Good luck, Michelle Obama. It's not enough to be reminiscent of Jackie Kennedy; now you have to sell clothes like her, except in a huge recession.

The thing is, everyone seems to agree that one of the best things about Obama's style is that it's free-spirited and individualist. "She has the chutzpah to put it out there regardless of what anybody says," designer Thakoon Panichgul told the Times today.

Which is great in a down economy, when people can't be beholden to labels. But good luck trying to be creative and loose with the high expectations of the down-and-out U.S. fashion industry on your shoulders, Mrs. First Lady. People hope Obama will move both high-end designer clothes and off-the-rack stuff, since she freely mixes the two according to the Times. She's also young:

"She's like 25 years younger than the last few first ladies, and her age opens her up to a more youthful approach," the designer Anna Sui said.

Or maybe she'll just sell a lot of gym memberships:

"Actually, her taste is very conservative, kind of jock-preppy, a version of a safe American WASP way of dressing," said Andrew Bolton, curator of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. "But what is truly compelling about her is her body. She has this athletic, commanding and confident presence that is very American." She may look great in a shift dress, he said, "but her body is so strong that I end up forgetting what she's wearing much of the time."