Michelle Obama embraces fashion

The pearl trend has been brewing for a while and is steadily picking up steam.

Double that for brooches.

And expect even more ethnic women to start getting their hair blown out a la Michelle Obama.

It's been decades since an incoming first lady has set the fashion world abuzz as Michelle Obama has.

Sure, she's accomplished, with a law degree from Harvard University and an impressive corporate career.

But what many people are talking about these days isn't how she gave up her hospital exec job for her husband's presidential ambitions, but what she wears, who designed it and where she got it.

What makes her so appealing is how she gracefully embraces the concept of mixing high and low style. One day you might see her in something she's bought off the rack at J. Crew or H&M. The next she's in contemporary fashion by Narciso Rodriguez, Isabel Toledo or Thakoon.

Yes, she shops at White House/Black Market. She also loves Ikram, the high-end Chicago boutique that sells Lanvin, Alexander McQueen and Rodarte.

Silver metallic ballet flats? She's got them. But she also loves Jimmy Choo heels, despite standing 5 feet, 11 inches.

She's a big fan of belts -- skinny and wide. And she's a whiz at placing vintage-style brooches on outfits in strategic locations most of us wouldn't have considered.

Boil it down and her look is one you might see at the grocery store-- polished and classic, yet down-to-earth and, as it turns out, somewhat easy to copy.

We take a look at some of Obama's best and brightest moments from the past year and how you might emulate a few of her looks for yourself.

pearl necklace

Early in the campaign, we often saw Obama in pearls. She hasn't been seen in them as much lately, but the look has captured attention and inspired imitators. Molly Anderson, who owns Mollybeads, the Raleigh jewelry company, says she has seen demand for pearl jewelry for the holidays and spring. Obama got her faux oversize pearls from Carolee ($50, carolee.com), but you can find a similar pearl necklace in stores all over the Triangle, including Vanity in North Hills and HandPicked in Cameron Village.

on-line

Obama's yellow skirt, top and cardigan outfit (pinned together with a brooch, mind you) from J. Crew was another example of her real-world, easily accessible style. She told late-night talk show host Jay Leno that she bought the outfit online, where she finds a lot of good deals. (And apparently Web traffic at J. Crew has increased more than 400 percent since then.) With two J. Crew stores in the Triangle, you can copy her style, but not her exact outfit. The look, however, is sold online. Buy the cardigan for $89.99, the silk tank for $99.99 and the pencil skirt for $148.

brooches

Store owners are seeing strong demand they expect to grow in the coming months. At Charlotte's at North Hills, customers are asking for brooches, hoping to recreate Obama's look, store manager Stephanie Harris says. She has happily obliged with brooches made by Raleigh jeweler Moon and Lola. Debbi Cochran, owner of Cat Banjo in Cameron Village, is stocking up as well for holiday gift-giving. Wear brooches as a statement piece on a lapel, on a belt or, like Obama did at the Democratic National Convention, as the centerpiece to make an outfit pop. Better still, try clasping several strands of pearls together with vivid brooch.

off the rack

She wore a White House/Black Market dress. Want more proof of how influential Obama's style has been on American women? After she wore the black-and-white leaf print tank dress on "The View" in June, the dress became a must-have piece and blew out of stores. Don't go looking for one in the Triangle. Area stores have long sold out. You can still get the dress at www.whitehouseblackmarket.com or $148, the same amount Obama paid.