"An Obama Fashion Bump" by Susan Saulny

Appeared in the New York Times August 13, 2008

Photo by Sally Ryan for The New York Times

Of course there are people dreaming about the presidential inaugural ball in January, two couples in particular. But one dreamer is not a usual suspect.
“I definitely see a light color and something kind of fitted in the torso and fuller in the skirt,” said Maria Pinto, a longtime designer and Chicago native, her thoughts turning to the dress Michelle Obama, a longtime friend and client, might wear if her husband is victorious in November. “I bet every American designer has fantasies of what she’d look like.”
Some more than others. Though she is not Mrs. Obama’s exclusive dressmaker, Ms. Pinto, a designer known for luxuriant evening wear, is a favorite of Mrs. Obama, who wore buzzed-about Pinto creations when her husband announced his candidacy and on the night of the notorious fist-bump before his speech claiming the Democratic nomination, among other occasions.
As Mrs. Obama’s fashion presence has risen, so has that of Ms. Pinto, a former Geoffrey Beene assistant. After 16 years in the business, she opened her first boutique Tuesday night in the arty West Loop, near downtown Chicago. Was the timing fortuitous?
Ms. Pinto said the shop was in the works for at least a year. “We’re not Balenciaga, we’re not Gucci,” she said, “so it’s great that there are women that are free thinkers that come to us and help us establish the brand.”
Ms. Pinto, 51, fluttered about in a white strapless cocktail dress from her label adorned with sequins and ostrich feathers. Her guests — art patrons, models and business executives — numbered in the hundreds. (A high-collared alpaca coat for $2,300 garnered much attention.)
But the woman responsible for the recent fanfare was absent, as Mrs. Obama was with her family in Hawaii. “She loves what I do, and I’m lucky for that,” said Ms. Pinto, whose pieces up to now have been sold nationally in department stores like Barneys and Saks Fifth Avenue.
She met Mrs. Obama a few years ago through a friend. “Michelle came in just like everyone else and said: ‘I need a few dresses. I need a suit for work,’ ” Ms. Pinto said.
While she does point out things Mrs. Obama might like, Ms. Pinto said she has never dressed her for events. Of the purple dress worn the night Mr. Obama claimed the nomination, Ms. Pinto said it was not planned. “Michelle is not scheming like her wardrobe should make certain points.”