Hail to the sheath

How does one measure the first lady’s first 100 days of service?

In hemlines, color palettes and designer labels, of course.

Michelle Obama may be the most unexpected style icon our country has had in the White House in recent history, but style icon she is. Since the Yes We Can campaign began in earnest, fans have followed her carefully chronicled outfits with feverish devotion, even as they acknowledged the danger of putting style over substance. Though she has managed to win over many, Obama’s fashion choices also have been the target of a little friendly criticism.

“While she has a nice, clean look that is modern, there is a balance that is needed to dress more appropriately for certain occasions,” said Michele Aquino, former vice president and general manager of Saks Fifth Avenue Atlanta, commenting on clothing Obama chose for her recent European tour. “I felt she needed to represent the best of the American fashion industry as it exists today.”

But with the first lady’s favorability ratings at 76 percent according to a late March Washington Post-ABC News survey, subsequent fawning reports on her style from the national and international press came as no surprise to her fans.

“I love the fact that she is able to take very practical, everyday pieces from what most people would consider everyday places and mix it with high-end fashion. I was like, ‘Finally somebody gets it,’ ” said Tamara Kimble, vice president of marketing and external affairs for the Dawson Co. “The fact that she has chosen to mix her fashion humanizes her.”

If the world had not noticed Michelle Obama’s style before, it paid attention one night in June when she slipped onto the national stage in a purple sheath dress by Maria Pinto, the ubiquitous Azzedine Alaia belt and a thick strand of pearls. In flowed the comparisons to Jackie Kennedy, launching a whirlwind ride in style:

>Young designer Jason Wu gets a boost when Obama wears his single-shoulder gown to the inaugural balls. He later earns an emerging designer nomination from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

> Obama’s mixing of mass-market retailer J. Crew into her wardrobe helps elevate the company from midrange preppy to a higher style sector.

> While breaking ground for the White House vegetable garden, speculation about whether Obama’s black biker boots are Jimmy Choo threatens to steal the spotlight.

> The second Vogue cover to feature a first lady belongs to Obama, who also managed to become the first person to share the magazine cover of a certain other Ms. O (as in Winfrey).

> Obama’s G-20 couture, heavy on Alaia and up-and-coming American designers, wins mostly positive reviews from Europeans and sets off a designer duel when critical comments from Oscar de la Renta are picked up in the press. Score another point for Obama when the designer later apologized on girlie gabfest “The View.”

Virtually every industry from health and fitness (Michelle Obama biceps workouts abound) to cosmetics (Lady Obama lipstick by Khuraira) has courted cash by leveraging Obama’s high style quotient.

“People just can’t help themselves,” said local philanthropist and former boutique owner Ginny Brewer. “She is a young, attractive woman and the first African-American first lady we’ve ever had, so everyone is paying attention [to her style]. They paid attention somewhat in the past, but maybe the first ladies’ looks have been more predictable and narrow. Michelle is not afraid to take a chance,” Brewer said.