Friday
Feb272009
The Official Portrait
Friday, February 27, 2009 at 12:01 PM 
Photo credit: Joyce N. Boghosian / The White House
The White House has released an official portrait of First Lady Mrs. O taken in the Blue Room of the White House. Lovely!
Update: The New York Daily News reports that the dress Mrs. O wears is from Michael Kors's Spring 2009 collection. A royal blue version of the dress can be seen here. The Michael Kors racer back gown is made from a double-bonded crepe jersey. The dress has been in stores across the country since January.
tagged Michael Kors in Outfits
Michael Kors in Outfits
Reader Comments (142)
This photo is perfect: modern, feminine, strong, engaged. I am so happy to have this woman representing America. And grateful beyond belief to have her husband leading us.
MSNBC has a nice high-res close-up of this picture where you can see Mrs. O's amazing make-up really well:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29429900/
Amen to Jen. The defenders are getting just as carried away as the detractors, at this point. We all get it, can we move forward now?
Michael Kors -- hearing his name reminds me of the Project Runway season we'll never get to see. Sigh.
I live in D.C., and I have to admit that I'm selfishly hoping that they continue to follow through on the promise to make the White House more accessible to regular folks. For years now, security concerns have made it almost impossible to see the White House decorated for the holidays unless you can get a hold of a precious invitation. I would love for this policy to be relaxed, if there's a way to do it and maintain reasonable security at the same time.
Perfect 10!
Classic! This is beautiful! I was not in the 'no sleeves at the speech' camp, but I think this is absolutely perfect.
To the photographer who noticed the flower at her hand...good catch! I agree with you, but I did not notice it at first.
On another note, I watched the Stevie Wonder at the White House thingie last night (although I missed the first 6 minutes due to a deadline at work and traffic. I sped all the way home and am glad I did not get stopped. I am sure the office would have look at me like I had 2 heads if I said I was rushing home to see Mrs. O and Stevie on PBS! LOL I hope they replay it. It seemed like a lovely evening, just too short! I loved the Jazz singer/bassist (I think?)! There was also this shot where the President and First Lady glanced at each other while 'You and I' was playing and it was just lovely to behold!
Perfect.
I think the 'issue' about whether or not our first lady wears sleeves comes down to whether or not we believe that she's filling the role the way we think she should.
This portrait makes it clear. She is, every statuesque inch of her, through and through, a Lady at all times. Sometimes a wife, sometimes a mother, sometimes an executive, sometimes a heroine, but always correct, always elegant and always a lady.
I find the bare arm debate so silly..Besides, the bare arms at the SOTU is precedented. Jackie, of course. Love the photo and the hairdos.
http://pro.corbis.com/search/Enlargement.aspx?CID=isg&mediauid={25A7E78E-D7BC-4C30-970C-A5812B7C0601}
You can go on to pbs.org, they have the Stevie Wonder concert on their site.
I'm sure that dozens, if not hundreds, of photos were taken, and that it was Mrs. Obama and her staff, NOT the photographer, who chose this as the official portrait.
So all of you who don't like the pose or the composition, you're criticizing Michelle's choices! You must stop! Or we'll make you wear sleeveless dresses.
;-))
This drappery coming straight on to her head is terrible! And there's too much contrast between the window and the dress...This white house photographer is a joke! She looks beautiful though, but unfortunately the picture is not!
Christina nailed it with "radiant."
She is classic - and if that means 'classic' is redefined for some people then so be it. She's the new barometer for classic and she's perfect for this job too. Substance and style. Substance as style. Love her.
Michael Kors shift dress!!
Hey, how do we know this dress is Michael Kors? Where are you guys getting that information? Are you just recognizing the dress?
Lovely. Dignified, yet accessible and natural.
I am not a big advocate of Obama-Kennedy comparisons, but I am struck by the Jacqueline Kennedy aesthetic of the ensemble Mrs O is wearing in this photograph - the hair style, the double strand of pearls, the trim, beautifully severe sleeveless monochromatic top and skirt.
Not an iota of excess.
Perfection.
Could she be any more gorgeous? I think not.
Nevermind. I just saw that the New York Daily News had the designer info.
Stunning!
does she get more exquisite every single day, or is it my imagination? this woman is breathtaking!
I didn't say "radiant," but I certainly concur.
I don't know if anyone else is picking up this, but have you noticed how much FUN Barack and Michelle seem to be having in their new roles? I don't know, maybe it's not "dignified" enough by some standards. But the two of them seem like they are just having a ball, even in all the midst of these incredibly serious news events. It makes me think that maybe there's light at the end of the tunnel.
PERFECT!!! absolute 10!!!
and introduction to THE CLASSIC American designer, Michael Kors (who I hope to be interning for this summer!)
Interesting, again, to compare the dress on a model vs. Mrs. O... curves definitely sell this dress much better!
Also, how ironic that she removed the belt. I prefer the drop waist without it, myself.
Wow, how lovely! And GOODNESS it looks so much better on her than on the model...
Kristan
http://jbu.phuzzymath.net/
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW
The minute I saw this Michael Kors dress on the runway, I envisioned Mrs O in it. I dont think I can find words to describe her awesome beauty, she is simply phenomenal - but Maya Angelou's poem "Still I Rise" comes to mind.
Still I Rise
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
Maya Angelou
Bravo Raisins -
How nice to read the great Maya Angelou and how appropriate.
I think Mrs.O look absolutely fabulous. I really admire this dress and being sleeveless make it that much more attractive. This outfit and the one she wore to the Stevie Wonder concert are absolutely stunning!!!!
Mrs Obama,
YOu look really beautifull in this photo,and i hope to see you soon with your husband and family( including your mom, of course!!) in France ( place where i live).
This poem above make me cry for you.
you are a sunshine!!
This is an incredible photograph. Radiant and relaxed, as previously noted.
How does she look so wonderful all the time?? I'd love to hear her personal regimen, diet, amount of sleep, exercise. If she does pick "healthful living" for her theme, then she is really walking the walk.
A timeless photo.
Raisins,
thanks for this poem!
@Raisins
Oh yes! Thank you, thank you Raisins and how very appropriate for the times!
The unforgettable, "Unforgettable" as sung by the peerless Nat King Cole suddenly popped into my head as I began to type my comments.
That one word says it all about the First Lady in this beautiful official portrait.
Layo G, that is just wonderful news! Here's to the internship coming through and all going swimmingly well for you.
Raisins, yes, yes, and yes again, to First Lady, Michelle evoking "Still I Rise" in all her glory.
Another collection of wonderful photos:
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/galleries/the_first_lady_michelle_obama/the_first_lady_michelle_obama.html
LOVE everything about the photo except for the flower in front of her hand. The photographer should have caught that and clipped the flower off before snapping the photo.
I have to add my love of Mrs. O in this picture. She is shining as a First Lady. I'm so happy!
Gorgeous and glowing- classic but modern. I do believe she was born for this role!
I love this photo.. this portait shows of what we've come to expect from the FLOTUS.
Wearing a classic American designer, pearls, classic dress but fashionable.
loves it!!!
Drop dead gorgeous! This photo is perfect! Its so much better than the Vogue cover. Can you believe this is the First Lady? Wow!
When I first saw this photo, I thought, (1) "Does she own any clothes with sleeves?!" J/K and (2) "Oh boy, people are gonna criticize her for showing her arms in this portrait."
I criticized her for going sleeveless for the State of the Union address, but I don't have a problem with her being sleeveless here. It's a nice portrait, no plunging neckline at an official event like the outfit she had on for the SOTU speech. Classy and elegant.
I've been trying to put my finger on what IT is about Mrs. O, and now realize that she's a woman completely at home in her own skin. Not something we see much of here in the USA. Maybe she will become the standard, not for how to dress, but how to be.
How beautiful!
Here's a link to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in a sleeveless dress with a VERY plunging neckline - taken before a White House dinner: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v724/jrosto/1133.jpg
It's gorgeous - they also release Barack's photo, but it's somewhat less glamorous :-) We have a shot of the Kors dress on the runway here: http://www.bloomacious.com/bloomacious/2009/02/michelle-obamas-official-portrait-released.html
she looks TOTALLY fabulous!!!!! classic, radiantly happy & confident & LOVE the bare arms here(and I'm one of those "annoying narrow minded people with nothing better to do than comment on her arms" who didn't think it was quite the thing at to wear sleeveless to a join session of congress - this is different...ok go ahead and jump down my throat now...)
work it, michelle -- stylish, elegant, fit and SMART -- my, my, my!!!
Beautiful! I love the fact that she went with the sleeveless dress, you show 'em, Mrs. O!!!
A sleeveless Firs Lady it shall be, yippee!!
Incredibly regal; undeniably stately!
Exquisite beyond words...
First of all, Mrs. Obama walks on water as far as I am concerned. I think her true beauty is in her sense of herself and her excellent family and social values. I think this is a beautiful picture because her face is radiant and she looks wonderful in black and the dress is simple. So, I hope you'll all cut me a little slack if I make a few critical remarks. Sleeveless is fine. She has gorgeous arms and she should show them off. After all, other women, me included, like to show off our legs and I only wish I had such arms. But I think in this case that the sleeves of her dress are cut so far inwards towards her neck that it reminds me a little of gym-wear. It would be OK if the dress were formal wear as in the case of the Eleanor Roosevelt portrait someone attached to this thread. But in this case, the look is a daytime look. Also, the fabric at the arm holes of the dress is so thick that it looks a little odd in the photo. It makes the silouette at the top of her shoulders look funny. Michael Kors often uses very heavy, beautiful high quality fabric. When this is doubled in thickness with self-facing and inner facing (dressmakers will know what I am referring to), it makes a very thick layer against the skin, as thick as a coat. This may be fine in person but may not work well when styling a photo, in particular a formal photo. Sorry to sound picky. I guess it is easy to expect everyone to to be perfect these days.
Totally gorgeous portrait, very elegant
Absolutely Gorgeous, this is by far my favorite picture of her. The dress, pearls, hair, smile everything looks perfect. Kudos to Raisins for the poem. Let the haters hate, Michelle Obama is obviously doing something right!
I think the Oxford, Collins and Webster Dictionaries will now have to change the meaning of the word "BOMBSHELL" to say Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States of America...
BTW, this picture to me is concrete proof that all that criticism about "sleeves or no sleeves" is like water on a ducks back! As a matter of fact it's almost like giving them the finger! HA!