Michelle Obama Boosts J. Crew

During a breakfast this week with Prime Minister Gordon and his wife, Sarah, the First Lady of Style endorsed J. Crew by wearing the retailer's sparkly cream cardigan and mint-green pencil skirt. Michelle Obama is known for jettisoning high-priced designer labels in favor of more affordable clothing and has been seen wearing the preppy J. Crew label before.

According to the New York Daily News, the $298 "crystal constellation" cardigan sold out on J. Crew's Web site by 10 that morning. And clicks for Michelle's ensemble at JCrew.com boosted traffic to those product pages by 3,000 percent.

Remember the Sarah Palin "Wardrobe-Gate", when reports surfaced of the Republican National Committee spending more than $15,000 on clothing and accessories for the VP candidate? That's around the same time when Mrs. Obama publicly announced on The Tonight Show that she buys clothing from J. Crew. She showed up wearing a modest J. Crew ensemble, a good move for the Obama campaign and a great message amid the credit crunch.

Mrs. Obama also has bought from J. Crew's kid's line, crewcuts, to outfit her girls, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7. The children wore brightly colored dresses and coats for Inauguration Day in January, and the company's stock went up 10.6 percent, according to the Daily News.