Ikram Goldman, the Chicago boutique owner who has been lauded as personal stylist of first lady Michelle Obama is no longer on the job.

The Washington Post's Jason Horowitz reports that the role has passed to former Goldman protégée and personal assistant Meredith Koop, 29 (pictured left).

Obama and Koop first became acquainted when Goldman dispatched Koop in her stead to tend to the first lady's sartorial needs two years ago. Koop then took on the job as a personal aide to Obama, and now it seems that Koop has dethroned her mentor.

"Ms. Koop's responsibilities include advising the first lady on her wardrobe and acting on her behalf in arranging for purchases, including considering the best offered price and buying on discount if discounts are available," Kristina Schake, a spokeswoman for Michelle Obama told the Post.

The White House is a hard nut to crack, so the reporter went straight to the place where a lady, no matter how high her national-security clearance, always gossips. He talked to Koop's hairdresser, Vera Chamberlin of D.C. salon Immortal Beloved. Chamberlin informed the writer that that Koop seemed very much in charge of Obama's closet and had recently lamented that she couldn't go to New York Fashion Week because she was so busy focusing on what is right for the first lady.

According to Chamberlin, Koop understands high fashion and how it applies to the "common woman" and "how to dress for your shape." She is a down-to-earth workaholic, who currently sports a style Chamberlin called "New York edge but also Midwestern comfort."

We had an inkling that Goldman was on her way out last week when we heard her speak in the American Express Sky Box at New York Fashion Week. Goldman shot down any and all questions about her famous client, no matter how minuscule and turned down several requests from this reporter.

Lots of luck to Ms. Koop. With the world watching what Obama wears next, she will most certainly need it.