We spend a lot of time talking about Michelle Obama, Cindy McCain, and Sarah Palin's clothes on the campaign trail, but let's turn our eye to Barack Obama. Perhaps you saw him speaking from behind the podium yesterday in Pennsylvania not wearing a suit. Gasp! Instead he wore a leather jacket and jeans. Although he had previously been spotted in faded mom jeans while riding a bike this summer, he sported dark denim yesterday. He was spotted in the dark jeans in mid-July, once in August, and again yesterday. "I got a hard time from all sorts of blogs who said I looked like Urkel," Barack said at fund-raiser in Chicago in June. Awww, he's self-conscious. Just like us! But we confess we found his mom jeans kind of endearing, because they're just the kind of thing normal nerdy dads would wear totally oblivious to the fact that they're anything but fashionable. But more important: Barack reads blogs about clothes? What if he's reading this right now?! Keep the sneaks, Barack! A spot of nerdy dadness looks good on you. Besides, it makes you relatable.

Urkel no more! Barack Obama has a hip new pair of jeans [NYDN]

Michelle Obama told Jay Leno on the Tonight Show on Monday she purchased her yellow outfit online from J.Crew. J.Crew swiftly capitalized on this marketing opportunity by making "Michelle" and "Obama" searchable on their site. Type it in and the gold Pembridge Dot Camilla Skirt she wore pops up. That item skyrocketed to the most-viewed item on the site yesterday, receiving 464 percent more hits than the day before. Traffic on J.Crew's site as a whole increased 64 percent. They must still be dealing with a traffic spike because the site crashed as we tried to purchase the skirt, though it seems to be working fine now.

The top and cardigan she wore were far from overlooked. By yesterday afternoon, the J.Crew in Rockefeller Center pulled all the cardigans off the racks to reserve for customers who called that morning and put them on hold. We called the J.Crew on Prince Street this afternoon, and they had the skirt and cardigan in our size.

A spokeswoman for J.Crew told us the company is "very excited" by the response and could not reveal the quantity of Obama duds still in stock, but said the clothes are "selling out." She added, "We'd love to do a ball gown for her" — as in for the inauguration ball if Obama wins. She said they've tried to approach the campaign but haven't been able to get through. "I think they're thinking about Tuesday." Hm … maybe.

150G? Try Michelle Obama's $340 [NYDN]
Michelle Obama: The Best Thing to Happen to J.Crew Since Madras [Racked]

Earlier: Michelle Obama Wears J.Crew on ‘Tonight Show’

Nicole Richie announced in April plans for a jewelry line called House of Harlow 1960, which she named after her daughter. And, for the past few weeks, paparazzi have photographed Richie wearing her creations, such as the $38 leather starburst ring. Out. Like a real businesswoman promoting her product! (Unlike some other people, ahem.) Now, the line is finally on sale this week at Kitson's online boutique. Remarkably for a celebrity line, the sixties- and seventies-inspired collection is affordable and wearable, and, dare we say, we actually like the pieces (to be clear: some, not all). In particular, the black pyramid bangle ($68) and the palladium antique large bangle ($35) caught our eye as great for stacking on your wrist, while the black leather cuff ($125) is a substantial statement piece. But can Nicole single-handedly change our minds about celebrity designers? That remains to be seen.

House of Harlow 1960 by Nicole Richie - Available at Kitson [Nitro:licious]

Supermodels have dominated ad campaigns for the past year, but their comebacks shan't stop there. Their next conquest is the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute and, it follows, Anna Wintour's Big Gala. The Costume Institute's next exhibit is titled "The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion" and will show how models like Lisa Fonssagrives, Peggy Moffitt, Iman, Nadja Auermann, Gisele Bündchen, Veruschka, Twiggy, Naomi Campbell, and more have inspired twentieth-century trends. The goods on display will include 70 couture and ready-to-wear looks, photos, and video footage of models, rock stars, socialites, and actresses who have influenced each era. A natural next step from this year's Superheroes exhibit.

The exhibit may be the meat and potatoes, but Anna's gala celebrating its opening (often called the "Oscars of the East Coast") is the juicy bits. Marc Jacobs is the honorary chair, and Kate Moss and Justin Timberlake will co-chair. Kate really does love the limelight these days, eh? At least we can count on Anna to keep her from wearing one of her Topshop frocks to the party. Shameless self-promotion is fine, but one must be red-carpet-worthy at the gala.

The Costume Institute Looks at the Model as Muse [WWD]
Kate Moss to co-chair Costume Institute gala [Telegraph]