Michelle Obama Is En Vogue!

(Photo: Annie Leibovitz/Vogue.com)

Vogue magazine has announced that First Lady Michelle Obama will grace the cover of their March issue!

Mrs. Obama (or FLOTUS as she is affectionately called in the blogosphere) looks elegant wearing a magenta silk sheath dress designed by none other than Jason Wu, who also created her beautiful Inaugural gown. The cover and photos for the eight-page spread were taken by famed photographer, Annie Leibovitz in the Hay Adams Hotel where the Obamas stayed before the Inauguration. The cover story is written by my friend-in-my-head, Andre Leon Talley, Vogue's Editor-at-Large.

Beginning with Lou Hoover, it's been a Vogue tradition to photograph first ladies, however Mrs. Obama will be the second first lady to appear on the cover. The first was Hillary Rodham Clinton who appeared on the cover of the December 1998 issue.

Mrs. Obama looks absolutely STUNNING and ELEGANT! I loved that she didn't use a stylist, opting to choose the outfits (which include ensembles from J. Crew, Narcisco Rodriguez and Jason Wu) herself for the photo shoot.

"She doesn't need any help. She loves fashion and knows what works for her," Talley said. "She's never had a conversation with me about, `What do you think?' or `How did this look? And I'm glad for that."(Source)

Looking at this cover of the First Lady makes me a little emotional. For so long, Black women as a whole were never looked upon as the standard of beauty, but brown-skin and ebony complexioned sistas in particular have been marginalized to playing in the background, and sadly, ridiculed for their looks. I'm sure we all have stories of being rejected for our features. Now, we have an undeniable, identifiable Black woman with curves who is now looked upon as an icon of fashion and beauty.

The issue will hit the newsstands in New York and Los Angeles on Feb. 17th and nationwide on Feb. 24th, so be sure to get yourself a copy and make this the biggest selling issue ever!

UPDATE: More Pics From Michelle Obama's Vogue Photo Shoot!

(Photo: Annie Leibovitz/Vogue.com)

Mrs. Obama wears a Narcisco Rodriguez black dress and black kitten heels at the Hay Adams Hotel in Washington, DC.

(Photo: Annie Leibovitz/Vogue.com)

The First Lady dons an ensemble from J.Crew consisting of a salmon wool cardigan, ruffled blouse and tweed skirt. These pieces are from J.Crew's Fall 2009 collection and are not yet available for purchase.

Hair is by Johnny Wright and makeup by Ingrid Grimes-Myles.