Politics makes strange bedfellows, and one of them threw off the covers looking flush, refreshed and just a little bit naughty this year: fashion.

"Washington politicos have not been especially high on the style radar since the Kennedy years," said Avril Graham, executive fashion and beauty editor for Harper's Bazaar.

That changed suddenly in 2008. Commanding attention were Michelle Obama's high-low modernism and Sarah Palin's retro sexy-librarian look ... Cindy McCain's progressive bangs and Rod Blagojevich's proceeding hairline ... Hillary Clinton's sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits and President Bush's brotherhood of the blue-sky neckties.

But if politics strikes fashionistas as anything but tasteful these days, note that many of 2008's best fashion moments happened beyond the Beltway.

Woman of the year: Michelle Obama

Her campaign trail outfits could generate a top 10 on their own. For many fashion editors, the most memorable fashion moment of 2008 was Obama in the Maria Pinto grape sheath with an Azzedine Alaia belt June 3, when her husband accepted the Democratic nomination for president. (We unilaterally declare purple the color of the year.) The populist $148 White House/Black Market sundress swiftly sold out after she wore it on "The View." Professional women applauded and emulated the J. Crew ensemble she wore on "The Tonight Show." Carpooling moms identified with her non-blue jeans and simple sweaters. By November, Obama had stirred just about every fashion demographic. Not always warmly: I fielded phone calls and e-mails lambasting Obama for not wearing pantyhose, and for other perceived infractions -- a reminder that political fashion ain't beanbag.

Icon of the year: Barack Obama

Even before Michelle Obama ascended on the style scene, Barack Obama became a fashion inspiration. Donatella Versace dedicated her spring/summer 2009 collection to him. Rodarte created a sweater dress with Obama's name. Beyonce, Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry and Madonna sported Barack-emblazoned T-shirts. Chicago boutique p.45 sold out of its Barack Obama shirts the day after the vice-presidential debate. Chicago-based suitmaker Hart Schaffner Marx, which is supplying Obama's inauguration tuxedo, and Canali have churned out press releases about making his suits. But his sartorial acumen is not confined to businesswear. When asked for his positions on controversial streetwear, Obama told MTV: "Brothers should pull up their pants."

Bailout of the year: Sarah Palin

First, her sexy-librarian look with updo and rimless glasses turned heads. Then, her $150,000 in purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus dropped jaws -- as much out of envy as disapproval, at least in fashion circles. Perhaps history will judge Palin as a heroine for her economic infusion into retail.

Globalista of the year: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy

Since marrying French President Nicolas Sarkozy in February, the model-cum-singer has systematically charmed critics through her deft use of fashion. Accompanying her husband on a state visit to the United Kingdom on March 26, she brilliantly donned a gray coat from Christian Dior, a French house headed by the British designer John Galliano. Her pillbox hat channeled one that Jackie Kennedy -- who also used fashion as a tool of diplomacy -- wore when she visited London in 1962. As the similarly tall Michelle Obama often does, Bruni-Sarkozy wore flats, so as not to tower over male dignitaries. All was forgiven (including Bruni's past affair with Mick Jagger).