Pleated Perfection
Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 7:57 PM 
Image by Mandel Ngan / Getty Images
Image by Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
First Lady Mrs. O looks stunning in a pleated, orchid purple chiffon gown at the Kennedy Center Honors this evening. More details on the gown and necklace to follow.
Update: Mrs. O wears a corset gown by Peter Soronen and necklace by Tom Binns from the designer's Mutiny of Splendor collection (thanks Torrance!).
Per the New York Times, the evening honored five artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Robert De Niro, Mel Brooks, Gracy Bumbry and Dave Brubeck. Tonight's gala performance followed a dinner hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday night and a reception earlier today at the White House. We are crossing our fingers that a full-length view will surface on the White House Flickr feed. We will also have a chance to watch the event when it airs on December 29 on CBS.
Front and Back of Peter Soronen gown:
Images via Peter Soronen Studio Tom Binns necklace in detail:
Image via New York Magazine
Peter Soronen, Tom Binns
Reader Comments (139)
The First Lady looks fabulous! I love, love, love the gown, the color and the cut for her. I still wish that she would borrow some fab jewels from Tiffany's or Harry Winston for events like this.
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I almost fell out of my chair! FLOTUS looks BEAUTIFUL.......wow, she is most def. a show STOPPER! She makes me so proud!
God Bless America!
She just outdoes herself time after time. Dying for a full-length view and also a back view...love the lace-up back. The color is outstanding on her. And the necklace is incredible! What color are the shoes...what about the bag? I need more pics! She is my fashion hero!
for the life of me! i can't understand people who feel the need to say the flotus is not beautiful...she is beautiful in every sense of the word...she is an artists dream...well sculpted face and body...and that charisma and substance added to that...vava voom!...she 's got lots of love bestowed to her by potus..and that's the important thing! that your man desires you...
how many of you are truly desired....some of you've got no substance that's the problem!
this woman's got charm,personality...and she's very healthy looking! it doesn't get much better...
Aww the picture of the president leaning over to his wife is soooo cute! Here's what he said in the beginning of the reception:
"We are joined by Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- (applause) -- members of Congress and members of the Kennedy family. (Applause.) I see sprinkled through the crowd some pretty fancy company, as well -- you've got the Queen of Soul. (Applause.) You've got Martin Scorsese -- he knows a little bit about film-making. (Applause.) And my spectacular First Lady is here, as well. (Applause.)"
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-reception-kennedy-center-honorees
Talk about a man in love and appreciative. I can only imagine how much he relies on her for mental stability throughout this presidency.
The back of the dress does it for me even more! It's a nice splash of sexy. Mrs. O knows how to be alluring.
For all those who wonder whether FLOTUS knows it's Winter in DC, consider this, here's a woman who departs from a well-insulated and heat-modulated mansion, steps into a state-of-the-art limo, is driven in fine style with police and security escort to the Kennedy Center, which is equally temperature-controlled. So, from her perspective, does it really matter?
@Curious: That photo you linked is something. First POTUS is looking really deferential like a knight. Two, her dress looks even more beautiful as it appears to be a richer purple than orchid and three VPOTUS is getting all touchy-feely with Mrs. O. I'mma need Joe Biden to stop grabbing the FLOTUS in that manner, but if POTUS doesn't mind, I won't. But I'm a little jealous for Mr. O.
Does anyone know if Mrs. O will be joining Mr. O to Oslo to accept the Nobel peace prize?
The back looks just like the back of the red Soronen we never got to see the front of.
I now wonder if its the same dress.
"Does anyone know if Mrs. O will be joining Mr. O to Oslo to accept the Nobel peace prize"-
YES. According to Norway press she has been confirmed to accompany her husband to Norway.
she looks fab.wow,great dress for a great lady.go gog go mrs.o
Gorgeous!! So glad to hear Mrs O will be joining President O in Norway, I can't wait. The President sure loves his First Lady and it's a beautiful thing to behold. It's really wonderful and heartwarming to have this lovely couple and their beautiful children in the WhiteHouse.
WOW WOW WOW, MRS. O HAS ENTERED A NEW DEMENSION. LIKE PLEATED
tissue paper - ironed to PERFECTION - FAIRLYTALE LAND. UNBELIEVABLE. I WANT
THAT DRESS. That's my style. Necklace perfect with bracelets. Mrs. O continues to
bring fashion designers to the forefront. What a Lady. What a great moment in History.
Peter Soronen Thank You for this beautiful dress. Love LOVE it.......................
A lot of thought and work went into this dress, LOOK AT THOSE PLEATS AGAIN.
Top of my favourites list.
I tell you, the President and VP must be so comfortable with each other for the VP to be able to put his arm around the first lady's waist. The Obama's are so touchy touchy by nature and it seems to be rubbing off on everyone else. That is truly a beautiful picture. I love this Presidency.
Beautiful, beautiful dress, perfect color and fabulous necklace. Why the blue eyeshadow when lavender would have been perfect?
@mszonian254
I couldn't agree with you more.All the fuss about sleeves and sleeveless in winter. Whenever I visit a country in winter, I do not wear "winter clothes" unless I am out and about, like shopping. Once I am being driven to and from my destination, I wear regular clothes because it becomes unnecessary to be all bundled up. And my transport mode is NOT state of the art like hers.
GET OVER IT! She is in her comfort zone.Break the glass ceiling. Jump out of the box.
The first lady will be in Norway ??? Goody Goody, more lovely clothes for me to fall in love with.
I have had enough with these size zero, spray-tanned, bleach blonde, blue-eyed, saline-filled boobs, botox-filled lips, perfectly capped teeth, fake hair women being held up as the standard of beauty.
I bet a lot of people in this country think all these Tiger Wood skanks coming out the woodwork are "beautiful" and "hot!" Give me a break. They disgust me. They are vapid and fake. They have no respect for themselves or anyone else. They care for nothing and no one but themselves.
Michelle Obama is my standard for beauty - inside and out. She's real - through and through. She's a vision of physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
Love you Michelle!
marabout40, I could not have said it better myself even if I tried.
That's definitely Tom Binns, and is definitely this necklace: http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2009/04/tom_binns_slideshow.html#photo=1
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.........Love that necklace!
Bejeweled Elegance! Since orchid is one of my favorite jewel-tone colors, coupled with the pleated chiffon...my, my, my! Beautiful upswept hairdo. I can just imagine the 'First Lady' walking so gracefully in this gown while the sheer softness of the chiffon, flowed as if a gentle breeze encompassed her. SIMPLY GORGEOUS!!!!
@marabout40
I have to really restrain myself when posting because I want this blog to be the beautiful place that Mrs. T intends it to be. But you said it just right for me, First Lady Michelle is a real through and through beautiful woman not created by plastic surgery for the cameras.
I just finished reading the Audacity of Hope and on page 327 her husband describes her this way.
"Most people who meet my wife quickly conclude she is remarkable. They are right about this - she is smart, funny and thoroughly charming. She is also very beautiful, although not in the way that men find intimidating or women find off-putting; it is in the lived-in beauty of the mother and busy professional rather than the touched-up image we see on the cover of glossy magazines"
Why should she care what anyone else thinks of her looks anymore than we should care what other say about her looks. Let's just keep right on loving her and style and the work that she is doing as First Lady.
Anyway, I didn't think she could look lovelier that she did at the state dinner and she has just raised the bar again. I can barely stand it.
Re Christen's comment about the First Lady's blue eyeshadow, in lieu of lavender. Just from looking at the photo, it's definitely a light, blended smokey-look effect for evening. There's just a hint of blue (softly-muted) which makes brown-eyes POP! If you notice whether it's in fashion or home decor, when the color brown is used, it's usually accompanied by the color blue which causes the brown to stand out. Also since blue is used with red to make purple...and many other color combinations stem from that family, I can see hints of blue in the shadow of the gown where someone else may not see it. It really makes the golden, reddish-brown tones in her skin stand out.
Thank you marabout40 :)
The first lady looks divine and I am sooooo proud of her :D.
Mrs. T - You were right about Tom Binns. And thanks for the larger detailed photo of it. It's quite a work of art, but looks so much more alive and exciting on Mrs. O's beautiful skin than on that pure white background. Of course, it's also her radiant spirit that brings everything and everyone around her to life. She always lifts my spirits.
I also really liked the second necklace at the site Torrance posted (thanks Torrance).
Fabulous, bravo! I am lost for words!
To echo Ms. M on the eyeshadow question, the event is televised and the lights can be quite hot which can cause everything to recede. Lavender eyeshadow would disappear and/or look silvery, which would not be a particularly flattering look with Mrs. O.'s skin tone. Blue, however, will keep some texture around her eyes. It doesn't work perfectly in a still photo but when you see the broadcast, it will be very effective.
I love, love, love this look. I'd call this color orchid. And so glad to see Mrs. O. use shaping through the corset and the suggestion of a waistline rather than a belt. I think what she's really after is definition, and belts provide it in the easiest way, but they can chop up an outfit as we have seen. A button here, some tailoring there, in this case some cinching all can be more graceful.
I ran across this photo on flickr today. I think it may be from the party Pres. and Mrs. O hosted yesterday.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smalldog/4166511688/
@Shasue--thanks for that flickr post. I think that it's Michael Kors---Mrs. T any hints on the ensemble that Shasue posted?
sorry my post got cut off-I was going to say that there were media reports in Trinidad that she was coming to Summit of the Americas with Barack and they turned out to be wrong, so just because Norway thinks she's coming doesn't mean she is. Robert Gibbs only mentioned Obama's sister and her husband going. I really hope she goes to show support for her husband-but I won't be shocked if she DOESN'T go.
First lady with the Turkish prime minister's wife. She is rocking the updo's. It's going to be exciting when she lets her hair down again. I'm sure it's gotten quite healthy and re-energized.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/4169503251/sizes/l/
Thanks IVA - I've started a new post for this look!
the whole ensemble is faubulous.
that necklace is sooooo beautiful.
i see that tom binns also did the necklace she wore with the soronen at the governor's ball
http://www.vogue.co.uk/jewellery/news/090227-michelle-obama-wears-tom-binns.aspx
soronen's corseted outfits go very well with tom binn's elaborate pieces. they both complement each other for dramatic effect.
i confess i had never heard of tom binn until i read this article. i went to his site and his collections are sensational. i have never seen a designer with more diverse collection series. they look like they could have been done by 3 designers.
if i had one complaint of mrs-o its that i wish she would consider wearing hair combs to hold up her bun. i saw the back of her hair on some shots and the state dinner as well and strains of hair was sticking out in the back. a lovely hair comb/pin etc would give it a more finished look.
The President really is WHIPPED. First Lady is beautiful, sexy. elegant, classy, and confident. The way he smiles when he looks at her. You feel the love. Whip appeal. Barack Obama is one fine, handsome, smooth, cool, and sexy man/President. Some call him " SILK " , because he is sooooo smooth. I love this man.
It was such fun to see her wearing Soronen right after I had the privilege of meeting him at the book signing. When I saw that wasp waist on MO, I was pretty sure it was his dress. I also called the Binns necklace - maybe I'm getting better at this ID stuff! (BTW: I asked Peter if the "lace up" feature in his pieces was the real deal, and it is. I had thought perhaps the laces covered a hidden zipper, but they do not.)
Tom Binns has a shop in New York now, at 41 Perry St (nearest cross is W 4th St.). The NYTimes had an article on the shop and his line in their Style section on November 5. He has beautiful, visually extravagant taste, which suits MO's life well.
I like that she's wearing high end costume pieces along with her diamond bangles. Binns's pieces are far from inexpensive, but they are not close to the price points at Harry Winston or Tiffany. They are in the realm of possibility for many more people. I think this is a sensitive move on her part. I'd like to leave the borrowing of fine jewelry to the celebrities on the red carpet. I don't think it's appropriate for the first lady, and would undoubtedly raise the ire of many critics.
I love the way the blue eyeshadow picks up the color of the blue stones in that amazing necklace.
Sorry, but that is a boring c. 1962 dress that is just a copy of what Jackie Kennedy used to wear==I think she's a lovely lady, but the outfit is way too prom queen, with the back and the necklace is too much. She would look better with just earrings. Honestly I can't think of anything she's worn that I've liked--we all have different tastes, but her choices just look so matronly! Granted, she dresses differently from Hillary and Laura, but they were older. She has the chance to wear younger things, but this is just another 1960s look. She would look wonderful in simple, modern clothes. Personally I think she would look wonderful in some of Karl Legerfeld's Chanel gowns; they are suitable for her age and status, but not as granny as these. Her skin is gorgeous though.
Bevi <> commented on Pleated Perfection:
I love the way the blue eyeshadow picks up the color of the blue stones in that amazing necklace.
@Bevi
I thought the same thing. There are blue undertones in the pleats of the dress depending on how the light falls on it. A stunner of a dress.