Who Wears Short Shorts? Michelle Obama, That's Who

Breaking news: Most Americans don’t mind seeing their First Lady in shorts!

Forget the economy and the health care debate, this week the media was focused on Michelle Obama's gams, exposed in loose-fitting, mid-thigh shorts during her family trip to the Grand Canyon, and then again when she stepped off Air Force One this weekend. Although some in the press fretted that Obama crossed a line of decorum, an overwhelming number of Americans supported her sartorial decision, scoring a victory for casual dressers nationwide.

The Chicago Tribune polled readers online and 80.6 percent gave the shorts a “thumbs up.” Nearly 300,000 people voted in a Today show poll, and 83 percent declared, “It’s fine! People are overreacting! There’s nothing immodest about shorts during an outdoor family vacation.”

“I think in many ways it’s symbolic,” Washington Post fashion editor and staff writer Robin Givhan told Today. “We don’t see first ladies looking informal, and I think it’s a wonderful thing that she’s bringing informality to that position."

Givhan smartly pointed out that even though the mini-controversy does seem overblown, the debate about her fashion selection does make some sense, because “we’re still grappling with what the first lady is supposed to be all about.”

Good point. Michelle Obama technically wasn’t elected to anything and her role is somewhat undefined. However, most people can probably agree that the First Lady should be a role model for the country, and it’s good to know a role model doesn’t need to be formal at all times. In other words, actions speak louder than clothes.

“I think people are starting to see her as someone who’s breaking a lot of barriers and boundaries in terms of fashion, in terms of what people think is appropriate for a first lady to wear,” Nia-Malika Henderson, White House reporter for Politico.com, told Today.

That may be true. Regardless of the reason, we’re just glad we don’t have to be embarrassed to wear our shorts, either.

Photo courtesy of Joyce N. Boghosian via Wikimedia Commons