The First Lady Fashion Face-Off

When Peng Liyuan made her public debut as first lady last year, appearing alongside husband President Xi Jingping in a dark, trim trenchcoat by Chinese designer Ma Ke, she lit up the Chinese Internet. Commenters praised her style and compared her to fellow first lady of fashion, Michelle Obama.

Chinese censors—who generally try to keep family members of Chinese leaders out of the media spotlight–scrubbed most mentions of Ms. Peng’s dress from the Internet. E-commerce giant Taobao even removed an ad for a black purse like the one she carried despite more than 8 million searches for “Peng Liyuan handbag.” But even after her hype was hushed, she has continued to dazzle audiences both domestic and foreign with her sense of fashion, making it onto Vanity Fair’s annual International Best Dressed List last year.

Although Mrs. Obama failed to crack the VF list last year, her style has long been applauded and mimicked by fashionistas. She has twice appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine, which calls her “something of a fashion maverick.”

Mrs. Obama’s repeated choice of up-and-comer Jason Wu—who was responsible for the ivory one-shouldered gown she wore to the inaugural ball in 2009 as well as the ruby halter-neck chiffon-and-velvet gown for the same ball in 2013—gave a huge boost the Taiwan-born designer. On the lower end, the $265 J. Crew belt she wore to her husband’s inauguration in 2013 sold out almost immediately. The retailer eventually retired the belt, noting that it wanted to let the first lady “have that moment.”

So when Ms. Peng and Mrs. Obama meet on Friday, all eyes will no doubt be on their fashion choices. Mrs. Obama stepped off the plane in Beijing on Thursday evening in a long-sleeved black dress with a black, brown and tan asymmetrical design.

Take a look at past styles from the two leading ladies, and vote: Who has the better sense of fashion?