I’ve written about Sarah Palin’s bead jewelry and Hillary Clinton’s bead jewelry, so now it’s time to write about the woman who will likely be at the center of the political and fashion worlds for the next four years: Michelle Obama!

Michelle Obama can uses the same three brooches in different ways!

Michelle Obama has exploded onto the fashion and jewelry scene in the last few years as her husband climbed the political ladder. Michelle Obama’s choice of fashion and dresses for various big political events has evoked praise and criticism for her ability to bring classic looks back in fashion while giving them her own personal flair. More than one fashion writer has pointed out that Michelle Obama’s choices of fashion appear to be influenced by Jacqueline Kennedy, though First Lady Obama has often taken classic looks and given them a slightly more modern look (sometimes too modern in many people’s opinions!) And while Hillary Clinton was sometimes criticized for not portraying a feminine enough image, Michelle Obama is not afraid to wear elegant and feminine jewelry and clothing that are sexy and refined at the time.

Michelle Obama’s Brooch Love: When it comes to jewelry, Michelle Obama has already made her mark with one piece that was falling out of fashion: the brooch! Mrs. Obama often wears brooches that are glitzy and fun and add a dash of personality and color to some otherwise plain dresses. The brooches she chooses to wear are sometimes high-end jewelry with diamonds and gold, but some are downright inexpensive and could even be mistaken as something made at a craft fair or fashioned by hand. Unlike the other political women I’ve profiled, Michelle Obama doesn’t seem to stick with any one brooch or style. She seems to like mixing it up and even surprising people with what jewelry and brooch she’s going to wear next.

Michelle Obama and Traditional Bead Jewelry: When you think of the perfect jewelry for a First Lady, the white pearl necklace almost always comes to mind. Michelle Obama herself wears white pearls from time to time, but more often than not she’s wearing round, colorful beads of various shapes and sizes. Michelle Obama also wears diamonds, though they are often in dangling or fun pieces and not just reserved for earring studs and simple necklaces. She’s (or her stylist) is very good at matching and contrasting the color of her jewelry with her outfit so that everything she wears seems to naturally blend together.

Michelle Obama spices up the classic pearl necklace with these colorful beads!

Michelle Obama’s Funky Bead Jewelry: Michelle Obama’s love of fun and funky jewelry extends into other pieces of jewelry, from necklaces to bracelets to earrings. Mrs. Obama has been spotted wearing some over-the-top glitzy rhinestone necklaces, multi-standed beaded bracelets, floral rings and brooches and even (gasp!) dangling earrings! These are not usual jewelry choices for a First Lady, where the trends in most years has been to stay with simple pearls, smaller gold pieces and a little bit of silver from time to time. Essentially, the jewelry of most First Ladies in recent memory has been fairly staid, monochromatic, predictable and even a little boring.

Essentially, Michelle Obama is bringing some of the latest bead jewelry fashion trends from the hallways of PTA meetings into the hallways of The Whitehouse! She’s a younger woman who is in-touch with the latest jewelry fashions and she knows what she likes.

Mrs. Obama’s overall bead jewelry and fashion choices ultimately reflect the same trends we’ve seen in bead jewelry for the past couple years: larger beads, more color, more “statement” pieces and more bling! Everything is bigger and over-the-top, but not necessarily any more expensive or made with diamonds and high-end gemstones.

Michelle Obama will be coming from Chicago to Washington with an already impressive list of fashion and jewelry admirers and friends. Vanity Fair recently named Michelle Obama to its “International Best Dressed List” and it’s been reported that Oprah Winfrey has given Mrs. Obama total access to her own large collection of jewelry pieces!

With Michelle Obama we might be in for a surge in hand crafted bead jewelry or at least pieces with a little more bling and a little more fun. Here’s a quick recap of Michelle Obama’s inauguration jewelry: for the swearing in ceremony she wore a gold colored outfit designed by Isabel Toledo with a very impressive diamond or crystal studded pin at the collar. It was hard to tell if it was a brooch or if it’s actually a pin that was used to hold the jacket closed at her neck. For the inauguration balls she wore an ivory dress by a young designer named Jason Wu and accented it with dangling diamond earrings, diamond studded bracelets and a chunky diamond studded ring!

Of course, we can’t really expert her to wear handmade bead jewelry all the time, but it does look like this new First Lady likes a lot of fun and funky jewelry, so we’ll have to keep an eye out for jewelry and fashion trends she may be setting over the next four years!