9. MICHELLE OBAMA (First Lady to Barack Obama of the USA, 2009-present)
Life stats: Obama's youthful figure and vibe belies the fact that she's already 46. (She looks about 10 years younger!) A graduate of Harvard Law School she's as accomplished as her husband US President Barack Obama.
Style statement: Not since Jacqueline Kennedy has a First Lady shown off such fashion forward picks. She patronizes US designers like Michael Kors, Jason Wu, Thakoon Panichgul, and Isabel Toledo. She is also known for wearing pearls, brightly colored cardigans, and sleeveless sheaths that emphasize her well-toned arms.
Pop culture points: Vanity Fair put her on their 10 of the World's Best Dressed People two years in a row–in 2007 and 2008. She also landed the cover of US Vogue's March 2009 issue.
10. SVETLANA MEDVEDEVA (First Lady to Dmitry Medvedev of Russia, 2008-present)
Life stats: This brassy blond used to work as an economist. She became Russia's First Lady in 2008.
Style statement: ReadRussia.com's Katya Tylevich writes, that Medvedeva is "a regular fixture at benefits and fashion shows" and that she is "partial to couture gowns." She is known for her fabulous jewelry, her color-coordinated ensembles, and her brushed-up hair. She loves wearing stilettos.
Pop culture points: When her husband was declared president in 2008, Expert magazine, one of Russia's leading publications, predicted that the First Lady "will probably be trying to set the tone in the country's fashion scene."
First Lady Apparent?
When you've got a face and figure like Shalani Soledad's, there's little need for makeup or bling.SHALANI SOLEDAD
Life stats: Soledad, 30, is a councilor of Valenzuela City and the girlfriend of the Philippines' next president, Senator Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III.
Style statement: If Soledad has fashionista tendencies, it doesn't show yet. She is always seen in jeans and T-shirts or simple shift dresses and tops and with sensible slacks. Her accessories are as low-key as she is. We can't even tell what brands they are. They could be tiangge finds and it wouldn't matter–she makes her trademark simplicity her own style. At President Aquino's proclamation on June 9, she sat unobtrusively in the back row beside Ogie Alacsid wearing a simple black sleeveless shift dress with a slim belt with her hair pulled back by a headband studded with oh-so-subtle (hopefully faux) diamantes. Not a bad simplicity-with-a-bit of-sparkle fashion statement to project on her beau's first important official occasion. The dress also appears to be the same one seen in the video above (1:01 into the clip) taken a few months before the May 2010 elections.
Pop culture points: The Philippines has not had a first lady for close to a decade, thus the clamor for Aquino, 50, to finally get hitched. It sure doesn't hurt that his candidate for First Lady is a slim mestiza with good skin and hair and a sweet demeanor. She probably just needs some time with a stylist to amp up her fashion picks.
Soledad in a black shift dress, sparkly headband and heart-shaped drop earrings at boyfriend Noynoy Aquino's proclamation.
Art by Warren Espejo.
Image credits: Mr. Dowling.com (Evita Peron), SwampPolitics.com (Michelle Obama), PhotoTraveler.ph (Imelda Marcos), DiplomatDC (Jacqueline Kennedy), and CarolineintheCity.com (Carla Bruni-Sarkozy).
