When Dan Lawson sat down to watch Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, he expected talk of economic policy and unemployment figures. Instead, he got a big dose of déjà vu.
“I was watching the speech, and when [Michelle Obama] came walking out, my first thought was, ‘Wow, she looks great, she always looks great,’ ” he says. “Then I realized, ‘Oh, that’s a Michael Kors suit. Wait a minute, I really know that Michael Kors suit. We used it on the show!’ ”
Lawson, the longtime costume designer for CBS’ hit drama “The Good Wife,” had, in fact, dressed the show’s star, Julianna Margulies, in the same tweed Michael Kors suit jacket for the 100th episode of the show back in December 2013.
“This suit immediately brings the attention to the wearer’s face,” says Lawson, who also thought it was a perfect fit for the first lady. “The suit has one foot in the classic and one foot in the modern, and [Michelle] looked really great in it.”
Twitter quickly picked up on the double take, with side-by-side photos of the first lady and Margulies’ character, lawyer Alicia Florrick, spreading across the Internet. It was hard not to wonder: Was the first lady really inspired by a popular fictional TV character?
I think that it does give a sense of familiarity and, consequently, you maybe feel a little closer to her.
- 'The Good Wife' costume designer Dan Lawson on the benefits of Michelle Obama wearing an outfit previously seen on his show's character Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies)
“That suit’s probably been in her closet for quite a while,” surmises Britt Aboutaleb, the managing editor of Yahoo Style. “I doubt her team even knew that it had been worn on TV, and I’m not sure it’s their responsibility to pay attention to something like that. They have more important things to worry about.”
While Lawson hopes that the first lady and her family tune in to the program, which was nominated for best TV drama at the Golden Globes earlier this month, he, too, doubts Michelle knew about the reference.
But he does think the coincidence could be beneficial for both parties.
“I don’t think [her duplicating the outfit] makes somebody like her more or less, but I think that it does give a sense of familiarity and, consequently, you maybe feel a little closer to her,” he explains.
It isn’t surprising to see the two women wearing similar ensembles. Florrick, after all, is a lawyer in Chicago, the city the Obamas previously called home before moving into the White House. And don’t forget, Michelle was a lawyer herself before quitting her job to assist her husband on the campaign trail.
“The women are similar in a few ways,” Lawson notes. “They’re both very intelligent women and they wear intelligent clothes. And in a sea of men, they are not afraid to be a little feminine. We’re at a point in our world where you don’t have to look masculine and put on a man’s suit to convey power.”
According to Lawson, Margulies was also thrilled to see the first lady step out in the Michael Kors ensemble.
“We both feel honored, and clever that we picked this outfit and then the president’s wife picked it a year later! We’re very excited about that. [Margulies] was very proud.”
This isn’t the first time that Lawson has seen his wardrobe choices from the show play out in real life.
In March 2012, Kate Middleton appeared at a public event in a blue L.K. Bennett suit — less than two months after Lawson had called one in for Margulies. The suit made its “Good Wife” debut in Season 4, Episode 2.
But, regardless of whether Michelle was aware of her pop-culture reference, Aboutaleb points out that channeling such a popular TV character ultimately did her powerful hubby a favor.
“If it means one more person will read the transcript or watch the president’s speech, that’s great. Anything that gets people to pay attention to the real issues.”