Michelle Obama Pairs Her 'Call Her Daddy' Tell-All Interview With a Throwback to Her College Style
The interview is worth a listen and a look.
Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy interview with Michelle Obama on January 21 began with an outfit breakdown. "This is a Meredith Koop original," Obama shared, shouting out her longtime stylist. For the podcast, the dynamic duo recreated a decades-old Obama look from her Princeton days, with head-to-toe Isabel Marant.
Following fresh-off-the-runway finds from Chanel, Thom Browne, Prada, and Loewe on her The Look book tour, Obama finally sourced herself for style inspiration. First, Koop layered Isabel Marant's $720 Aurora Shirt—a pinstripe button-down—beneath the on-sale Devina Vest made of ribbed, ruby red wool. In lieu of the vest's zipper, an oversize, charm-embellished pin connected its deep, U-shaped neckline. The pin's mismatched pendants made her décolletage sparkle.
Obama's jeans hailed from Isabel Marant's catalog, too. The wide-leg Stely Pants started with a fitted waistband, plus a visible zipper similar to her Devina Vest. Contrasting red topstitching along the belt loops, pleats, and pockets made the dark denim feel slightly patriotic. Isabel Marant upped the Americana charm with slouchy red leather boots, which Obama traded for a suede black pair.
A few pages into her third book, The Look, readers are greeted by the circa-1980s blueprint of Obama's Call Her Daddy podcast outfit. The then-sophomore posed on Princeton's New Jersey campus in a white button-down, which peeked out from beneath a bright red sweater. Obama's dark-wash bottoms were a perfect shade match to her fitted jean jacket.
Her 2026 self opted out of the latter Levi's topper, as well as her slouchy "sports sack." Obama called it "the happening bag" in a Nov. 2025 interview with Vogue. "I think it was one of those rare purchases that I bought with my own money," she said. Koop complemented Obama's rolled-up sleeves, which she called "a tactic" because they were too short. "Hashtag tall girl problems," she said. "That I had to employ with almost every outfit."
Obama wore a similar outfit formula during her Princeton University days.
Some habits never fade: Obama rolled up her sleeves on Call Her Daddy, too. It's a marked shift from her style in the White House. Once Barack Obama became president, the former First Lady's Princeton and Harvard Law School style traded places with polished, diplomatic dress. She entered 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with "a plan and a strategy in place for how fashion, just like everything we did in the White House, would have meaning and impact," Obama told Cooper in today's interview.
Still, "my shoes became the most important thing about me," she said, referencing the media's focus on her First Lady fashion. "I shied away from the fashion conversation, but I knew I didn't completely control it." She recognized that women "have to think a lot more" about the "messages we're sending, giving, and receiving" through clothes. "My husband wasn't doing that; same suit, white shirt, different tie."
Obama is new to Isabel Marant's Parisian, boho-chic aesthetic, though she pulled it off with ease in her latest appearance. You'd think the brand created the outfit just for the former First Lady, but each separate is still shoppable (contrary to her other book tour looks).
Unless you have a stylist like Koop on speed dial, sourcing Spring 2026 selects from Chanel and Loewe is next to impossible. Take advantage of copying Obama while you can, because this rarely happens.
Shop Styles Inspired by Michelle Obama's 'Call Her Daddy' Outfit
