Sunday
Oct112009
Sunday Best
Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 4:33 PM 
Image by Jewel Samad / Getty Images
The first family attended a church service at St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. this morning. Following the service, the Os walked back to the White House as a family.
On a style note, First Lady Mrs. O re-wore a Moschino skirt that was first debuted for the president's address to congress in early September (thanks BeeGee, for pointing this out). Click here to see the skirt featured in an earlier post. Topping the skirt was an embellished cardigan in coordinating pink and brown, cinched at the waist with a brown ribbon bow. Pink flats completed this very lovely, cohesive look.
tagged Moschino
Moschino
Reader Comments (112)
They all look lovely but Malia particularly so.
They entire family looks great. I love the colors in Malia's dress paired with the sweater and leggins. Its clear she has her mother's bold fashion sense. Which says alot considering she has her fathers reserved personality.
Sasha is cute too with her purple leggins. And Mrs. O does it just right for me with cardigan over the pick dress (which I believe is the one she wore to the joint session address).
Bravo!
So cheerful and colorful. I enjoy seeing their daughters growing up with poise and confidence--they have changed so much in just a few months!
I see Malia has a fashion sense as weel. Very cute.
That's impossible that that's the same dress. The other one is actually a pleated skirt, this appears to be a non pleated dress.
What a stylish family. Mrs. O took the skirt and shell from that Moschino suit and offset it with a simle, yet chic cardigan and grossgrain ribbon (belt) to make a totally different look. I like it. The President is dapper (as usual) and the girls look so look cute as ever. I like that they look like little girls.....just adorable. Sometimes it feels a little voyeuristic watching "what will they wear next" First Family fashion, but as long as we keep it light-hearted and fun, I think it's OK.
Cute sweater!! I want one! I still prefer to see the FLOTUS in vibrant colors but I do like that she "shops her closet" and breaks up suits; mixes and matches different items.....
One does have to wonder if attending an Episcopalian Church was a calculated move intended to pacify the gay community.
The girls look adorable with their leggings. There are some other good photos of the entire famiy posted on Daylife.
@ Mica, I do believe this skirt is pleated. This photo captures the pleating detail and shows the texture of the fabric (also the same as the Moschino dress): http://www.daylife.com/photo/0fgNbS98nL3bU?q=michelle+obama
I think I need to see a close up of Michelle's outfit to REALLY have an opinion on it but from what I see I definitely like.
Charlene, you do make a valid point about the girls looking like little girls rather than mini fashion shows but personally I would have liked to see them in something other than leggings to go to church. This is not a criticism as such, they are going to church and as someone who grew up in the Pentecostal church myself I know that "the least you do for Jesus, it is precious in his sight." However, my earliest memories of church, were donning the Sunday best rather than something you would wear during the rest of the week. Nonetheless, they all look very nice going to church. The family that prays together, stays together. Amen !!
There is a better picture of her out fit here:
http://www.daylife.com/photo/0gZk2AycOxc2B?q=michelle+obama
And a great motherdaughter pic here:
http://www.daylife.com/photo/0fgNbS98nL3bU?q=michelle+obama
Anyhoo, i love the fact that they walked back home instead of the motorcade, just do that can spend some time together...they look like a true lovely American family. First Lady Michelle Obama looks GREAT!!!!!!!!! (so do the kids and President Obama)....and the kids are growing so tall, especially Malia...she is looking more and more like her father by the minute, and her fashion sense is on point (just like her mother). Also, I dont know if its just me, but she looks so much older in these pictures than she did in the past pictures (maybe its because she is almost as tall as her mom).
luuv, luuv, luuv the Obama family!!!!!!
I am so proud to be American. I'm so proud of this family. So proud.
I suppose that "Sunday best" is outdated like me...but, except for the President, they appear far too casual for Sunday services.
Here's video of them walking, Sasha's a skipper I see lol
http://www.necn.com/Boston/Nation/2009/10/11/Obamas-attend-service-at-St/1255288445.html
@ Jestina,
I dont think God gave people a dress code to come to church...that comment makes christians sound a little off putting....I mean, dont they teach that Gods loves you the way you are? I dont think God took off cookie points for the leggings. But it is YOUR opinion (and im not attacking you). I'm just hoping you dont believe that, that is what makes a person right in the eyes of God...
But @ dee84,
Great video, thanx
What a beautiful family, bless them! Wow Malia is growing more and more by the minute wonderful with those gorgeous afro hair twists.She's going to be a fashion plate just like her mama.
So colorful they all are!
@ dee84, thanks for the video. Sasha is just a ball of energy and silliness! Great family they have.
Church-goers have gotten so much more casual. The girls look great in those leggings!
Even Easter which use to be a new dress day
with patent shoes is not so dressy anymore. Casual Friday led to casual Sunday!
I wonder if Mrs.O's cardigan isn't J. Crew. It looks like it.
The pleats in that rose pink suit were what is called "unpressed". Therefore they are not creased down to the hem and so open when one walks. Hope this clears up any confusion.
I agree with Jestina. I too grew up in a Pentecostal church where on Sundays we dressed in our "Sunday Best" and did not wear the same clothes that we would wear during the week. The women in my church still wear hats, and little girls wear shiny shoes and have colorful bows in their hair. I would love to see the girls dress as they did when President Obama accepted the DNC nomination.
It is a shock to me to see the girls dressed this way for church..... This is just something I am not used to... however, I will just have to get used to it. I think it is a good idea for the girls to not be concerned so much about how they look. I would not like them to be like the New Jersey Housewives' kids that are so materialistic and need designer clothing to be happy. Having the kids dress so plain and common is a good way for them to show other kids that clothing is not so important.
I dont know... perhaps the clothing the kids are wearing are so expensive but they sure don't look like it.
Wonderful looking family. I love the fact that Mrs. Obama always finds a way to mix up an outfit she has worn before. The First Lady looks fabulous as do the girls.
Somebody needs to buy the President a crazy tie for Christmas... just to mix things up (he looks great, but boring). Let's give the right-wing something else to talk about. (Just kidding).
Thanks for the video link dee84!!
THEY ALL LOOKED GREAT I SAW THIS DRESS BEFORE BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS A SUITE BUT I WAS WRONG. BUT OUR FRIST LADY WEAR A SWEATER INSTEADAND MARCHING BELT WITH IT. I DO BEAVE THAT THE DRESS IS SELVELESS THAT WHY SHE WEAR A SWEARTER LOVE HER PINK FLATS. I DO WISH THAT THEY CHANGE MALIA HAIR EACH TIME I SAW HER IN PICES WITH THE FAMILY SHE ALMOST HAVE THE TWITED HAIR. SHE MUST LIKE IT ALOT LOVE HER FLATS AND SASHA WILL SHE IS CUTE AND STILL IS GROWING SO IN TIME SHE WILL DRESS BETTER AND HER HAIR BEEN OUT LATLEY SO SHE LOOKED CUTE LOVE THE FLATS ON HER TO.
I've been to churches where the teens wear jeans and flip flops. They look fine to me. I remember in highschool I had to go to church wearing my band uniform pants because we had to leave early and march in a Thanksgiving parade...the church made us sit in the back and admonished us for wearing pants. Oh well I guess the church has it's priorities. Needless to say I'm not a fan of useless rules. Come as you ARE!! be it homeless or in "Sunday's best" what use is a great exterior when the interior needs improvement. I don't think St. Peter will turn you away for wearing jeans and flipflops if your spiritual house is in order.
Hey, at least the girls are not wearing jeans, which many children and adults do at our church. I didn't grow up that way either, so it is off-putting to me. Then I remember that Christ has a come-as-you-are policy and I that I will get over it. The only thing that bugs me here, IMHO, is five different colors on one gorgeous girl.
What an absolutely lovely family!
God's protection and blessings upon them...
@Gita and Jestina
They are NOT Pentecostal or whatever, so they are NOT going to dress like typical Pentecostal or Catholic girls!! I have never seen Malia and Sasha in "shiny shoes," and ugly bows in their hair with church hats!!! That is not their style, easter dresses are something I have never saw them wear. And yes Malia like her hait twisted and braided, while Sasha likes her hair in ponytails, I read this in an article last year. As a Cuban girl I love that the girls are not ashamed of their curly hair.
give me a break! now people are monitoring what people should wear in church.wear what you what and let them wear what they want.this place is sometimes crazy.
they all look fabulous.i wish them a nice week.
greetings from germany.
They make me so proud to be an American! Everyone looks so lovely. The girls are growing up right before our eyes. Little Sasha is so cute and such a butterfly. The more pictures I see of Malia, the more she reminds me of Mrs. O. Such a fashion forward family!
As a PPK (Pentacostal Preachers Kid), I know all about the "Sunday Best" uniform, but I was brought up to believe that it's what's in your heart rather than what's on your back (or head) that's important. That said, before this digresses into another splintered thread about what's appropriate for the girls, I think it's important to remember that this blog has nothing to do with the girls......their choice of clothing and cerrtainly not their hairstyle choices...and refocus our comments on the fashion choices of only Ms.O.
When she wore the rose pink jacket and matching pleated skirt to the speech before the Congress, she wore what appeared to be a top in almost the same shade - possibly in silk jersey? - under the jacket Three separate pieces. Not a dress and jacket. Today she wore just the top as an overblouse with the skirt (as she did for the speech) and added the patterned sweater. Hard to detect from a distance, but some of the closeup shots make this more clear.
@ Gita and everyone else who feels the same....
THE OBAMAS ARE NOT PENTECOSTAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WTH??!!!!
And I NEVER saw Malia or Sasha wearing hats during the campaign. And if you have actually seen some of their past church outfits prior to being President, you would see that it is NOT the first time they wore leggings to church!....I mean for real...what’s next? The way they style their hair, or the color of their clothing? Or maybe they should be covered up from head to toe next time?!!
Nothing against the Pentecostals, but damn, I would HATE to come to church with a dress code (leave that up to the private schools please)...I hope they continue to wear things that make them happy as kids!
As far as I'm concerned, the hands down winner in this outing is Malia. (And, yes, I realize this is not a contest. I'm using the phrase very loosly.) She looks adorable, head to foot. Great colors. Appropriate (whatever that means) for her age. My take on the "is it dressy enough for church" issue is that these girls are probably in jeans or khakis during the week. In 2010, at their age, this IS dressed up. It's well thought out, and adorable.
Thanks for the video link, dee84. It was great to see them in motion.
Malia's colors are just fantastic. But I also like the more subdued palette Mrs. O is wearing. Sasha is adorable, as usual. I agree that someone needs to get the President a fun, colorful tie -- it could still be tasteful.
This image of the this beautiful, loving family walking home from church together is priceless.
Wow, wow, wow, our first family rocks!!! What a beautiful and enchanting family!!! First Lady Michelle looks so beautiful in her simple but very pretty church attire. Little Sasha looks so happy to have mum and dad holding her as she skips along and Malia so shy but grace and wisdom beyond her years and a close bond with her mum. I love, love, love that they get these simpler moments as a family. May the good Lord continue to bless, guide and protect them, Amen!!! Thanks for the video link Dee.
Lovely outfits on the First Lady and First Daughters, the President wore his suit well; however, that is not the same skirt the FL wore to the President's September 2009 address to Congress.
Why are people on this site so over analytical
Mrs O looks absolutely lovely. the colours are so fresh and vibrant, makes her look very approachable!
WOW !!! My fellow bloggers, why the attack for a comment that I made in complete innocence ???
I was not making an issue of what particular faith they belong to, I was merely saying that something other than what they wear all week would be nice. Yes, I was raised in a Pentecostal church and I now attend an Anglican church where myself and other parishioners make a little bit more of an effort with our attire for Sunday service.
This is not a dig. The Obama's are worshipping God, that is the main issue but if I had children, I would not feel comfortable with them wearing leggings to church. This goes for my Catholic, Hindu & Muslim friends, although we may differ in how and who we worship, we all universally agree on this.
By the way Barbara, you and I are >>>><<<<<. I was also thinking how smart and cute the girls were dressed for the inauguration. I was going to make a point of this but then I remembered that they were wearing winter coats.
Please !!!!! This is my opinion and my opinion alone. No nasty feelings intended towards the Obama's at all.
We should all follow Mrs. T's lead. Let's not critique the daughters. Mrs. O is fair game and, in this outfit, she is on top of her game.
@ Gita
"Render your heart and not your garment"
There is nothing INappropriate about the clothes. There is no skimpiness, no bare bellies. The children's outfits are very child-like. Note that FLOTUS' and POTUS' outfits are very different.
One could just imagine the uproar had FLOTUS worn leggings. PHOOEY!!
They look great!!!!!!
I remember going to churches where there was a dress code of Sunday best. The ones who dressed in their Sunday best were shown to the front by vergers who thought that these people were "better". The poorer, or less well dressed, or downright shabby, were swept to the back of the church (i.e. under a rug) because they didn't look good enough.
Now, pardon me if I missed something, but if there IS a God, I seem to recall that according to doctrine, he loves everyone. Not for their clothes, as I recall, but for the way they live. With kindness, compassion, and love. With thoughts of helping the less fortunate. Of being mindful, respectful, thoughtful.
I don't think posting snotty comments about a beautiful child who is attending church with her parents comes under the heading of a) kindness b) compassion or c) love. Or is mindful, respectful or thoughtful.
Therefore, I'd put those girls slightly ahead of our more acerbic posters in terms of respect and kindness.
As for Mrs O's style, I love that outfit. Love the sequinned cardigan, love the pink and brown, love the bow belt. Not keen on the skirt (inverted pleats remind me of school uniform) but she's tied it in beautifully so it does look lovely. The girls look great. Mr O looks a tad too formal for me. I'd have much preferred to see him in trousers, a shirt and a jumper. That's quite smart enough - this is church, not a meeting!
(Thanks for the video link - did I spot TBG at 49 seconds???!)
I think Mrs O colors are perfect for this time of year. The president...looks well...presidential as he should. The girls are appropriate. They are both in dresses/skirt and cute flats...versus jeans, t-shirt, or gymshoes. The fact that they are in leggins is a probably a testament to the fact that its fall and its windy and cool....and their mom...just like mine may have said "go put something on your legs"...and they grabbed a color and went...:)
I'm not a regular churchgoer by any means, but I'm always surprised when I do go at how casually so many people are dressed. By what I see (blue jeans! blouses cut down to here!), the girls are positively formal! (Of course, I'm in a university community, so that may account for some of it.)
Frankly, I think they all look fine (except for that damn belt again!). Neat, clean, and covered.
To those who are proclaiming the Obamas aren't Pentecostal, what's that got to do with it? Well-dressed churchgoing women are not confined to the Pentecostal Church. To quote Maya Angelou: Sunday morning comes. If the woman is African-American, she has some fancy hatboxes on a shelf in her closet . . . She dresses in the finest Sunday church clothes she owns . . . and the she puts on THE HAT, and it is The Hat. And that church can be Baptist, Church of God in Christ, AME, or any little storefront church in the inner city.
I must recommend here Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry's book, Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats, not merely for the wonderful photography, but also for the interviews with the women, as they describe the social and cultural importance of a fine church hat.
I agree with whoever said that people on here are too analytical about clothing. My goodness. Now the appropriate or not war has gone to the little girls. Sad.
I think they all look wonderful! The colors are gorgeous, and they look like a happy, loving family spending time together, which is pleasing to God.
As to the issue of appropriate, I also think it's a rather casual look BUT I actually like dressing up for church. I love clothes (as do most of us here on this site!), and this opens up a whole different category of clothing. My daughter wears ribbons in her hair, and lace anklets with patent shoes to church. My son wears button-down shirts with dress pants - sometimes a vest and tie. I don't do it because I believe that God will hear me better if my family is dressed a certain way. I just think they look adorable in dressy clothes:) Anyone who tries to make people feel badly about how they dress for church is flat-out wrong.
Is it a look everyone likes? No, but I do, and when dressing my kids, my opinion is most important. The same goes for Mrs. O. She dresses her girls however she likes, and just as someone can express that they think colorful hair bows are "ugly", others can express that they like colorful hair bows. When and how did it turn into God's requirements for how we come to church?
FWIW, no one said that the Obama's should dress to historical Pentecostal standards. Previous posters were giving us a point of reference for why they felt the looks were casual. Church and its surrounding issues are such a cultural phenomenon that it's easy to misunderstand what someone means. We don't have to jump all over each other because we're each used to seeing and doing different things!
Very sad. And I mean that sad as in 'pathetic', not sad as in weepy.
The Obamas attended church services at St. John's Lafayette Square. It is an Episcopal church. People do not do the "Sunday Best" thing there, or in most Episcopal churches in DC (I live in DC and attend both Episcopal and Catholic churches here on a regular basis). The whole family is dressed appropriately. If they had entered any Catholic church in DC, they would have been overdressed. You'd be surprised.
I am Black and American Indian and live in the Pacific Northwest. I RARELY see Black/African-American women wearing hats to church, be they Protestant or Catholic or Whatever. I think that wearing hats to church may be more of a "Southern Thing" than a "Black Thing."
IMHO, the Obama's are dressed appropriately.
What a lovely family!
I don't believe the original commenter of the girls' clothes was trying to be negative. I think she was making an observation based on her experiences. Now, I have been to a lot of churches over the years. Each time I moved to a different city, the search began again. From Catholic, Methodist, Episcopal, and Baptist what I have noticed is people don't really dress up as much anymore. I see older women in suits, pantyhose (haven't worn those in years), hats, etc. But, I am apart of the anti-suits generation! My girls and nieces have worn outfits similar to what Malia and Sasha are wearing to Church. And, they have even worn jeans! For Easter and Christmas we usually try to do a little more. But on a Sunday, when everyone is my household is moving slowly, we're lucky to just make it to Church!
I am a cradle Episcopalian (since 4 months).
This is a perfect outfit for our church. It is up to the individual person on how they want to dress to come to church. The motto in our church is "God is not looking at your clothes, but your hearts".
When I was a child, we wore lace coverings for the head. You will see hats in the Episcopalian church, but most have converted from another religion. Those of us that were reared in the Episcopalian church do not wear hats!
Thanks Shanna.
It is obviously from many of the posters here that it is not in one's best interests to put labels or "requirements" on what "YOU" not God may think it appropriate or not. It is a put off to people who do not have, or perhaps just preferr another style. Who are we to say what is and what's not appropriate. How sad it would be for someone who perhaps was comtemplating starting to go to church, and read a few of these blog and decided--nevermind, it's not worth all the drama. Who to you think God would blame for the one lost soul? I'm sure you know the correct answer. So let's just be happy that our First Family went to the House of God, and from the looks of it, enjoyed themselves very much! That's what's important--that you come as you are, you were welcomed and loved enough to come back again. That's what it's all about. That you have love one for another, that others may see your good works, and glorify me. (saith the Lord) :-)