Michelle Obama Wears $540 Designer Sneakers to Feed the Poor

It's a first lady faux pas -- wearing expensive, high-fashion French designer sneakers to a food bank.

Michelle Obama wore the sneakers, made by Lanvin, while helping feed the poor at a Washington food bank on Wednesday. The pricetag on the footwear? A cool $540.

Keds, they're not.

The sneakers, which come in denim and satin, are a favorite of comic Ellen DeGeneres and rapper Kanye West -- and they're "certainly not a reflection of the poor economy," said FOX News' Noelle Watters, host of iMag Style.

"She paired the kicks with a much more reasonably priced cardigan from J. Crew similar to the one she's worn in the past," Watters said. "And quite honestly, the usually well-styled Michelle didn't match. While her over-priced designer sneaks were gray and pink, her sweater was a gold argyle style. A definite fashion faux pas."

According to the New York Daily News, the first lady of style likely got her sneakers through Ikram, the Chicago retailer that usually outfits her.

Obama's style helped catapult her into the 93rd spot of Maxim's "eyeball-searing, fantasy-fulfilling, brain-exploding" Hot 100 list, which was announced Friday.

The first lady's sense of fashion has received considerable media attention. During her trip to Europe last month to accompany President Obama to the G20 summit, her fashion choices and protocol-breaking touch of the Queen of England nearly received as much ink as the summit itself.

The White House did not return a message seeking comment.