Michelle Obama’s Tailor Shares Her Trick Behind the Inauguration Coat
This week proved that when it comes to Inauguration Day fashion, coats reigned supreme. There was Ella Emhoff's sparkly Miu Miu number, the Biden granddaughters' monochrome looks, Dr. Jill Biden's elegant blue Markarian jacket, Vice President Kamala Harris's great-nieces adorable fuzzy tributes, and last, but not least, Michelle Obama's resplendent Sergio Hudson coat.
The former First Lady is a modern style icon, and that is in large part thanks to her tailor Christy Rilling (who also made Obama's black silk mask). Rilling recently posted a video on Instagram revealing one of her couture tricks to keeping Obama's look unflappable in the wintry Washington, D.C. weather.
"Wind is always a factor," Rilling says. "Meredith Koop and I just wanted to keep it safe to make sure she was, as she always is, completely flawless." Rilling's trick is a throwback to old-school tailoring and costume design, in which weights are sewn along the hem of a garment to ensure it hangs straight. Rilling used to keep silver dollars on hand in fashion school for this purpose, but in her Instagram tutorial, she revealed that quarters work just as well. She sews two quarters into four pouches and affixes them to the perimeter of the coat so it won't fly up. It is an easy project that even beginner sewers can master. "For good luck I always put them in 'head's up,'" Rilling explains. With tricks like this, luck isn't needed, but a little extra presidential power always helps!
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