First lady Michelle Obama’s fashion has made headlines around the world. She’s known for taking risks - with color, accessories, cardigans and lesser known designers. But this connection between fashion and the first lady goes way back – all the way to the original White House inhabitant Mary Washington. So is all the scrutiny and celebration of Obama’s fashion unprecedented?

TIME magazine’s Kate Betts says the Chicago native is a trailblazer in some aspects. She’s been keeping her eye on the fashion choices coming out of the White House and finds a reason and a rhyme to it all. Betts decodes Michelle Obama’s style in her new book, Everyday Icon: Michelle Obama and the Power of Style, and she joined Eight Forty-Eight to talk about First Lady fashion.

Betts will read from her book Tuesday afternoon at the Women’s Athletic Club of Chicago.