What Michelle Obama Really Thought About Her Buzz-Worthy Gold Boots

All first ladies are under a certain amount of pressure to look good, but as the first Black woman in the White House, Michelle Obama had an even higher mountain to climb to get into the public's good graces. And, depressingly, after her husband's two terms in office were over, the bestselling author continued to find herself at the mercy of critics. Case in point: the fabulous, gold, thigh-high, Balenciaga boots that the former first lady chose for the Brooklyn stop of her 2018 "Becoming" book tour. Michelle Obama has worn some inappropriate outfits over the years, but these boots caused a major stir. A lot of opinions were flung into the public sphere, but what did Obama herself really think of the attention-grabbing footwear?

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During "Michelle Obama: The Style, The Power, The Look — A Conversation with Robin Roberts — Special Edition of 20/20," she admitted that when they were first presented to her, "I was like 'these are some boots," (via Facebook). The mother of two wasn't sure if she'd even be able to walk in them, or what event they could possibly be suited for. But, as Roberts excitedly pointed out, if you can't rock them in front of Carrie Bradshaw (actor Sarah Jessica Parker was conducting the on-tour interview), then, when? Notably, the gorgeous yellow gown, also by Balenciaga, was the only dress the author wore during the stint. 

Describing the boots as "fun, sparkly, [and] sexy," Obama proudly stated, "We brought the glitter, we brought the glam." However, Obama acknowledged the shoes wouldn't have been suitable for a first lady's ensemble, joking, "We're not letting these boots into the White House." Even so, she's still among the handful of first ladies who broke all the fashion rules.

Her gold, thigh-high Balenciaga boots may be among Michelle Obama's most daring outfits of all time, but they were still resolutely her. Obama expresses herself through fashion, but throughout her eight years in the White House, she wanted to ensure that the public saw her as relatable and approachable. At a November 2025 taping of her podcast "IMO," the former lawyer explained, "The thing about clothes that I find is that they can welcome people in or they can keep people away, and if you're so put together and so precious and things are so crisp and the pin is so big, it can just tell people, 'Don't touch me,'" (via USA Today). 

As first lady, Obama typically dressed functionally to keep up with a busy schedule spent traveling and meeting regular citizens. When it came to glitzier events, she often chose up-and-coming designers rather than household names, in an effort to level the playing field. Nowadays, the "Becoming" author has more freedom to play around with fashion, hence the headline-grabbing gold boots. It's also allowed her to embrace more natural hairstyles, too, including braids, which Obama has favored post-White House.

As she wrote in her 2025 book "The Look," "I got dinged for showing my arms." Being the first Black first lady meant trying not to rock the boat, and she said something as simple as wearing her hair in braids would have done exactly that. "Can you imagine the articles written? The questions written? When I cut bangs into my hair that became an 'oh my God, what does this mean?'" (via The Times). Obama had legitimate reasons for that choice, but we love to see her flaunting her personal style, gold boots and all.