Michelle Obama has kicked aside controversy over her expensive French sports shoes and ordered thigh-high luxury boots from the same country, her new shoemaker said Tuesday 24 November.

Michelle Obama in Paris - Photo : Loïc Venance/AFP

Robert Clergerie said the US first lady had chosen a black pair with flat heels as well as another pair of calf-length boots in soft beige buckskin, both in size 41 (US size nine-and-a-half, British size seven).

The order was sent in by a retailer in the Obamas' hometown Chicago after Michelle could not find the exact style she wanted. One of the pairs was modified slightly from the catalogue model at her request.

In April, Obama attracted a flurry of comment after she wore a fashionable 540-dollar (360-euro) pair of Lanvin trainers (sneakers) when she handed out food to the poor at a Washington food bank.

Clergerie -- who included a small note to the first lady with the order -- is one of the few remaining great shoemakers in Romans-sur-Isere, a small town in southwest France that has been renowned for its shoes for centuries.

He has previously made footwear for Madonna, Bianca Jagger and French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.VALENCE, France, Nov 24, 2009 (AFP)