Michelle Obama publishes fashion book of her best looks amid divorce rumors that won't go away
Featuring 'more than 200 photographs, including never-before-published images,' The Look will allow the former first lady to reclaim her story, she said.
'During our years in the White House, people were constantly commenting on my looks and dissecting my clothing choices. That's part of why I decided to write this book now: it's time for me to reclaim my story—what fashion and beauty mean to me—in my own words,' Michelle Obama said in a statement from her publisher.
Crown Publishing will release the coffee-table style book on Nov. 4, 2025. It will retail for $50.
The former first lady's memoir 'Becoming,' is one of the best selling political memoirs in history.
Michelle Obama became a style icon during her eight years in the White House. She was featured on the cover of Vogue three times.
Her clothing choices were dissected endlessly. Her biceps, shown to perfect in sleeveless sheath dresses, were admired and envied.
The then-first lady perfected the high-low look, pairing a pricey designer dress with a cardigan from JCrew.
The forthcoming book will focus on how Michelle Obama used 'the beauty and intrigue of fashion to draw attention to her message,' the publisher said.
But she had her controversial moments in the White House, including being heavily criticized for wearing a $450 pair of designer Lanvin sneakers to a food kitchen.
At the end of her White House tenure, New York Times' fashion critic Vanessa Friedman summed up Obama's style: 'Mrs. Obama understood that fashion was a means to create an identity for an administration. But unlike any other first lady, instead of seeing it as part of a uniform to which she had to conform, with the attendant rules and strictures that implies, she saw it as a way to frame her own independence and points of difference, add to her portfolio and amplify her husband's agenda.'
The fashion tome will also feature the voices of Meredith Koop, Obama's longtime stylist, as well as her makeup artist Carl Ray, hairstylists Yene Damtew and Njeri Radway, and many of the designers who have dressed her.
Obama has seen more creative freedom since leaving the White House. She started a podcast with her brother and signed a Netflix deal with husband.
For years she was frank about being a 'reluctant' political spouse - but she pulled back even more earlier this year when she decided against going to the late President Jimmy Carter's funeral in January.
She then skipped President Donald Trump's second swearing-in ceremony on January 20th, leaving her husband to go solo.
That set the internet on fire with speculation.
Michelle Obama addressed the matter during a taping of actress Sophia Bush's podcast in April.
'That's the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people. I mean, so much so that this year people were, you know, they couldn't even fathom that I was making a choice for myself that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing,' Obama said.
'That this couldn't be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right?' she continued.
Obama added: 'That's what society does to us.'
'We start actually, finally going, "What am I doing? Who am I doing this for?" And if it doesn't fit into the sort of stereotype of what people think we should do, then it gets labeled as something negative and horrible.'
The Obamas have been married for 32 years but have faced ongoing rumors about their marriage status over the last several months.
Barack and Michelle Obama are seen together for the first time in six months as they were seen leaving The Lowell Hotel restaurant in Manhattan
In May, the couple were spotted out on a date night in NYC.
The former president and first lady were seen together in public for the first time in six months while leaving The Lowell Hotel restaurant surrounded by an entourage of secret service agents.
Dressed in black dress and black heels she appeared to flash a broad smile to onlookers and cameras. Her hair was tied back in a braid and she carried a small black clutch.
Trailing just behind, Barack, 63, looked more pensive with his expression harder to read - tight-lipped, serious, and unusually reserved.
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