Michelle Obama's New Skirt Proves She's Desperate To Stay On-Trend

On a recent episode of Michelle Obama's new "IMO" podcast with her brother, Craig Robinson, the former first lady had Keke Palmer on as a guest. While the "Akeelah and the Bee" star was her usual charming and hilarious self, we couldn't help but notice that Obama was rocking a new fashion piece that is very "in" right now: the maxi skirt. This type of clothing can be paired with any top, but can give the illusion of being a full-length dress, depending on how you style it. Obama's is tan-colored and went perfectly with her olive green cardigan.

This isn't the first time this month Obama switched up her wardrobe and added a little pizzazz to it. She spiced up her outfit game with a bold biker look, ditching her formal attire for a burnt orange jacket with lace-up detailing, giving serious "Western, but make it fashion" vibes. Clearly, we are living in a new era of Obama couture and she's pulling off the looks flawlessly.

However, what's causing this fashion upheaval? It may be due to all the divorce rumors swirling around about Michelle and Barack Obama, which they've tried to squash. For starters, the former president offered bland support of his wife's new podcast, speaking volumes. She hyped him up for eight years when he was running the country, but he couldn't put in a little more effort to cheer on her new venture? Tsk tsk.

Another possibility for the fashion makeover could be for the oldest reason in the book: making a noticeable cosmetic change after going through a breakup. While the Obamas haven't broken up, this could be Michelle's way of symbolically getting bangs and moving onto the next chapter of her life in a subtle way. Change your outside, start feeling better on the inside. Try as she might, Michelle can't hide the big stress point in her marriage to Barack.

But, hopefully her new look is just an homage to an old classic. Maxi skirt trends have ebbed and flowed many times over the years, so for Michelle Obama, the fact that they're 'in' again could just mean that she gets to pull one of her deserted garments out from the back of her closet. Or better yet, she gets to find a new way to style a familiar favorite.

Despite Michelle Obama clearly having her finger on the fashion pulse, she may also be experiencing some deja vu given how the maxi skirt has come, gone, and returned again as a fashion trend. According to The Independent, hemlines for dresses had just come back to the current floor-length style in the 1960s and 70s, and with Michelle being born in 1964, she may have childhood memories of the look. Floor length hems would disappear until the late 90s, meaning that by now Michelle has had multiple opportunities to transform alongside the fashion evolution of the maxi skirt — all the way up to the version she wore on her show.

Fashionista reported that we are currently coming out of another short hemline era, with the interest in styling longer lengths like a maxi skirt fueled by newfound admiration for Y2K-era looks. Celebrity stylist Mickey Freeman said, "I love the fact that maxi skirts can be sexy while still possessing a sense of mystique," adding that, "This versatile piece can be incorporated into a look appropriate for any of the four seasons." But there is no version of the maxi skirt more Y2K-coded than its denim iteration, which Vogue caught Jennifer Lopez, Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski, Julia Fox, and Madelyn Cline wearing. Meaning, Michelle will be in very trendy company if she decides to do denim next.