...And to All a Good Night
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 7:55 PM 
Images by Tim Sloan and Alex Wong / Getty Images
Tonight marks the National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony, just south of the White House. As part of the festivities, First Lady Mrs. O treated a group of children to a reading of "The Night Before Christmas." We adore their knitted pom pom hats!
Per the AP, "every president has presided over the tree lighting since Calvin Coolidge in 1923." The 40-foot Colorado spruce was planted near the White House in 1978 and has served as the National Christmas Tree ever since.
On a style note, First Lady Mrs. O kept to basic black brown this evening, debuting a new two-button black wool swing coat. Perhaps we'll see it again this winter?
P.S. Reader chrystelle has observed that Mrs. O's leather cut-out belt, also seen here, may be an Alexander McQueen piece from the designer's Fall 2006 collection. Runway images here and here. We know Mrs. O has worn McQueen in the past, so this certainly may be the case!
Reader Comments (89)
Well said, mszonian524 !
davesoko1 ....What your saying about Desire Rogers is the same thing I suggested months ago about this woman. I remember the first time she popped up on my radar it was over the Prime Minster of Great Britain gifts gate incident at the White House. She had given First Lady Michelle some cheap items to had over to the Prime Minster Wife. And next was the time she was asked to take photos in the White House garden wearing a dress by a designer who trashed Michelle. The only reason she was stopped from taking the photos was due to Robert Gibbs quick thinking.
Ever since then I have had a bad feeling about Desire...I said it then and I'll say it now this the first social secretary I ever seen promote herself to such an extent well beyond the job protocol...This woman plays second fiddle to no one and Michelle will soon learn this fact.
Serious, seriously anything less than glowing about the Obama's will not be tolerated by members. <^..^>
Great post lisa, I think we need to be vigilant about this site not becoming BeckLand 2. I see regular posts about the first lady turned into political wars. I'm so glad we have FACT checkers to keep their rhetoric at bay. How can YOU call yourself American and yet know NOTHING about this countries traditions.
sojourner thats why you have Faux news and various Teabagger blogs.
I believe the economy has crept a bit out of that tank since last Christmas when the Bushes participated in an identical ceremony--also very lovely and fun to watch and meaningful for the country.
Another cost cutting measure by the Obamas: the use of LED Christmas lights on that big tree will use a fraction of electricity from last year.
Uplifting to watch such a loving, intact family together.
Wowza! I had not seen this full-length photo of the dress she wore during the unveiling of the WH Christmas decorations: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/gallery/2009/12/christmas-at-the-white-house.php?img=1 She looks stunning!
Puleez, dont respond to the tea baggers complaining about Christmas traditions. Just ignore them and maybe they will go away. Love Malia's outfit.
Just saw your write-up in the BC alumni magazine...this looks like a great blog. I just added it to my google reader. Congrats on your recent engagement!
I really wish we could enjoy this site for what it is and not get caught up in so much politics. The only politics that we should be discussing here are of the fashion variety. Everything else, like the ridiculous notion that the Obamas should not celebrate the holidays along with the rest of the nation this year, has plenty of other forums. Why here? Those of us who do stick to the purpose behind this site are not so deluded by current politics that we cannot be objective about this presidency. We just know where to take that and understand that it does not belong here.
Very nice response, mszonian524!
Mrs. O looks wonderful, but I have to give a big shout-out and thumbs up to Mrs. Robinson. She looks sleek, modern and 20 years younger. Great job, Mrs. Robinson.
Re Seriously's post: A number of people have ably responded to her allegations, but I would just like to say two things: The right would have accused the Obamas of being anti-Christian and at war with Christmas if they would have cancelled this event; and second they have gone out of their way to use recycled and natural materials for this year's Christmas decorations in addition to low-energy LED lights. I don't celebrate Xmas even though I'm Christian, but I didn't even know there were low-energy LED lights until I read about it from the National Christmas tree website. The Obamas have done everything to scale back this event while having old-fashioned Christmas cheer. And anyway, this website is neither the time nor the place to have this discussion. I would not go on FreeRepublic and talk about how I love the Obamas b/c that is not the purpose of that website--don't come here and talk about non-fashion/First Lady issues. There are other more appropriate venues to do so.
To the 2nd poster: WHAT is a BUILT????????
Marabout40, Thanks so much for the link to the talkingpointsmemo picture of FLOTUS. That is such a lovely picture. No other outlet has shown that picture (to my knowledge) and it's fantastic!
Dessert Wind,
Yes she is a sweetheart. I agree.
Mrs. T
Is there a reason why I am getting tons of posts from last year and earlier this year, perhaps technical? Not a problem though, I am enjoying reading some of them for the first time and looking as some lovely pics.
@ Serious,
I appreciate your dose of reality and feel you have stated your position very well.
Most of us follow the news on a daily basis and have a clear understanding of the econony and all the other challenges that face this great nation.
Most of us also understand that this site (thankfully) is focused on the First Lady's fashion.
You found this site, now give us your fashion opinions !
Have a great weekend everyone !
POLITICAL STUFF, Yes I agree, go to O chat, top right hand corner of this site.
I'm not saying we can't mention a couple of political factors, if it compliments the picture.
Didn't someone suggest this before? I am not computer savvy, so Maybe someone could
create a chat group as a sister to this one - for more detailed comments.
This is about Whom and What she's wearing.
Please don't let politics take over this site. Nobody who trolls over to a fashion site honoring Mrs O with the specific intention of criticizing the Obamas is a truly "serious" person.
Their entire motivation is to crash the party and poison the punch.
@denisegirl Oh dear!!! I have been doing site maintenance the past two days. When we transitioned the site to Squarespace in May/June? I lost all of the images and formatting in historical posts. I literally cried over it.
Finally I decided to go back through to reformat and add photos, but had no idea that would be pushed out to readers. Eek! I hope it hasn't been too much of a nuisance.
Guys, the last thing I'll say. "Serious" made two comments. There have been at least 30 comments in response. At some point, it doesn't help. If you're annoyed, it's best to just change the subject with a comment that gets the conversation back on track!
@Meaghan, I'm glad you found the site!! I love fellow Eagles. :o)
What a wonderful kodiak moment. LOL
Oh well Unemployment went down! Can we celebrate Christmas?
For the first time in my adult life, i have to say I am sooo sick of her usually unflattering and unnecessary belts! Let it go already!
ALLL OF THEM LOKED GREAT I LOVE THE KIDS COATS THEY LOOK CUTIE ON THEM AND OF COUSE I LOVE MRS O JACKET AND PANTS AND BELT AND SHOES. WILL EVRYTHING LOL.
I love her entire outfit. Really like the monochromatic colors whether it is black or brown! The swing coat is in style now I know, and we're seeing some coats with 3/4 sleeves. however, for me that is not practical, I need a coat that buttons all the way down and has full length sleeves to keep WARM.
However for people who live in milder climates, but still have a "winter", this type of coat might be the way to go.
"the Obamas had the most lavish state dinner, with the largest attendee" When you make a comment like that, you should at least have your facts straight.
Bill Clinton owns the most lavish and largest attendee state dinner, with 700 attendees. The Obamas had 320. Geesh, you'd think people that want to criticize the Obama's would at least fact check their bogus claims.
"Even though it's his home, maybe they should do something more modest in recognition of hard times." Whoever wrote this is a walk oxymoron. What is not modest about going home for Christmas, as many families are doing for the holidays?
You people need to get a clue. As many times as Bush went to Texas during two wars and leading us into the great economic collapse of 2008, but the Obamas aren't supposed to sneeze? Give me a break people.
Mrs. O looks great. Is it just me, or, does every White House event seem a little more glamorous with the Obamas in office?
I would love to know how those darling children happened to have matching hats. Both styles and colors are so cute. I wonder if the White House supplied matching hats for the event.
Char, I was wondering the same thing. Those hats are adorable. Mrs. T asked us about knitting yesterday. I'd be interested in knowing more.They are cute as pie, both the hats and the kids!
Oh, hell.
To The Other Michelle, who writes, "For the first time in my adult life...." Don't think we don't get where you're coming from.
I hate that politics invades everything - even a fashion blog. This is the wrong forum for these types of attacks.
That said, I love all the pics of Michelle and her girls...and I'd love to see more of what her Mom wears too.
Dear Patient, thank you for being so, Patient!
The book signing at Bloomingdale's last night was a great success, and a wonderful opportunity to meet many of you readers (some who comment, and some who just visit). I had my camera, but didn't have a chance to take photos. I'm hoping to get a few from Bloomingdales which I'll then share on the site. Fingers crossed!
Love her in brown.
Nice column by Lynn Sweet in defense of Desiree Rogers in 12/5 issue of "Politics Daily."
HI MRS. T,
Looking forward to seeing those photos.
RE BOOK SIGNING - Is there a possibility of another one B4 Christmas?
Thanks.
To get back to the subject of the post, I was in D.C. this past week and went to visit the tree and the WH Christmas decorations. Both are lovely and if you are there, don't miss them. The WH will leave the lights and the trees inside up during the week after Christmas for public tours (I think the tradition is that they are taken down after Jan 6). Also, I missed seeing Mrs. O. at lunch on Friday by just a few minutes!
What the heck is a "walk oxymoron"?????