Isn't She Lovely
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at 8:07 PM 
Photo by Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images
The great Stevie Wonder is being honored with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at the White House this evening. The prize celebrates "the work of an artist whose career reflects lifetime achievement in promoting song as a vehicle of musical expression and cultural understanding". The event, the first in the "In Performance at the White House" series, will air Thursday night at 8PM EST on PBS. Check local listings here.
For the occasion, First Lady Mrs. O is wearing a deep v-neck, emerald green dress. Her hair is voluminous. And her wrist is sparkling with Loree Rodkin diamond bangles. We can't be certain, but we believe this dress may be a design by Stevie Wonder's wife, designer Kai Milla. An article in the New York Daily News earlier this year revealed:
Michelle Obama and Milla talked fashion at the Democratic National Convention when Stevie Wonder performed, and though Milla won't disclose the juicy details of their fashion huddle, she feels confident the two will work together at some point.
"If it doesn't happen for the inaugural I'm sure that she and I will work in the future on some level," says Milla who described Michelle as "a very genuine person."
While we don't recognize this exact design from any of Kai Milla's collections, the green, iridescent chiffon fabric does show resemblance to this dress from Milla's Spring 2008 collection.
Update: We've received confirmation that Mrs. O's emerald green, tea length, silk chiffon dress was in fact designed by Stevie Wonder's designer wife, Kai Milla. In her signature style, the black sash was the First Lady's own addition. To hear Mrs. O introduce Stevie Wonder, continue reading the rest of the post.
Reader Comments (121)
Michelle Obama introduces Stevie Wonder:
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/02/25/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry4829908.shtml
Did everyone hear me gasp ?
WOW WOW WOW.
What a knock out,
Digging the open toed metallic shoes.
The color of the dress supreme.
Love the contrasting wide black band defining the empire waist.
The neckline, dare I say it ? Sexy. But not too.
While daring, there is also an element of sweetness in this dress.
Per usual she chooses the perfect, focused and correct accessories keeping w/ a less is more aesthetic which looks so modern.
Her hair and makeup fresh and kicky and alive.
Peak of chic evening ensemble.
luv the vava voooom hair, love the dress, she looks beautiful and she is not 45, can't be.....lol j/k.
Love the close-up view from Chicagoan's link posted above. That dress fits her like a glove and the hair is so charming. Can't wait to see this event tomorrow night.
And hey to Matt, I agree with Jenna, it's nice to have a guy's POV
Suji, First Ladies have been doing cleavage for years! Check out Dolley Madison: http://z.about.com/d/history1800s/1/0/v/2/-/-/Dolley-Madison.jpg
I LOVE her hair!!! And the dress color is fabulous on her!
Amazing look! Not too Hollywood, but not your mother's First Lady. She's looked incredible at every event the last few days, especially last night at the Joint Session of Congress. Yeah, definitely, the hair is a winner, and the green is a great color on her. Kudos to her (and lucky Mr. President!)
OMG this woman does not stop!! Where does she get all this energy....it must be exhausting to LOOK THIS FABULOUS all the time.
That look seems almost retro to me. The color, the hair, it's all good.
Wow. We are in for a LONG FOUR YEARS of nonstop fashion and beauty excitement ladies and gentlemen.
I kind of like the dress but then I kind of don't something is off. but i love the color and the hair. it's great that she's switching it up.
I just love that she's giving us fashion!! no matter what
OMG this woman does not stop!! Where does she get all this energy....it must be exhausting to LOOK THIS FABULOUS all the time.
That look seems almost retro to me. The color, the hair, it's all good.
Did we all notice her hands in the video? They are beautifully manicured and just lovely.
Well ladies and gentlemen, buckle your seat belts, we are in for a FOUR YEARS of nonstop fashion and beauty excitement. (or is it 8?)
Her hair is amazing! Definitely an upgrade from her standard style! I'd love to see Mrs. O take on some more natural curls at some point.
The dress is lovely and that emerald green is, no pun intended, a gem...but...what's up with all these sleeveless items? ! It IS still very cold on the east coast.
has her eyebrow shape changed?
very nice! again, not one of my favorite looks but I think that's more because she's had so many grand slam fantastic ensembles that it's hard to meet those high expectations every time.
she looks nice, love the jewel tone, the design, and the bracelets.
most of all, i love the hairstyle! love how she mixes it up :)
This would have to be one of my favourite outfits so far- love the dress, jewels, shoes. Amazing look..
the president's remarks tonight were also very sweet, he talked about how if he hadn't been a stevie wonder fan mrs. o might never have dated him; and how stevie's music had been the soundtrack to his youth and in particular their courtship. they both looked great, and really happy.
SHe's very lovely tonight unfortunately like Ldev I think she must work her posture a little beat, she'll look better.
I can't wait to see the entire event tomorrow night!
Here's a little clip of the President presenting the award, a few remarks from Stevie and a link to a video of Mrs. Obama's introduction.
http://www.obama-mamas.com/blog/?p=184
The First Lady looks like a vision in this emerald dress. I love the flowing hair,it works very well with light and airy dress. The smokey eyes and the rosy hue on the cheeks add a touch of mystrey.
I love that is wearing another relatively unknown designer, Kai Milla.
Mrs O looks enchanting, the sleevless emerald dress is captivating , with its v neck and ruching around the empire waist , accented with black sash. She adds the perfect finish strappy metalic sandal and diamond bangles.
Its also empowering to see Mrs O address the audience whilst Mr O sits back.
Michelle is hitting her stride like WHOA. I thought purple was her color, but she's working emerald so well.
Spectacular. Better than many Hollywood actress at the Oscars. Is this really a First Lady???
Hi Everybody, i am new here but of course , i ve been following , reading all the comment since...
Yes! green looks good on her,stunning with diamond bangles...
wish to see you with sparkling diamond, 33 or 43 carat, emerauld and saphir like Nefertari or Cleopatra version 21 century.
atomic first lady
this is ridiculous !!!
i was blown away by her gown for the governors' ball, and didn't think that she can get any better than that.
now my jaw is on the floor.
fantabulous!
everything is stunning.
She looks like one of the Supremes!
Love this! After not being to happy with the Tuesday night's ensemble, this is perfection! The right time and place for a sleeveless dress.
Funny you should say that feefifoto, I was waiting for her to do a gag about "I'm not about to sing" because she did look like the lead singer at the opening of the video! LOL!
I think this is a smoking look! Oh my goodness. She's loosened up the hair to party level 1, and the lip gloss and dangly earrings look really sexy. I loved the colour and cut of the dress and she looks beautiful in it. I must confess I wasn't convinced that it fitted that well, and I have to say there was a crinkliness around the hem that made me wonder if it could have been pressed a bit better - but those are real detail whinges, not worth notice.
On the whole, I would say that Mr O probably didn't much want to talk to anyone else but Mrs O last night!
Georgeous - from head to toe!
Awesome! Love the hair, the dress was perfect for the event, the color looked gorgeous on her. I think I'm beginning to like her as much as I liked the late Princess of Wales as far as fashion goes!
I definately like this look too and the hair was a nice switch up. I think what really makes it special is that if it is Kai Milla since that is Stevie's wife! How cute!
Someone mentioned too much cleavage. In my opinion women of Mrs. O's size can get away with plunging necklines because there really isn't any cleavage showing so it does not look tacky or overly sexual. Now me on the other hand, my bazoogas ( let's just say there is more than 1 D in my size) would be falling out of that dress! No way I could pull it off in such a class way.
Why are there no pictures from The Governor's ball? Now, that was a dress!!
I like this one too. The green looks great on her.
There is a huge debate going on in some right wing papers about whether the first lady should wear bare arms,I think it is just a way to insult her as they cannot find anything else to beat her over the haed with. The first lady is elegant and favours clothes that flatter her-be sure to get online and defend her-I find the way some media outlets want to bring her down very insulting.Jackie O and Nancy Reagan loved sleeveless dresses way back then why is it such an issue now.
Really people, the sleeveless discussion is ridiculous, she is not some matronly 70 year old, she is the young and beautiful FLOTUS, and therefore she dresses the part, get over it!
anyways, thought I cannot see the full dress, it looks like Jill Biden was looking rather snazzy herself in black, check it out
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blacksnob/3310863782/in/set-72157614450176150/
I woke up this morning wondering if you would have posted the "Stevie Wonder" dress. You never dissapoint. Thank you for both the style and the substance of the evening. I LOVE the dress and the hair is beyond. I was noticing at Tuesday night's sppech that while the purple dress was stunning the hair needed some attention. Good work Mrs. O! I can't wait to see what you pull out next. Does anyone know if she has a stylist? I know she didn't on the campaign trail. Has that changed? Just wondering.
I guess it's not right for me to be annoyed with people talking about Michelle's arms, because I thought I would have made a slightly different choice Tuesday night. But really. Is there nothing more important to talk about right now than THIS particular criticism? It was just like Andrew Card grousing because Obama was not, in his opinion, "appropriately" dressed in the Oval Office. My thought is, hey, that's Obama's office, he can dress the way he likes.
I wish people would just say "I hate the Obamas" and go with that, rather than trying to pretend that Michelle's arms are a big problem.
As for her posture -- you know, Mrs. O. is bowlegged. I think she stands the way she does because that's the way her legs naturally go, and to stand with her feet closer together would probably involve conscious "posing." I find the "imperfection" rather charming. I mean, gosh, she's got this great husband, this great job, the cutest kids on the planet...give me something that brings her down to earth!
Hyde Parker -
That was a great post ! HA.
Thanks for educating us all the cyclical nature of fashion ' appropriateness'
Dear Nancy, We did indeed cover the 2009 Governors' Dinner here:
http://www.mrs-o.org/?p=4186
Mrs. T, I was about to tell Nancy the same thing.
I took a look at Jill Biden's outfit. NOthing snazzy about it. I know we admire and love these women, but it doesn't mean everything they wear is fab.
it's a small point but correct me if I'm wrong; I find Ms O's style a little more womanly(sp),feminine.sort of a little lovely twist-the hair, the colors, the cut of the clothes, the fabrics,heels-absolutely lovely.
Michelle is on the news right this minute speaking before the EPA. She's in a blue jacket (velvet?) over blue top. Several delicate necklaces. Couldn't see if it was a dress under jacket or something else.
Regarding the sleeveless arm debate - Jackie Kennedy wore sleeveless shifts all the time, and believe me I am old enough to remember. I am sure that some of the researchers on this site could provide visual proof, and I for one would be relieved to point out to people that other first ladies wore sleeveless in the Congressional chamber. If right-wing media outlets have nothing better to discuss than the bare arms issue they are really desperate. Let's move on. I am watching Michelle now visiting the EPA and she is covered up in a beautiful blue jacket.
I was going to say that this is my favorite look from Mrs. O so far - I even like this better than the inaugural gown. Emerald green is definitely her color. The fit of the dress is perfect, her hair divine and shoes/accessories perfection. sigh.
I LOVE her! She has great arms by the way. Beautiful color on her.
www.fashion-for-love.blogspot.com
Omigosh she looks gorgeous!! So hip and relevant.
Kristan
http://jbu.phuzzymath.net/
HuffPost has close-ups... take a look at those earrings! They appear to be emeralds framing moonstone drops.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/26/michelle-obama-wears-emer_n_170131.html
I absolutely LOVE,LOVE, LOVE The first ladies new hair! She looks so pretty! She also looks absolutely stunning in this color green. I love watching her and her fashion! Also, she gets my vote for the BEST, TONED ARMS in the world. What an inspiration!
HOME RUN! Color, fit, jewels, hair. YES YES YES!
Stop in the name of love, this look has a retro,Supreme's vibe to it. So cool.
New pics of Michelle at the EPA in a blue pants ensemble.
http://www.daylife.com/photo/0flC1NofXy0Zc/Michelle_Obama
Have just updated the post - we have confirmation that the dress was in fact designed by Stevie Wonder's wife, Kai Milla.
YOLA - you get a GOLD STAR in my book!