Sasha & Malia Obama: Like Mother, Like Daughters

It was only a matter of time. That’s my view on the push from fashion mandarins to anoint Barack and Michelle Obama’s two beautiful daughters, Malia and Sasha, as tween trendsetters. While Michelle Obama’s fashion-icon-in-the-making status has been widely discussed on this blog, I’ve intentionally stayed mum on her 10-year-old and 7-year-old offspring as I'm not comfortable contributing to the inevitable fishbowl future of their lives post-election. But, prepubescent or not, there’s no denying the sisters' style influence. Specifically, it’s the two girls’ election outfits that are causing quite a stir, sartorially speaking (though, not in the controversy-sparking sense Michelle’s has).

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“Ten-year-old Malia Obama’s election night outfit—a £70 silk dress by relatively unknown label Biscotti Inc—has sold out immediately and the label has to order more from manufacturers in Vietnam. And Gerson & Gerson Inc who made her seven-year-old sister Sasha’s £45 black babydoll dress, have experienced the ‘Obama effect’ too,” reports Grazia. The phenomenon is without a doubt noteworthy, especially considering both companies are American. No family in recent history seems to have had such an influential effect on the fashion market this quickly. And, given the fact that the US retail market has been particularly hard-hit by the economic crisis, apparently President-Elect Obama’s “yes we can” mantra might in fact apply to on the homefront too—as long as the Obama family continues solely sporting American designers.