Michelle Obama Wears a DVF Replica

First Lady, Michelle Obama, wore a black and orange striped dress to the White House Halloween party to hand out candy and other healthier treats.  The colors in the dress were very fitting for the occasion which I'm pretty sure is the reason Mrs. Obama (or whomever) selected the dress to wear to the Halloween event.

Perfect for a Halloween event or party, right?

However, the First Lady is being criticized because the dress, which came from Asos appears to be a "knock-off" of Diane von Furstenberg's Savannah Striped Dress from the designer's Fall 2011 collection.

The dress Mrs. Obama wore from Asos is on the left and the DVF Original is on the right.

The Asos version of the dress retails for $72, while the DVF dress retails for $498.  Both dresses vary in color and the neckline on both dresses are different.  Mrs. Obama is being criticized all over the 'net for wearing a knock-off.  The Obamas just can't catch a break, can they? I don't see what the big deal is.  Clearly Mrs. Obama has the money and can afford a DVF original dress, but maybe she wasn't even aware that the Asos dress was a knock-off of the famous designer.  Perhaps, she wasn't even the one who picked out the dress.  I mean....maybe she chose the Asos version over the DVF because the colors were more suitable for Halloween.  Or how about she probably didn't care that it was a replica and thought it made more $ense to make a more affordable purchase.

I think the fact that Mrs. Obama shops on asos.com alone shows her realness and how down-to-earth she is because that is one of my favorite online shopping sites.  The Obamas will always be in a "damned if they do, damned if they don't" situation no matter what.  Now had she gone with the nearly $500 DVF Savannah Striped dress, she would have probably been criticized for spending that much money on a dress being the First Lady during a time of economic turmoil.  As a matter of fact, she was criticized in the past for wearing an expensive pair of Lanvin sneakers to a food bank.  It's likely that she reflected back on that unnecessary criticism and wanted to avoid any of that this time around by selecting a cheaper alternative dress.

I think Mrs. Obama looks great and the fact that she knows how to be frugal at times is a great reflection of her being the First Lady.  Nothing is wrong with being a budget fashionista, even when you are the First Lady.  What do you think about Mrs. Obama wearing a "knock-off"?