Michelle Obama marked her first public outing in months with a boho-chic look at South by Southwest festival. It was a fitting vibe for the former First Lady to channel at the multi-day event, which is hosted annually at the nexus of modern Americana: Austin, Texas.
On Mar. 13, the 61-year-old took the stage at Austin Convention Center with her brother, college basketball coach Craig Robinson, to record a live taping of their new podcast. Dubbed IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, the conversational weekly show sees the sibling duo grapple with listener questions big and small. The topic for Thursday's session was transforming grief into hope—fitting, given the year she's had. What really renewed my will to carry on, though, was the best-selling author's crown braid, paired to a Rabanne set styled by Meredith Koop.
Obama's fabulous hairstyle created a halo around her face with rows of tightly wound brunette braids. Atop her head, several smaller braids were woven together to create a thicker braid that arched from ear to ear. Cascading curls fell to her waist behind her crown. As she walked, her ringlets billowed behind her like a windswept cowgirl riding into town on horseback.
Obama originally debuted her braids in August 2022 right before the long-awaited unveiling of her official White House portrait in the East Room. It felt like a symbolic choice for the former First Lady to don a more expressive style after years of sporting a perfect silk press while in office. The media mogul continued to wear braids on the 2024 presidential campaign trail with Kamala Harris, where Michelle frequently appeared to stump in support of the former Vice President's bid. At the Democratic National Convention, for instance, she pulled her micro-braids into a stunning fishtail braided updo with a deep side part.
That said, I'm partial to long and loose style she selected for South by Southwest. It complimented the Western flair of her burnt orange lace-up matching set so perfectly that I can't help but tip my hat. Rest assured, the yeehaw agenda is alive and well.
