Michelle Obama Reveals She Paid For All Her Clothing And Accessories As First Lady

Instead, let's all think about the stunning Michelle Obama and her impeccable style that made her such a fashion-forward first lady.

Why dwell on what we can't change, right? I'm not crying , you're crying.

Her enviable wardrobe and sense of style has extended far past her husband's two-term stint in the White House. Although she's tragically no longer the first lady, she's still out here wowing us with her flawless looks.

She recently shared an except from her upcoming memoir, "Becoming" with Elle magazine where she goes in-depth into how she made her White House style one of the country's most memorable.

And according to the former first lady, that style all came right from her own pocket.

"Sometime during Barack’s campaign, people began paying attention to my clothes," Michelle wrote. "Or at least the media paid attention, which provoked all manner of commentary across the internet."

She continued, "My pearls, my belts, my cardigans, my off-the-rack dresses from J. Crew, my apparently brave choice of white for an inaugural gown—all seemed to trigger a slew of opinions and instant feedback."

As she wrote, she tried to take this fixation on her wardrobe and "reframe it as an opportunity to learn, to use what power I could find inside a situation I'd never have chosen for myself."

Instead of being upset that she was appearing in magazines for her outfits rather than her philanthropy, Michelle said she hoped people flipping through the glossy pages to admire her clothes would also take notice of what she was doing and who she was with while she was wearing such spectacular pieces.

“I paid for all my own clothes and accessories—with the exception of some items like the couture-level gowns I wore to formal events, which were lent to me by the designers and would later be donated to the National Archives, thus adhering to White House ethics guidelines,” she wrote.

Her wardrobe consisted of designer labels ranging from J. Crew to Thakoon and Narciso Rodriguez. As Michelle said, she spent "more money than I’d spent on clothing ever before."

This, she explained, was in an effort to try and "prevent anyone from ascribing any sort of message to what I wore."

"It was a thin line to walk. I was supposed to stand out without overshadowing others, to blend in but not fade away."

She wrote, "I'd match a Michael Kors skirt with a T-shirt from Gap. I wore something from Target one day and Diane von Furstenberg the next."

"For me," she said, "my choices were simply a way to use my curious relationship with the public gaze to boost a diverse set of up-and-comers."

Together, the two women managed to piece together a stunning, unpredictable, and conversation-igniting wardrobe that kept both the curious and the critical satisfied throughout the eight years Michelle was first lady.

Certainly not an easy, nor a cheap feat, but a successful one nonetheless.

h/t: Elle, VICE