Sophie Gregoire Trudeau has been freed from her politician’s-wife shift dresses. Now, her style is shifting along with her relationship status

Her interviews and photo shoots are brim-full of exuberance and that signature earnestness that can come off as either hokey or authentic, depending on your own world view. Despite being a staunchly jaded member of the press, I choose to see it as authentic.

In the run-up to the launch, Grégoire Trudeau appeared in a figure-hugging, torso-revealing white dress by Canadian design star Sid Neigum on the April cover of Elle Canada. It feels decidedly post-political.

In Vogue’s May issue, she had a back and forth on with the writer on which form of her surname she now identifies with. She never legally changed her name to her husband’s, but uses the triple-barrel for the author’s credit on her book, noting it was written before her legal separation from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last August. She concluded simply, “I’m Sophie.”

Reclaiming identity is a big part of any separation and divorce, especially for women. In Grégoire Trudeau’s case, her marriage came with a portfolio-free support gig for which she put her own career at a TV presenter on hold. Her every utterance and lipstick choice and child-rearing decision was analyzed and criticized.

Flashback to the frenzy around Grégoire Trudeau’s wardrobe after her husband was elected to top office in 2015. She hewed to Canadian designers, selecting a navy and white Erdem dress by the Montreal-born, London-based designer for the swearing-in ceremony. She wore a selection of coats by Canadian brand Sentaler. For a state dinner with Barack and Michelle Obama in 2016, she wore purple lace Lucien Matis, a favourite Toronto designer.

For her Vogue shoot in 2016, Grégoire Trudeau was lambasted for wearing a dress by American brand Oscar de la Renta. Provenance wasn’t really the point; the glamour shot was at odds with her Canadian every-mom image. The international fashion limelight was seen as un-Canadian, and fodder for Trudeau’s foes.

Now, freed from diplomatic receptions and campaign door-stepping, Grégoire Trudeau is courting a different kind of celebrity. Her book is part memoir, part awareness-raising awareness of mental health issues. She recounts her whirlwind first date with Trudeau alongside the harrowing story of her struggle with bulimia in her teens and early 20s.

She also interviews numerous experts — psychologists, neuroscientists, mindfulness gurus — and offers her own takeaways for how to action their advice and insights.

Her upcoming book tour will feature prominent guests including American millennial spiritual leader Gabby Bernstein, Hillary Clinton’s former aide Huma Abedin, and Canadian trauma expert Gabor Maté.

So far, her new-era wardrobe looks decidedly non-restrictive. We’ve seen her in a soft floral dress in a video where she sits on the floor unboxing copies of her book, and an exuberantly printed white moto jacket and flowing trouser set at the Vancouver relationship summit In Bloom. There was a flowing emerald one-shoulder gown at a Forbes International Women’s Day event in Abu Dhabi in March. She wore chic oversized pantsuits in white and rust from Argent, a woman-led American clothing brand, in a book interview slash shoppable online campaign.

It’s a long way from the buttoned-down politician’s-wife coats and matchy-match patriotic-signalling shift dresses.

For her renewed career chapter, she might take a page from Michelle Obama, who once referred to Grégoire Trudeau as her “soulmate,” according to Vogue. Though the latter had a bigger staff and clothing budget to fulfil her duties and use her platform for social good, there are parallels to their experience. Obama wrote in her memoir, “Becoming,” that when her first lady tenure ended it was “freeing” to be able to choose how to present herself.

In the accompanying Netflix documentary of the same title, Obama said, “Now that we’re out of the White House, not to be viewed, judged and parcelled by every other person on the planet, yeah it is — it’s better.”

Grégoire Trudeau’s life is no longer public, but she still takes a lot of ugly from the ether swirling around her late-second-term ex. Every Instagram post is met with nasty comments. A sample, from a “private” account: “I’d rather have a raging yeast infection than support a Trudeau in any monetary endeavour.”

And yet, she perseveres with positivity. She has crystalized the sell of her book as a guide to developing “emotional responsibility and leadership.” Her Instagram page is filled with wide smiles; she always appears ready to break into song. She uses the word “authentic” a lot. It is clearly an important concept to her, especially now that she is free to pursue her own destiny.

With her life a fresh slate before her, just-Sophie is set to blossom into a whole new iteration of herself. The irrepressible grin feels real.