FIRST LADY ORDERS THIGH-HIGH BOOTS: French store to send Michelle Obama a black pair with flat heels in size 9 ½.

       The AFP is reporting that the First Lady's new shoemaker, Robert Clergerie, said she has ordered a black pair with flat heels as well as another pair of calf-length boots in soft beige buckskin, both in size 9 ½.      

       The request 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 catalog model at her request.      

       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, AFP reported. He has previously made footwear for Madonna, Bianca Jagger and French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.