Michelle Obama's Purple Reigns Supreme on the High Street

Haven't the Obamas done well these past few weeks? Just on Friday I heard a presenter on Fox "News" admit, with pain palpable, that it was "guaranteed" Barack would be "at least 10 points up" in the polls. On Fox News!

But accolades from rightwing propagandists are nothing compared with this. Kate Moss is over; Sienna who? The UK high street has decreed that this season's fashion icon is none other than ... Michelle Obama. Sort of.

It's not so much Obama who has prompted such adulation, but a very specific dress of hers: the purple shift she wore in Minnesota in June when her husband clinched the Democratic nomination and she, famously, did the fist-bump with him.

Now, it is no exaggeration to say that this dress caused near hysteria among the fash pack: it prompted the New York Times to write an adoring piece about her wardrobe under the headline "She Dresses to Win". The paper ruminated that the color was "symbolically rich, even if its message may have been so subtle as to be subliminal".

Symbolism, schmymbolism; that colour looked hot on her, something the high street noted, too. Purple has long been neglected and Obama reminded the world just how flattering it can be. Now everyone's suddenly got a bit of regal Michelle purple (which is very different from Ribena purple). Reiss, for example, has tricked out a gorgeous strapless evening dress in the shade.

But let's face it, it was really about the dress as a whole. For those who can't afford the $900 version by Maria Pinto, as worn by Obama, there are many other options. Benetton has a similar one in wool for £41.90, while Banana Republic's version goes for £85. The best is probably from Whistles, in the first collection by Jane Shepherdson, former savior of Topshop, for £175.

It will be interesting to see if Obama's elevation to the pantheon of style icons encourages the fashion industry to improve its notoriously horrendous record when it comes to hiring models who are anything other than Caucasian. Frankly, I wouldn't bet the house on it. But hey, Obama has already brought purple in from the cold and she's not even in the White House (yet). Who knows what other subjugated shades she might yet redeem.