Monday
Mar022009
Snowed In at the White House
Monday, March 2, 2009 at 2:49 PM 
White House photo by Pete Souza
It's a wintry day on the eastern seaboard, Washington, DC included. Mrs. O had plans to participate in the National Education Association's "Read Across America Day" to celebrate Dr. Seuss's 105th birthday at the Library of Congress this morning. Due to the snowy conditions, however, The Washington Post reports that the event has been cancelled. Sad! If ever a woman was equipped to brave the snow in style, we're sure it's Chicago native Mrs. O. But as it doesn't look like we'll get a glimpse of the First Lady's snow boots today, we hope she's bundled up and enjoying a mug of White House hot cocoa (though more likely, we're sure she's still busy with a plethora of other First Lady duties).
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Reader Comments (36)
Then who is the lone figure in this lovely photograph.
Too bad the event was cancelled;I came looking for my "Mrs O Fix"
Awww, Mrs. T, this was a nice little write-up. :-)
Hopefully they'll reschedule the event.
I love the photograph of the White House in all the snow. I wish this were December. Even down here in southern GA we got dusted with snow.
I'm so glad this blog exists. I love following our first lady!!!
I just have to say that is a stunning photograph. Such a classic American style, it would be awesome if Mrs O saw it and decided to blow it up and frame it (whether or not that is her in the pic) because this is such an iconic portrayal of Americana.
Yes - no Mrs O fix - bummer!! Maybe she's just cozied up inside with Desiree planning the next FABULOUS event. Or maybe pondering her wardrobe with a hot cup of tea. :)
Beautiful picture of our White House!
I'd love to know what great, modern snow style consists of. I'm a California girl, so my experience with snow is limited to skiing at Lake Tahoe. How do you dress for work? Do you find great leather boots that work indoors and out or do you wear snow boots and then change when you get indoors? These are probably laughable questions to some of you but I seriously have no idea!
Hope Malia and Sasha were able to play in that gorgeous snow and grand grounds!
LisaC:
If there is more than a couple of inches of snow, the "great leather boots" stay inside, and the snow boots go on. (I should say that there are some leather boots that are sufficiently water resistant and with thick enough soles that they can be worn.) The good shoes go in my tote bag and I change at the office.
Of course, Mrs O doesn't need to worry about this! She goes directly from the house to the limo parked under the portico. And I doubt she has to worry about whether the guy who shovels the snow showed up!
New article regarding sleeve-gate:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bonnie-fuller/michelle-obamas-sleevegat_b_171172.html
When I lived in NYC, the way I handled bad snow days was by buying a one piece insulated workman's jumpsuit the K Mart on Astor Place.
At home in the morning I would simply step into this fully dressed in my office clothing, wrap a scarf around my neck, add gloves and a knit hat, some stylin' boots that offered protection and worked w/ my office gear and out I would go, fully protected and waterproofed.
Didn't even need a coat.
Once I arrived at the office, I would unzip and step out of the jumpsuit dry and neat.
Not needed now that I live in LA.
RJT -- I HOPE you are just kidding and pulling Ms. California Girl's leg?!
Is this site about Michelle Obama fashion?
Is this a joke?
Yuk!
Show us Palin, show us someone pretty please
hey amla,
thanks for your honesty about this site being only for Mrs O's fashion. One thing you over looked about Mrs. O vs Palin fashion anyone with buying power can wear or buy nice clothing but elegance and grace can't be brought.......and charm is fading and beauty(pretty) is vain but a lady(not woman)that fears the Lord is priceless.....Mrs. O.
Bahamas!
Yeah... ya got that one right. The GOP was unable to purchase elegance, grace, integrity, and brains for Palin.
Mrs.O's elegance, grace, integrity, and intelligence comes naturally. We are very lucky to have such an awesome First Lady. The next eight years ate going to be such a pleasure.
Pretty is as pretty does...and thinks.
Compassion, intelligence, and honesty all add up to beautiful in my book.
Ms. Palin was uninspiring in every way, including her boring, predictable wardrobe choices.
That is a very pretty picture of OUR house! I can smell the cocoa...
Not kidding in the least. That jumpsuit was one of my all time best clothing buys !
Worked like a dream.
RJT, I'm thinking that is a stroke of practical brilliance. In my case, LisaC, (since I hadn't thought of the jumpsuit) for 3 or more inches of snow, I do wear the snow boots and tuck shoes in my shoulderbag. (For good leather and suede boots, ice, salt and the nasty chemicals used to clear sidewalks are NOT your friend.)
For me, the key is a winter hat that is warm but doesn't wreck the hair (too much..), warm roomy waterproof boots, a long winter coat, soft scarf and toasty gloves. My train stop is inside the building where I work, so I'm a bit spoiled --once I'm on the train, I'm inside.
Sorry if this is a duplicate but if you haven't seen it there is a great slideshow of Mrs. O flat shoes on HuffingtonPost. I wear flats a lot for comfort even though I am short so I loved the close-ups!
Mrs. O flats:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/02/michelle-obamas-flats-com_n_170987.html
This dress does not look too exciting: http://www.hellomagazine.com/photo-galleries.html?imagen=/royalty/2009/03/03/michelle-obama-mag/imgs/hello-1062-cover-a.jpg
I know RJT's not kidding because I did the same thing all winter when I lived in NYC. I worked at a photo studio during the day, then went to my painting studio for a few hours every night. The studio had little heat - too cold for undressing! I would slip my jumpsuit over everything, paint, then slip it off before heading home for the night. Worked great!
For London snow I would carry my skirt and jacket in a rucksack (rolled, with tissue paper!) and trudge in wearing full waterproofs, walking boots, jeans and many tops! Once in the office, I'd change in to a severe black suit and a smooth ponytail looking like I'd cabbed in all the way. Hurrah! My favourite sight was all the pinstriped and chalksuited City gents looking the same as usual - but with Wellington boots!!!
Ahhh well, although I miss Mrs O today, tomorrow is another day.....
Not a big fan of the Hello Magazine front cover. I don't understand how editors select photos sometimes. Did they actually think that this was the best one?
I think the dress is probably a very simple sheath, but the top doesn't blow me away. Can't win all the time...
Random Question: Do you guys think that Cindy McCain would have generated as much buzz about her fashion choices? I wonder how much Michelle's uniqueness as the young wife of the first African-American has to do with all the publicity and criticism.
I agree that Hello cover is a dud. Blah...she also looks a bit tired...what a disappointment
@ Ellen : What dress? The cover doesn't show much of the dress, its a torso shot, Mrs O's arms are folded and to add further distraction from the bit of the dress display, there other pictures plastered on this cover.
This knee-length Narciso-Rodriguez dress was raved about by some last year, when Mrs O wore it with the green brooches for the Presidential debate.
http://www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/McCain+Obama+Spar+Second+Presidential+Debate+Jz0mlEUVTIql.jpg
The Hello cover doesn't show much of the dress, its a torso shot, Mrs O's arms are folded and to add further distraction from the bit of the dress on display, there other pictures plastered on this cover.
This knee-length Narciso-Rodriguez dress was raved about by some last year, when Mrs O wore it with the green brooches for the Presidential debate.
http://www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/McCain+Obama+Spar+Second+Presidential+Debate+Jz0mlEUVTIql.jpg
Agreed Perry. Hello have a habit of picking the most peculiar pictures for their glossy little comic and then putting bizarre captions underneath (my favourite historically being one of the Queen looking thoroughly miserable, and a caption reading "The Queen looks delighted with the afternoons entertainment.")
dlev in my opinion, Cindy McCain wouldn't have generated much interest at all. I didn't see her wear anything interesting during the whole campaign. Another four years of suits and average evening frocks. Blah.
now y'all know me, if I say a Mrs. O dress missed the mark-I'm really disappointed. And I'm disappointed in the Hello Mag cover and the pic.
Who are they? Are they American??
OOps, forgot to say how beautiful that WH winter pic is. You know, that could almost be Michelle crunching thru the snow, hurrying to get inside to the warmth of the WH and her family.
I believe Hello is a UK publication, but will defer to Posh Tater on that one. The outfit looks rather like a pair of scrubs, doesn't it? Like Mrs. O is ready to go into surgery or something? No matter.
I'm going to add to Hyde Parker's comments about winter in Chicago -- no such thing as 'fashionable' boots when the snow and slush is around. We carry our good shoes and change at the office.
I just discovered this site and am extremely pleased to have a place to write and read about our new First Lady! I've spent the last few hours catching up and was disappointed that there wasn't anything new today. Ah well, I've gone this long not even knowing the site existed...what's another day?
Hello is a UK publication and I can't for the life of me understand why they used that picture; It certainly does not do the first lady justice.