Michelle vs. Jackie
As the Obamas arrive in Indonesia, Kate Betts looks back at how Michelle's style choices in India measure up to Jackie's famous 1962 trip to the subcontinent—when she took first lady fashion global—and finds that Mrs. Obama is lifting style diplomacy to a whole new level. Plus, see pictures of both women's trip wardrobes.
Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images ,JIM WATSON
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama toured through Humayun's Tomb in New Delhi on Sunday. She looked radiant in a blue custom dress by Peter Som.
Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images
Jacqueline Kennedy stood in front of the Taj Mahal with Indian hosts at Agra, India, on March 15,1962.
AP Photo
President Obama shook hands with Pratibha Patil and Devisingh Patil before the state dinner in New Delhi on Monday. Michelle Obama wore a Rachel Roy sable Moroccan tunic and Dune velvet skirt.
Prakash Singh / AFP / Getty Images
Kennedy toured the polo grounds of Jaipur in a blue sheath dress and white gloves.
Art Rickerby, Time Life Pictures / Getty Images
Obama kicked off her ballet flats to skip through hopscotch with schoolchildren in Mumbai. She wore a J. Crew top and floral skirt, and an Erickson Beamon brooch.
Punit Paranjpe / AFP / Getty Images
Jackie Kennedy held a silver encased coconut to her forehead in the Rajasthani mark of luck and respect as she is welcomed at the Jaipur Airport during her tour of India.
Art Rickerby, Time Life Pictures / Getty Images
Michelle Obama celebrated Diwali by dancing with schoolchildren in Mumbai on Sunday in a tweed dress, a bright pink sweater, and a necklace by Erickson Beamon.
AP Photo
Kennedy rode an elephant with her sister Lee Radziwill on their trip to India in 1962.
Art Rickerby, Time Life Pictures / Getty Images
To honor Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday, the first lady wore a Dries Van Noten skirt, black long-sleeved T-shirt, and a brooch by Alexis Bittar.
Gurinder Osan / AP Photo
Kennedy fed milk from a bottle to an 11-month-old elephant named Urvashi in the garden of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's home in New Delhi on March 15, 1962. The baby elephant was a gift from Nehru. Standing next to Kennedy is the prime minister's daughter Indira Gandhi.
AP Photo
Michelle Obama wore a delicate gray silk dress embellished with several buttons as she disembarked Air Force One in Mumbai on Sunday. She paired the look with a triple strand of pearls and metallic kitten heels.
Mustafa Quraishi / AP Photo
Indian Protocol Chief S.K. Banerjee with Mrs. John F. Kennedy on her goodwill tour in 1962.
Art Rickerby, Time Life Pictures / Getty Images
On the way to India, the first lady strode across Andrews Air Force base in a blue dress by Moschino, knee-high boots, and a distressed camel-colored jacket.
Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP Photo
Kennedy arrived at the Palace of the Maharajah in Udaipur, India, wearing an apricot silk ziberline dress by Oleg Cassini in 1962.
John F. Kennedy Library and Museum / AP Photo
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