First lady style?

On the campaign trail, Michelle Obama didn't do bulbous pearls or St. John's suits. She shops off the runway and the rack. She goes for intense color. And old time White House favorite Oscar De La Renta is replaced with a less known Chicago designer.

But now she's First Lady.

And that means more importance will be placed on Michelle's frocks. What she wears is a part of history, since the president is sure to be photographed everywhere he goes and wifey is sure to be on his arm.

With that in mind, we asked a few of Tampa Bay's fashion elite this question: What do you think Michelle Obama's First Lady style should be?

Patrina Miller, stylist at Against the Grain Barbershop and freelance makeup artist whose work includes Good Morning Philadelphia, Hype Hair Magazine and a cadre of music videos.

"What I appreciate about her style is that it's not all over the place. Her lines are very clean cut. The dress she wore to the whitehouse -- I loved that dress! (pictured bottom right) There was nothing to it, no patterns or anything, but it stood out. Reds look really nice on her and blues would be good, as would greens and turqouise. As for designers I see her in Armani and Calvin Klein. They stick true to clean cut lines. I like Armani because it doesn't frazzle you with stuff hanging and dangling. I also appreciate the fact that her hair looks healthy. That's the road more black women should take -- it's not weighed down with that "don't touch my hair look." She's representing the country and she's a woman so there's always going to be talk of fashion."

Judy Ferraro, owner of The Dressing Room, one of St. Petersburg's most popular bridal boutiques. Known for designer labels and personalized service.

"As much as possible I'd like her to work with primarily all American designers and consider using eco-friendly fabrics. She's a very attractive woman, she has wonderful poise and posture. I like Lela Rose, she does beautiful work. I like the fact that she incorporates unusual texture tactile fabrics together. (Lela Rose design picture to the bottom right.) I just went to Nicole Miller's fashion shows and the bold prints I think she's got some great bold patterns and interesting combos of color that would look good on Michelle Obama. I thought it was wonderful that she (Michelle Obama) wore that White House and Black Market dress on the View. It think it was wonderful because it was very accessible to the masses and women buy into that and it gives the American owned company their base right here."

Lacey B. Smith(pictured in brown jacket), Executive Producer of The Fashion Movement, fashion events, production and marketing firm in Tampa.

"I like her style. She doesn't wear this buttoned-down suit like some people in that position would do. I also like the colorful color scheme that she does. She doesn't do what I call "dead" colors, like gray and black. First lady style is very touchy because people are looking at you a certain way differently than they would as the nominees wife on the campaign trail. I'd like her to be edgy but tasteful. I think she has the total personality for it. I like Marc Jacobs because his stuff is not too overbearing. Going forward I could see her fitting in right up there with Jackie-O and Nancy Reagan. Maybe, initially she's not on that level but going forward she's going to change the way we view the first lady in the white house. (As for the low heels she prefers) I don't like them. A woman in a dress or a suit should wear a heel."

(pictures LelaRose.com, St. Petersburg Times)