The twinset modernists

Twinset and pearls - once a byword for fogey dressing - has had a new lease of life. And again we have to credit the Michelle factor. In her Camelot wardrobe - lean shift dresses and cardigans, accessorised by gobstopper pearls and often an outsize brooch - Mrs Obama is the new Jackie O.

This week's photocall of the Obamas and the Queen was quite brilliant. Michelle, in minimalist black and white, towers over the diminutive queen in girlish pink. But actually what's striking is the similarity between the two women - from their strands of pearls to their rigid body language and groomed hair.

You can tell Michelle is a twinset modernist, however. Her little black cardigan is by Azzedine Alaïa, the coolest fashion designer of them all, and, unlike Her Maj, her pearls are fake.The inside gossip is she buys the elasticated pearl-ivory strands from American jeweller Carolyn Forsman. And, dear reader, I also have the Michelle necklace. A friend hunted down the jawbreaker, oversized pearl choker - only $30 - for me in New York. It comes in its own pale pink organza "envelope".

Once upon a time girls who wore pearls were mocked for raiding granny's wardrobe. But we've had the last laugh. "Queen dressing" was all over the catwalks earlier this year while Agyness Deyn posed as Her Majesty in last month's launch issue of Love magazine. Meanwhile Lanvin and hip Londoner designer Luella specifically sent out models in outsized pearls for this year's spring/summer collections.

Famous pearl fans include Coco Chanel and Twenties movie star Louise Brooks, who wore them with bobbed hair. Jackie O preferred big fake gumball pearls.

Barbara Bush and Mrs Thatcher gave them a more conservative, ladylike spin but when Helen Mirren played Elizabeth II in The Queen, they were sexed up all over again.

The lure of pearls is understandable. Luminous, iridescent, light-reflecting, they make skin look younger and teeth whiter. You can dress up an inexpensive outfit. Or hide behind a double rope on a fat day.

When Michelle needs extra ballast in a stressful situation, out comes the double strand. But on days when she she wants to go wild, she channels the bling. At a recent White House event she wore a Tom Binns overlapping necklace of pearls and crystals (from his Pearls in Peril range), with a brooch-sized clasp.

Proof that Michelle knows how to work an iconic fashion look. After all, the last famous image of a woman wearing a multistrand pearl necklace mixed with diamanté was Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's.