'' THE LOOK '' : BOOK REVIEW

MICHELLE OBAMA'S book tells about a lot more than just her wardrobe.

Michelle Obama's. '' The Look '' is a lot of things.

It is an Amazon best seller. It is a glossy photo book full of fashion. It is the story of the expectations that were heaped upon the first. Black first lady. 

And it is the third installment of a trilogy of books by Mrs. Obama that focus on self-realization, including her memoir, her advice book on overcoming adversity and, this time, a meditation on the power of clothes.

But most of all it is a historical document, capturing a pivotal moment in the evolution of the role of  first lady, when clothing became an even bigger part of the communication.

When, in other words, dress became an officially recognized part of the job. That's a bigger deal than it might appear.

Mrs. Obama was, after all, the first lady to have a stylist - or ''valet,'' as Meredith Koop was called - on the East Wing payroll, one employed to help define the visual strategy of the first lady for every occasion, from public hula hooping to major moments of pageantry.

Before the Obamas entered the White House, first ladies such as Jacqueline Kennedy, Nancy Reagan and Hillary Clinton may have worked with designers on their dresses for inaugural balls or state dinners, but the relationship was more grace and favor than structural. 

The World Students Society thanks Vanessa Friedman.