I have to admit that it feels weird to see the First Lady as a fashionista. On many occasions I have seen Michelle and been like that's hot...I need that in my life!And if Oscar and 'nem can't create the same out of the box effect for Michelle, why should she wear them? She shouldn't have to change her personal style just so you can sell some ball gowns.