Pretty in Preen

Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert

The first lady spoke at the U.S. Department of Labor yesterday to support new rules proposed to help caregivers of wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans. The event was part of the ongoing Joining Forces initiative spearheaded by Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden to support military service members and their families.

On the style front, Mrs. O wore a dress and jacket from the label Preen. The first lady debuted the ensemble during a trip to London last year, seen here.

A Sunday Stroll

The Obamas ventured out of the White House yesterday to visit the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. For the outing, Mrs. O wore a Duro Olowu tweed overcoat paired with an orange scarf, a combination last seen at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in December 2011, here. Duro Olowu certainly became one of the first lady's signature designers in 2011 (by my count, Mrs. O wore Duro Olowu on 10 occasions in 2011, second only to Rachel Roy). Can't wait to see what he delivers in 2012!

Business Chic

The First Lady appeared in Tampa, Florida today to help announce a commitment by Goya Foods to put resources behind the USDA MyPlate (or MiPlato in Spanish) food group symbol. The company is creating various materials such as brochures, posters, coupons and cookbooks for consumers, developing educations tools for elementary school children, and imprinting the MiPlato icon on some Goya Foods products. 

For the event, Mrs. O kept her look business chic, wearing a sleeveless black dress with exposed seam detailing.

Update: Mrs. O wears a dress by Jason Wu, confirmed via tweet.

Back to School

The first lady was back to school today, visiting Parklawn Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia. Mrs. O was joined by chef Rachael Ray and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to highlight the new USDA nutrition standards for school lunches. 

On the style front: a J.Crew Jester sweater paired with bold blue pants, kitten heels and pearls.

Bold Blue Barbara Tfank

Photo by Mandel Ngan / Getty Images

For tonight's State of the Union address, the First Lady wears a stunning sapphire blue twill dress by designer Barbara Tfank. The dress hails from the designer's Resort 2012 collection. On the accessories front: an elongated marquis pin from Alexis Bittar.

The radiant blue dress is somewhat of a departure from Mrs. O's more subdued dresses of SOTU past: plum Isaac Mizrahi in 2010 and grey Rachel Roy in 2011. It also represents a shining moment for Barbara Tfank, an artisanal, Los Angeles-based designer, who created standout dresses for the First Lady in 2010 and 2011.

Update: Directly following the State of the Union address, the president made a phone call from the Capitol to inform John Buchanan that his daughter Jessica was rescued by U.S. Special Operations Forces in Somalia. The moment is captured in an official photo released by the White House.