Ikram Goldman, Michelle Obama's go to gal (left in those beautiful tennis shoes)
Posted on 07/14/2010 10:24:08 AM PDT by OldDeckHand
It is no secret that the Obamas are advocates for free handouts, but even in her personal life Michelle Obama does not appear to have shied away from accepting free goodies. Numerous news outlets have reported on the first lady’s proclivity for high fashion. And Mrs. Obama’s pricey tastes have not precluded her ability to wear the outfits over which many women drool.
Rumors abound as to exactly how the first family obtains all the pomp and frills associated with Mrs. Obama’s wardrobe. Do the Obamas pay for it all themselves or are the first lady’s outfits given to her gratis? As with most things, it appears the answer lies somewhere in the middle.
Ikram Goldman, owner of the Chicago boutique Ikram, manages the majority of the first lady’s sartorial needs. Any designer wishing to dress Mrs. Obama must first go through Goldman, who remains exceedingly tight-lipped as to her dealings with the first lady. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Goldman donated $6,900 to Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, yet it is unclear whether Mrs. Obama pays for her services.
True to form, Goldman has yet to respond to any of The Daily Caller’s myriad attempts to contact her.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
You have the word transparency uncomfortably close to discussions about chewbakas wardrobe
Please.
No transparency for Michelle. No lace, no sheer fabrics, no tight-fitting gold-lame jumpsuits, nothing.
I want total opacity.
Maybe even a brick wall. Or a stone wall...
Behind the First Lady, a Shadow Stylist
Ikram Goldman
http://i36.tinypic.com/k4glk6.jpg
Despite the close study that people have made of Mrs. Obama’s style, it is not known that her wardrobe is being managed largely by a boutique owner in Chicago. * Ikram Goldman, whose store is called Ikram, has played an unprecedented role since the election, serving as gatekeeper between the fashion industry and the first lady.
Nonetheless, designers’ bills for Mrs. Obama’s clothes have been handled by Ms. Goldman, who, according to the designers Isabel Toledo and Mr. Wu, also first broached the subject of donating their garments to the Smithsonian Institution. Mr. Wu, who made the ivory chiffon inaugural gown, was not paid for that dress, he said, but he made it with the understanding that it would be donated if Mrs. Obama should end up wearing his design.
Ultimately four designers, including Narciso Rodriguez, had clothes chosen for different events. Each brand is also sold at Ikram, on North Rush Street in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. Although * Maria Pinto, a Chicago-based designer with a long association with Mrs. Obama and her own boutique, made clothes for the inaugural, none were picked. Ms. Pinto declined to comment. Several designers from New York were asked by Ms. Goldman to submit sketches for review by Mrs. Obama.
Oscar de la Renta sent 12 sketches, but “never heard another word” from Ms. Goldman or Mrs. Obama’s office, he said. A spokeswoman for Carolina Herrera said sketches were sent. While nothing was ordered by Mrs. Obama, a gown was made for Desirée Rogers, the new White House social secretary, and purchased through Ikram.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/fashion/12IKRAM.html?_r=1&ref=fashion
“It is strange to think that the wife of the leader of the free world would choose clothes from only one store, when there is a wealth of clothes out there from other designers, including me,” Arnold Scaasi said.
Mr. Scaasi, who has dressed first ladies since Mamie Eisenhower, though is perhaps best known for the blue velvet and silk inaugural gown of Barbara Bush, said he could not recall a time when designers did not have direct access to the White House. He was critical of Mr. Wu’s design for Mrs. Obama, because of its loose fit. “I don’t think the inaugural gown was flattering in any way,” he said. “She could have looked much better.”
Mrs. Obama’s predecessors typically went directly to Seventh Avenue for their clothes, bypassing stores, editors, stylists and others who might have an agenda of their own.
Ms. Goldman, who is 41 and who gave birth in December to twins, is considered a retail dynamo. It’s not uncommon for her to ask designers to make special pieces for customers, and many designers appreciate her taste, which combines vintage with more novel fashion. Her store, in both its Asiatic trappings and selection of high-end European, Japanese and American labels, is a good example of the curatorial shopping experience that fashion-conscious women like when hunting down $2,000 handbags and $6,000 crystal-studded coats. According to campaign-finance records, she and her husband, Josh Goldman, a lawyer, gave at least $6,900 to the Obama campaign.
Mrs. Obama is not a Hollywood star. Here, there is a risk: Can the first lady of the United States wear borrowed things, like the $17,313 pair of Loree Rodkin diamond earrings she wore to the “We Are One” concert, on Jan. 18, without appearing to endorse them and thus increase their value? The White House would not respond. It is unknown if those items were later sold.
******
Maria Pinto, Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey favorited fashion designer, is bankrupt
******
Ikram Goldman, Michelle Obama’s Informal Stylist, To Open Bigger Store?
ttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/19/ikram-goldman-michelle-ob_n_581781.html
HOPE it was donated to her because I would hate to think she paid perfectly good money for that stuff...
If she paid for it you can bet that it was with tax payer money not out of her own pocket.
You have my apologies.
Ikram Goldman, Michelle Obama's go to gal (left in those beautiful tennis shoes)
I must say, that is probably the best picture there is of Michelle. She looks good there, and it doesn’t show her lower half (always a plus with her).
The only unfortunate part is that she wore that to the Gulf Coast.
It looks a little too much like oil.
Ikram Goldman - red ruffles & leggings
And just why the hell shouldn't Michelle Obama be forced to explain how her clothes are paid for?! Sarah Palin was all but interrogated about her clothes.
“I was once so cheesed off at my hubby, I let him leave the house with his fly unzipped, a stain on the back of his shirt & a loose booger.”
LOL! That’s a good one!
none of the designers who have made clothes for the First Lady have had any direct contact with their White House client — all commissions, measurements, bills, and other directions have been mediated by Ikram, causing something of a controversy; the clothes that Obama has worn recently are predominantly from designers that Cathy Horyn points out, “Ikram sells and ultimately stands to benefit from” — Jason Wu, Isabel Toledo, Narciso Rodriguez, Proenza Schouler, Thakoon, and Mario Cornejo
Ikram Goldman
I thought there was an Emmett Kelly estate sale.
Ha! That is the woman I wondering if she was Goldman! She has been pictured here before. I remember her in a bright red dress and shoes with bows that made her look like a character in a Harry Potter movie.
>>Ikram Goldman - red ruffles & leggings<<
Someone ought to let the Michigan State Fair know its Fat Lady is missing...
Fall 2010 at Ikram's in Chicago.
Ikram Embraces Rodarte's torn Tartan, but Will Michelle Obama?
Although Ikram Goldman, the force behind the store and a recognizable presence at New York Fashion Week, gets the credit for introducing Obama to her favorite Alaia belts and avant-garde designers like Junya Watanabe, somehow Mrs. O has gotten away with only sporting one piece of Rodarte—a fall 2007 dress which she wore to meet Queen Raina of Jordan.
It was demure and conservative, but still it was Rodarte. And now that Ikram is spilling out her love for the crafty Mulleavy sisters, will Mrs. O soon be sporting torn tartan? Probably not, but do not underestimate the power of Ikram!
OMG! A Funeral Boob Belt!!
Big BUMP for post #18.
Nah. She pulls stuff randomly from her closet without bothering to turn on the light. sd
Does this massive tush make my butt look big?
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