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Michelle Obama Knockoffs to Hit Stores in April

We knew someone would knock off whatever Michelle Obama wore on inauguration night, or rather reproduce it to put it politely. Seeing such beautiful original pieces remade cheaply makes us feel disappointed in the same way the Pride & Prejudice movie starring Keira Knightley did, since it so wasn’t as good as the A&E miniseries of 1995. ABS by Allen Schwartz is rushing to get a $300 white one-shoulder dress that looks like the Jason Wu one Michelle wore on inauguration night and a $200 ivory sheath dress inspired by her daytime Isabel Toledo ensemble to stores by April. Schwartz decided to go with ivory instead of lemongrass because he doesn’t think lemongrass is a shade most women would wear, which is ironic because the whole point of that outfit was the color.

He won’t reproduce Michelle’s polarizing election-night Narciso Rodriguez dress because he doesn’t think shoppers will buy that. (Yeah, we don’t see 17-year-olds wanting that for prom, either.) Schwartz also couldn’t give a damn what Jill Biden wears. He says she and the Vice President “could be the most unrecognized couple in the history of the White House” with “so much spotlight” on Barack and Michelle. “It’s like, ‘Jill who?’” We think Jill looks lovely most of the time, but we can understand where he’s coming from because we felt pretty much the same way about the Super Bowl.

The Obama Effect on Fashion Continues [Heard on the Runway/WSJ]

Michelle Obama Knockoffs to Hit Stores in April