Fatimah Ali: A LITTLE ADVICE FOR THE SISTER

AS BARACK Obama nears the Democratic nomination, he's likely to face a media that's sharper and more mean-spirited than what he's become accustomed to.

And if he actually makes it to the White House, his wife will be scrutinized like no other first lady in history. Not for her brains, but for her fashion sense. And, for all of her brilliance, this is where Michelle Obama needs the most help.

For my girlfriends and me, although Mrs. Obama has earned our mad respect, we also feel she can benefit from a little friendly advice for the long months ahead of intense media scrutiny.

For one thing, we've all seen too many unflattering photos of her floating around in cyberspace.

I once saw political commentator Tavis Smiley interviewing the Diva of all Divas, actress Diahann Carroll, a woman who has always managed to look flawless. She was telling him that he had to get behind the camera to learn which angle shows his best side. Because he's a celebrity, she said, it's an essential part of his job to look fantastic at all times.

So, it's a mystery to me why Michelle Obama's advisers aren't perfecting her on camera image, or why we see so many poorly angled photos of her.

For the record, I think she's a very attractive woman - if you catch her from the right angle. But if she's photographed from her bad side, she desperately needs help. I speak from experience - I've ripped up way too many crazy-looking photos of myself.

Michelle's media consultants have dropped the ball, big time, in other ways, too. And because of it, she has been grossly misjudged. First, for her brutal honesty. And then, from me and my friends, for her bad-hair days. (She's had quite a few.)

After many failed attempts, her stylist has finally created a fabulous cut that flatters her face. She needs to stick with that and keep every hair in place, especially around the edges. (She should also never purse her lips while being photographed.)

"She is a handsome woman," says my friend Hari Thomas. Hari may not be a professional stylist, but she's well-acquainted with the insides of Bloomingdale's and Saks. "Michelle is well-spoken, in great shape and polished." Most of the time.

But "she has a very strong, angular face and an huge overbite," says Hari, and it's part of her look that she needs to play down.

Another friend, Dr. Lena Barboza, a dentist, is much less forgiving.

If she were giving Michelle Obama advice, she might even recommend that Michelle have some work done, even to the point of possibly reshaping her jaw.

Lena says the procedure is not one to be done casually because it takes about three months for a wired shut jaw to heal.

Lena's 16-year-old daughter, Iliana, gives a much more gentle assessment: "She's just 'diesel,' " which is slang for muscular and athletic. I bet that's the first time anyone has said that about a would-be first lady.

But the truth is that when the political cartoonists are drawing caricatures of Michelle as Cruella DeVil, the villainess from "100 Dalmatians," it's probably well past time to perfect her image.

The Obama media consultants seem to be missing some essential tricks of the trade. If they asked me, I'd make sure no one would ever shoot her profile. She would also only ever wear real, smaller pearls, instead of those clunky three-stranders.

And she should know which shades of red work for her and avoid wearing hot pink. Ever.

Three-quarter-length sleeves also flatter her, and she should stick with them.

Most important, because she is so tall, (5 feet 11) microphones should always be adjusted to her height so she isn't compelled to hunch over.

It's not that Americans are going to vote for their next president by how his spouse looks, but Michelle Obama must know by now that as a potential first lady, an essential part of her duties will include looking fabulous at all times. Especially since so many fashion critics are comparing her to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who set the nation on fire with her fashion sense.

I hope those unflattering photos of his wife floating around the Internet aren't going to be yet another distraction in Barack Obama's quest to become president. It's just that, as my mother always warns me, "Don't ever give anyone a stick to beat you over the head with." *

Fatimah Ali is a regular contributor. E-mail her at fameworksmedia@yahoo.com.