Shuesday: Flat Ladies

Why are Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni wearing flats all the time?

I celebrate the "end of Wife Wear,"

Although Nancy Reagan famously wore red and Barbara Bush chose royal blue, the spirit has been the same since Jacqueline Kennedy set the gold standard of tailored coat and pillbox hat in 1961. That first lady may have looked her most glamorous in a silk headscarf, a pair of Capri pants, bare legs and ballerinas — but in public she was obliged to look “appropriate.” (...) From a black cardigan with the British prime minister at 10 Downing Street to a sparkly knit from the sportswear brand J. Crew with his wife, the message was clear: not just that a White House wardrobe need not be expensive, but that it does not have to be formal. Only a string of pearls links Mrs. Obama with any kind of historic dressing up.

It is no secret where Mrs. Obama finds her wardrobe: via the Chicago boutique Ikram. But although she exudes pride both in being the wife of the first African-American president and as a mother of two girls, the only fashion message she seems eager to convey is that she is her own woman. Hats off (especially pill boxes and “My Fair Lady” millinery) to women who fought for equality by grabbing pantsuits from their male equals. But the first lady is making her own contribution to fashion history by dressing as a woman of strong character — rather than as a presidential wife.

But I still think it's weird that these two, strong, tall women (with great legs) wear flats consistently when in the company of their executive spouses.

(...) in their everyday lives, the stylish first ladies share one sartorial signature item: a preference for flat footwear. Granted, both women already stand tall: Michelle Obama is 5'11" while Bruni-Sarkozy, a former model,is said to be 5'9". President Barack Obama stands 6'1" 1/2, but President Nicolas Sarkozy is a mere 5'5", which helps explain why his wife would wear flats. (emphasis mine)

How does this explain it, exactly? Bruni owns heels, but the photo above included the note that Bruni was "away from her husband" that day.

I'm not saying that it's impossible that both women genuinely prefer flats. What I'm saying is that they both have more style in their baby fingers than ninety percent of women in the world, and the other ninety percent know that heels are for dress up occasions. And I can't believe that Obama and Sarkozy, two national leaders, confident enough to have married tall women, would censor their footwear (not that the ladies would stand for that). So what's the story?