Look Good...Feel Better
Thursday, April 2, 2009 at 6:45 PM 
Image via Flickr user Downing Street / Creative Commons In the midst of our adulation over Mrs. O's J.Crew ensemble yesterday (we're still enamoured!), we failed to highlight how the First Lady actually spent her morning. Along with Sarah Brown, Mrs. O visited Maggie's Center, a facility for cancer patients in central London. ABC News blog has a great write-up here.
"This is pretty amazing. It's an oasis. An oasis that is necessary for people who are struggling," Mrs. O told the center’s staff over a cup of steaming tea. "It's a quiet place that makes people feel whole."
The visit included a stop into the center's Look Good...Feel Better program, a public service organization that helps women, men and teens cope with appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment. The program includes two-hour workshops with 12-step skin care and make-up application lessons, demonstrations of options for dealing with hair loss and nail care techniques. Per ABC News, First Lady Mrs. O talked about her own "wonderful" makeup artist, Ingrid Grimes Myles, who volunteers for the same program in the U.S. While there's much and well-founded excitment in the wardrobe department this week, it's wonderful to see our remarkable, selfless First Lady continue to champion great social causes. (Thanks to a Mrs. O reader Christy for bringing this story to our attention!)
Reader Comments (111)
Looks like the dress has a bateau neckline, which I love. And yes, both women are absolutely lovely in their own right.
Maybe at the town hall starting at 7:25 am, Mrs. O will have the coat removed to see the dress.
Mrs. O looked regal and beautiful. Carla Bruni looked lovely as well and seems very nice. She looked very welcoming to Mrs. O. I also hate how the media was looking for a "showdown".
I'm so excited, (mind you; I don't have a life) This is a fabulous outfit, simply fabulous!
I think Carla has had to be very prim and proper because now that she is first lady she has to embrace the serious to counter the 'wild' image from before. (even if I don't agree that she has to, but that is the calculus)
Mrs O coat is growing on me.
The media is famous for promoting pointless battles among women, then cackling about the "cat fight." Just look at the zillions of stories about Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston. They do this to sell their product. So personally I'm not going to buy into the idea that this was some kind of fashion "showdown" between Carla Bruni and Michelle Obama, and that somehow Michelle has to "win." It's demeaning.
I'd love to see what the whole outfit looks like...can't wait to find out which designer is feeling like he or she won the lottery right now!
Wow Carla B is a beautiful woman and apparently she loves to wear gray. Its her favorite color. I read earlier this week that she wore that color when she wowed everyone in England last year. Mrs O is the picture of elegance and grace. Her hair and makeup is impecable. Love the style and color of her outfit.
Agreed about the showdown stuff. It is beyond silly. And I think they both look lovely. Carla's dress is very understated but the construction is amazing and she looks very classic.
And okay, in one of the pictures, you can KIND of see the dress! And I am pretty sure that it matches the coat. It's in a lighter shade of pink, but it has the same print. Very chic!
Here is the link. Just change the (dot) to an actual dot:
www.daylife (dot) com/photo/0byCbFU8eb6dx?q=Michelle+Obama
Aw. I tried to avoid moderation since Mrs. T may not be at work for a while. But alas it caught my link! So here I try again.
There is a picture where you can kind of see the dress, where it parts slightly at the front. The piece of exposed fabric is almost definitely matching the coat, in a lighter shade of pink, with darker pink flowers.
Link here: change the dot to an actual dot.
daylife dot com/photo/0byCbFU8eb6dx?q=Michelle+Obama
is carla's dress suede?
am so glad to see in her in luxurious-looking fabric and bright, deep colour - was just mentioning tracy reese in a thread further down, an hour or so back, and how she looked fabulous (in pink) on the 'people' cover in a tracy reese lace sheath, and then on the vogue cover, again in pink.
they are both beautiful, forward-thinking women who are helping the world break some huge barriers - and what they ahve in common is much more important that thier differences of circumstance - looks like there is a possibility of a great friendship here, carla bruni comes across as a secure, independent-minded woman too
I just found the most amazing, amazing picture of the Isabel Toledo dress! I think that was just a look that did not photograph well. But if you see it in the right light, it was incredibly lovely, and I can see why Michelle chose it to meet the queen. Change the two (dot) to a real dot to see it.
img (dot) timeinc (dot) net/time/photoessays/2009/obama_europe/obama_europe_09.jpg
I was taken aback b the print at first sight, because I am not used to seeing her in print and I am not a fan of print, but the print had a subtle pattern and looks sweet without being cutesy. This is the first Isabel Toledo outfit of hers that I like. I's sure the dress under the coat is pretty, but so far, I like this look a lot on her. My favorite thing about it is the fuchsia and the shape of the overcoat. The way it's kind of gathered there around the collar is beautiful and frames her face nicely. I like this kind of collar a lot better than the traditional Chanel crew collar. I like both outfits, but Michelle's packs more punch to me. Now I want to see the dress underneath.
I forgot to add, the fit of the coat is nice and the whole thing just falls beautifully. And I love that she was able to get such rich fabric from a mid range priced designer like Isabel Toledo. The fabric is beautiful.
Mrs O is definitely showing Europe a thing or two about style - she looks absolutely breathtaking in the burgundy tones. And it is only fair to recognise that she is outshining (lets not down play her fashion hits because we have witnessed how the misses are loudly vocalised).
As US first black First Lady, Mrs O is educating existing First Ladies and the world about fashion - think about it, thats powerful.
I just read at the Guardian that Carla B is wearing a coat. I Know it looked like a dress but according to their reporting its a coat. BTW Mrs O's outfit is being rec'd very well in France.
CNN has live feed of the town hall
ps Carla's outfit is a coat I just saw a clip and there is a dress under there.
Michelle is wearing a beautiful pink/fuschia coat ensemble, there are pics on Yahoo of her exiting the plane and you can see how great her legs are again here:http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Michelle-Obama/ss/events/pl/050108michelleobama;_ylt=AtdAAv6fTNOV.N69VwqFS4lpaP0E#photoViewer=/090403/ids_photos_wl/r3785479472.jpg
You know it speaks volumes as to how well Michelle knows how to dress and present herself that she can stand up to and IMO slightly outshine Ms. Bruni today. What an accomplishment. She looks so lovely. great job Mrs. O. I can imagine the pressure she's under to present herself well.
Here's the dress, which matches the coat.
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/08rKafXden0Ee/610x.jpg
There are many close-up pictures of this outfit, including one where you can see the dress quite clearly, at this link: community (dot) livejournal (dot) com/obama_daily/204980.html#cutid1
In the close-ups, the print is very different than I first thought. The flowers are actually "pixelated" like the pictures in old-school video games, or like internet images. I also really love the intricate collar.
I saw someone say that this was an Isabel Toledo design in a comment above. Is that true??
love the dress without the coat, nice fit
I JUST SAW THE DRESS IN THE TOWNHALL......AMAZING!!!!
TRULY AMAZING!!! AWSOME!! WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE!!!!! SHE LOOKS GREAT
it is a fusia sheath, and it looks beautiful!!
The dress is HOT!
The dress underneath is beautiful! Same color as the coat with a boatneck and short sleeves. Beautiful bright sily fuchsia. Incredibly beautiful and a classic Michelle outfit. And of course her hair and makeup is on point, so surprise there!
Darn! No pictures of the dress yet... I hope I get to see it soon.
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//090403/481/f0cb9a7f7b6d496890139f758f83623a/#photoViewer=/090403/481/f0cb9a7f7b6d496890139f758f83623a
The dress under the coat is beautiful!!!! Gorgeous!!! I only saw it from the waist up, but it is classic and a dark fuchsia short sleeve. I wish she had on heels like she did in Britain, but the dress is stunning. It's shiny and still had nice detail on the sleeve.
Go Michelle!
Here's a picture of the dress, sans-coat. Very beautiful:
daylife dot com/photo/0dWRezyaYbfMz
the dress is gorgeous and we actually see michelle figure and can i say michelle is skinny and sexy. I am so proud michelle she did her thing
The town hall is on cnn(dot)com/live. She came on the stage just before and kissed him. Watch it for later on. She usually always comes back on stage at the end and then greets people with him.
guys, i really suggest you go to the site jenna suggested, the outfit looks amazing up close in these pictures.....tv does it no justice (i know we say that a lot on this site, but you should really go there, and look at the dress up close, it looks amazing in these picture)...THANKS JENNA, good looking out
img (dot) timeinc (dot) net/time/photoessays/2009/obama_europe/obama_europe_09.jpg
ps: still loving the dress, Mrs. O has done us proud!!
I just saw the dress in all it's fuschia glory at the townhall! (ot but I love how lovingly and respectfully President Obama presents his wife there, he is a doll and I love him for how he treats among other reasons, he will be blessed for that) I'm sorry I had to say that, it touched me so much. I know this is a fashion blog. They both made me very proud today.
@ jenna thanks for that link with all those pictures. The Bruni coat is definitely suede. and I think Michelle wore shorter heels because sarkozy is super short, out of respect, smartly played
Mr. S, thank you for the link!
WOW. The FIT on that dress is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't believe people were suggesting yesterday that she needs "slimming pants". The woman is in perfect shape!
And the color. It's so youthful. What an AMAZING dress!
This is the best she has ever looked.
WOW WOW WOW she is beautiful
Great coat and great presentation by both FLs. I love knowing where to look before having my first cup of coffee. Thanks All!
A nice close up of the pixelated floral print:
daylife dot com/photo/0d0SdE93jv0G7
Wow, Mrs O looks hot, the dress is so classy and keeps ones eye fixed on her. I love the surge of color and print, the details on the sleeves. The glittering tiny hoop earrings are the perfect addition.
Mrs O has clearly taken centre stage, she is working the crowd like the celebrity she is, next to (awkward cough!)the heavily clad Carla B, great she has a little bag to fiddle with.
I'm the one who mentioned it being an Isabel Toledo ensemble, but I misread an earlier post so I don't know who the designer is. It's different from anything else she's worn but it's colorful and fitted like she likes to wear. So I don't know if this is a new designer or if it's her usual people.
@ Jenna special gift: her yesterday's dress without cardigan
http://www(dot)news(dot)com(dot)au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25286570-662,00.html?from=public_rss
Enjoy it !
Jenna, thanks for the the link of the Toledo dress with the Queen!
img (dot) timeinc (dot) net/time/photoessays/2009/obama_europe/obama_europe_09.jpg
Everyone needs to see the closeup of Michelle's dress with the Queen. Up close, I think I truly love it. I like it more than the yellow Jason Wu she wore when arriving.
I've found that the details of a lot of Michelle's clothes do not photograph well sometimes. It's truly hard to pick out clothes that work well on TV and in print. The black and white Toledo dress though was very impressive up close.
@ JENNA special gift: yesterday's dress without cardigan
(dot)news(dot)com(dot)au/heraldsun/story/story/0,21985,25286570-662,00.html?from=public_rss
Enjoy it !
The dress is gorgeous and the cut kind of reminds of the Thakoon floral dresses that Mrs O has won before in white and burgundy.
Tasha,
Yes the shape is similar to the Thakoon floral dress. Good catch. I love that silhouette on her. I like the boatneck too as it shows off her lovely neckline.
Nolli,
Can you give link again for yesterday's dress w/o the cardigan? I had trouble with what comes before the word "news" in the link.
Or tell us where on the Herald Sun site to find it? I have got to see this! Thanks!
Janelle and Layo G,
Thank you for looking at the picture or her black and white dress! I completely agree. This was a case of an amazing dress that did not photograph well....which is such a pity. It actually makes me mad!! I think Mrs. O's choices on this trip have been pretty spot-on. She has been very brave when there were almost always an easier, fail-proof option. And that can mean maybe her looks are not appreciated sometimes. A bummer, for sure.
Though she WON'T have that problem with today's outfit! It looks amazing in every single medium.
New pictures are on this site:
http://divalocity.blogspot.com/2009/04/bonjour-paris.html
I didn't care for the coat when I first saw it, but I have to agree with those who say it grows on you. It's just gorgeous! And, if you look closely, the dress has the same floral print, just very muted. It's a fabulous ensemble! Kind of reminds me of the dress she wore on the Vogue cover.
Mrs. S looks phenomenal, too. Such elegance! These are both beautiful, fashionable ladies! (the men aren't bad, either)
According to politico, it is Thakoon.
The Thakoon coat and dress doesn't look the same to me in the photos I've seen vs. on TV. I was surprised. When I watched the footage of their arrival in France on the internet and on TV, it looked really regal, elegant, and I absolutely loved it.
However, the pictures on H. Post, etc. that I've seen, really don't do it justice to me. I really don't understand it but that's my personal opinion. Maybe it's the lighting. I guess with Mrs. O's clothes it will continue to be that way.
But she looked wonderful, and the dress underneath in the sheath style fit her great.