Tangerine Twist
Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 11:00 AM 
Image by Saul Loeb / Getty Images
First Lady Mrs. O stands alongside Indian First Lady Gursharan Kaur as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives in the East Room of the White House.
Mrs. O wears a tangerine-hued brocade dress and coat by Isaac Mizrahi, from the designer's Pre-Fall 2009 collection. Click here to see a shorter jacket in the same fabric. Many will recall that Mrs. O wore another dress and coat combination from the same collection to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Metropolitan Museum of Art American Wing back in May. To see that ensemble, click here.
We love the fresh pop of color on both women. Simply radiant!
For more context of the color choice, reader mjohnso2 writes: "it appears to me that the First Ladies chose to dress in green and tangerine in reference to the colors in the Indian Flag: saffron, white and green. According to Wikipedia, Saffron means courage and sacrifice; white means purity and truth; and green means faith and fertility." Fascinating! Mrs. O has been known to use her wardrobe to convey meaning, and this may be the best example yet. What do others think?
More photos of the first ladies follow below:
Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton
Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton
Isaac Mizrahi
Reader Comments (73)
similar style to the purple mizrahi outfit she wore to the met ribbon cutting several months back; love the color and pattern of the fabric. ms. kaur looks wonderful as well.
Absolutely love the colour on Mrs O. Any word on the designer Mrs T ?
I can't wait for tonight. My only regret is that because of the time difference, I won't see anything until tomorrow morning.
The last time I got this excited over Mrs O was when she visited Europe earlier this year. I was clicking on this website every minute for updates and could kick myself when I found out she was at the Royal Opera House in Covent Gdn, London which is a TWO MINUTE SLOW WALK FROM MY OFFICE.
The dress and coat are Isaac Mizrahi. SO LOVELY and RADIANT! (Excuse the shouting, I am excited)
She outshines everyone in that room.
Sorry Mrs T, I'm getting over excited. I just relaised that you posted details of the designer. I love the look.
Very appropriate color and pattern for hosting the leader of India. There's a photo on Politico of Mrs. O and Mrs. Kaur in the Yellow Room - Mrs. O has removed the jacket and the sheath dress beneath is divine (as are the great flower arrangements with all the traditional colors of India)!
Is she wearing stockings ? Her legs look a bit shiny
Stav, her legs always look shiny. Michelle is polished from head to toe and looks simply radiant. Her legs go on and on. Wow, what a woman.
I agree Erin, the colour of Mrs O's suit reminds me of turmeric and spices. Love the look, love it !!
Stav,
Her legs are moisturized.
She picked the perfect color to coordinate with the gorgeous olive green sari. I, too, noticed her legs looked baby-oiled. On Yahoo they have a video about the state dinner tonite and the menu features herbs from the White House herb garden. Nothing "tenty" about that white pavilion!
Just Lovely!
Lovely! Just Lovely!
Mrs. T & Jestina, don't feel bad. I'm so excited that I have to calm myself down because I really want to do cartwheels about tonight's dinner! LOL! I can't wait!
We Shall Overcome...In Couture!
From the White House archives, photos of the 2005 official dinner for Dr. Singh and Mrs. Kaur:
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/visit/india/essay1/index.html
Interesting to see the Mrs. Bush is in a shade of orange.
A larger full length view. That sari is stunning!
http://www.daylife.com/photo/03VraMge6J5KY?q=michelle+obama
I think her legs look great. The two outfits on the First Ladies do coordinate well together.
I find myself leaning in closer and closer to my computer to take in the details of Mrs. Kaur's beautiful sari. I love the rich green tone of her blouse, the intricate pattern and color in the drape, and in particular the edging/border print. The pleating in the skirt is very pretty too. What a lovely representative of her country and their traditional sari this lady is. How is she going to top this at the state dinner, because this is a stunner! Very elegant.
Oh yes, Mrs. O looks quite nice too and behind her also Mrs. Clinton in red and Dr. B in cobalt blue!
I do like the outfit though I liked it in purple better. She looks good. They seem to be the same just different color and fabric. Not sure why she continues to wear variations of the same, but.....she does look good. Her legs are "shiny" but thats fine.
I would wear Mizrahi with my eyes closed! Love this hue against Mrs.O's skin tone.
But, tonight is the litmus test...and I'm sooooo freaking excited!!!
She looks stunning and radiant! So smart with the nod to India in the colors and fabric she chose without donning a costume. Too exciting!
She looks wonderful and it seems like she's wearing some kind of bronzer on her legs.
I would love to know what it is.
I think she also wore it for the G20 when she wore a dress of similar color as this one.
She looks great in this photo and I love the outfit..
I love the fabric and cut of the coat. But oh dear I think I must be the only one who would prefer a plain matching or toning coloured dress underneath. Her legs look a little bit oily? Would certainly wear some fine, fine stockings for such an occasion and season.
um, G20 anticipation all over again? yes. I cannot waittttt! AH!!! she's amazing.
Two beautiful women! I love this look, of course our FLOTUS got rid of the outer coat as soon as she could:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x14226
i love this site ..i am on it for hours daily , just Day dreaming, but have never posted anything
i always love the FLOTUS outfits....she s almost always FAB!!!...and always keeps us guessing and i admire her grace and elegance...she is my role model
also a shout out to Ms T .....u did a FAB job with this website...i wish i thot of it First :)))
to all the ladies ...here's to 7 more years of fabulous fashion......! ENJOY y'all
This settles it - she can wear any color. If anyone had said Michelle Obama in pumpkin brocade, I'd have been skeptical. And wrong. She looks stunning.
It is very similar to the Met ribbon cutting lilac ensemble by Mizrahi, but with one big, important difference: this fits her like a glove. Isaac the Adorable must be over the moon. I sure am!
I LOVE THIS DRESS THE FLOTUS LOOK GREAT. MS T I HOPE WE WILL HAVE SOME GREAT PICTURE OF THE STATE DINNER. I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHAT SHE WILL BE WEARING
TONIGHT.
I wonder what she'll do with her hair tonight. Has she been letting it rest? Heaven knows it gets a workout (and not the healthy kind) when she wears it down every day. Or is she on to a new do?
We've weighed in on our dress color bets for tonight, and we've got nothing better to do until evening, so . . what do ya'll think: hair up? hair down? a little of both?
On the jewelry front: I wonder if she will wear her signature bangles tonight - bangles are huge in India, often worn by the dozen.
this is one of her best looks this year !
Great Color
Great Style
No trinkets
@YOLA
Thanks for that superb shot. I feel like Alice peeping through the key hole at these two exquisite ethereal beauties...SIGH
I THINK THE FLOTUS WILL WERE HER HAIR DOWN TONIGHT SHE HAS BEEN WEARING IT UP TO LET IT REST FOR TONIGHTS BIG EVENT, THE POTUS CAN SWEAT IT OUT LATER.
I love this color on the First Lady, and the fit is wonderful!! I do think, though, that her legs are much too shiny. They look oily ... it's kind of distracting.
So happy to see the upswept hairdos continuing. Mrs. O has a very attractive and expressive face, and a well-shaped head and ears. No need for her to torture her hair to camouflage any flaws.
So pretty. Love the tangerine color. I can already see she will be taking some risks and incorporating lots of jewel tones and bright hues for today's affairs, which makes perfect sense for India's culture and the fact that they complement her so well. I also love the photo of her sitting with India's Prime Ministers wife in the yellow oval room. The colors of the walls, Mrs.O's dress and the PM wife's sari look so sumptuous together. I can see Mrs.O and her new official florist have done a great job in decorating the White House.
Who ever she chooses for her dress tonight will go down in history. If it isn't one of her past choices like Jason Wu or Michael Kors, I'm guessing she will choose and Indian-American designer like Naeem Khan or Rachel Roy (whom she has worn before). There's also a new Asian-American designer by the name of Prabal Gurung, who is not of Indian descent, but his gown design aesthetic is gorgeous and would fit her perfectly. Can't wait for 2:00 when she previews everything with the school girls and the dinner tonight!
I hope Mrs. O wears the upsweat hairdo with bangs. She looked amamazing on the cover of Glamour. That hair style is very elegant. I haven't quite gotten the bang to resemble hers but I'm trying :-)
Yay! Return of the J. Crew constellation cardigan she wore in London and with a pretty silver shiny belt. Love it. Watch her live here .
This is just pure elegance. Nothing to say but another stunningly great look, right after the gray winner of yesterday. Did she get a stylist, because honestly, the proportions, the color (like true curry), the shoes ( I want those shoes!!!), the makeup, the hair (elegant with this outfit and a perfect choice) - EVERYTHING is on point in this outfit! WOW! This may be one of her most perfect looks.
Can we get a closeup of the earrings?
Perfect color for the season. The fabric is beautiful and the jacket fits well.
Great color on her and looks sorta Indianish. She looks great with her hair like that too.
First shot of State Dinner place setting available here: http://twitpic.com/qryba
Love the green. What does green mean in India? I noticed Mrs. Kaur was wearing green this morning.
HuffPo has a picture of FLOTUS from this morning gives you a great up-close look at the fabric of her outfit and those amazing earrings. Love those earrings! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/24/michelle-obama-lights-up_n_368894.html
Dinner menu:
Potato and Eggplant Salad
White House Argula with onion seed vinaigrette
2008 sauvignon blanc, Modus Oprendi, Napa Valley, California
Red lentil soup with fresh cheese
2008 Riesling Brooks "Ara" Wilamette Valley, Oregon
Roasted Potato Dumplings with tomato dumplings
chick peas and okra
or
green curry prawns
carmelized salsify with smoked collard greens and coconut aged basmati
2007 granache, Beckman Vineyars, Santa Ynez, California
Pumpling Pie tart
pear tatin
whipped cream and caramel sauce
Sparkling Chardonay, Thibaut Janisson Brut, Monticello, Virginia
Petits Fours and Coffee
Cashew Brittle
Pecan Pralines
Passion Fruit and Vanilla Gelees
Chocolate dipped fruit
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/11/obama_state_dinner_official_fo.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Great choice of color. Orange is a very auspicious color in Indian culture.
Mrs. O looks stunning in this incredible color, topped off by her radiant smile. The exquisite beauty of this brocade can be seen in a couple of close photos on GettyImages.com. It's fabulous, and I think gives a lovely nod to Indian culture.
I love the photo of the two women in the white house. The entire composition is like a richly pigmented, painting. Gorgeous! Those flower arrangements are fabulous, beautiful bursts of color and joy.
Since the table clothes for tonight's dinner are green, I suspect that green will be the backdrop to some fabulous bright colors in the flowers (which I suspect will be similar to the ones above), the decorations, and Mrs. O's gown. I'm thinking she will wear one of the colors represented in these flowers. That's just my guess, of course, based on nothing. It will be so fun to see what she has chosen for tonight.
Thanks to Marabout40's posting of the menu, I just noticed that the Riesling Brooks "Ara" Wine will be from the vineyards here in the Wilamette Valley, in Oregon. Yeah! Oregon is beginning to make a name for itself in the world of wine.
love MRS O's outfit and Prime Minister's wife's traditonal wear..
This is absolutely stunning. And to think its Issac. Nice. I'm sure he's all smile. Its a nice touch for Mrs. O to wear an American designer, yet giving off an Indian vibe.
I have my money on a violet dress for this evening.
Mrs Kaur's saree is very lovely. Muted, but lovely. I wish we could see the pallu in more detail. And while I am not in love with the colour of Mrs O's suit, she looks wonderful anyway.
She looks fabulous. The dress and matching coat is gorgeous. It fits her perfectly. The color everything about it is perfect.
I just adore this ensemble. Isaac did our Michelle proud with this suit. The color, texture, details as well as the cut is spot on. When you see the pictures on Getty Images the details are stunning. This is inching up there with her Inauguration ensemble as being my all-time favorite.
Hey Mrs. T,
Love the site and like many others here, I'm totally gaga for Mrs. O.
I'm commenting to add my two cents about why I think the First Ladies' decided to wear those colors this afternoon.
I haven't seen anyone mention this elsewhere, but it appears to me that the First Ladies chose to dress in green and tangerine as a send up to the colors in the Indian Flag: saffron, white and green. According to Wikipedia, Saffron means courage and sacrifice; white means purity and truth; and green means faith and fertility. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_colors_of_the_indian_flag_and_what_does_each_color_stand_for