Saturday
May302009
Date Night in the Big Apple
Saturday, May 30, 2009 at 5:30 PM 
Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
First images here. More to follow!
This evening, the President and First Lady are enjoying a date night in New York City, where they'll see the Broadway show 'Joe Turner's Come and Gone' at the Belasco.
Mrs. O wears a square neck black dress, with horizontal bands of ruffles through the skirt. To accessorize, the First Lady adds a stack of diamond bangle bracelets, a blue clutch and Jimmy Choo Lantern heels.
Update: "Another Mrs. A" reports spotting a doppelganger Alaia dress in white at Barneys. Several people have suggested Alaia and we agree - the body hugging fit and detailed ruffle work seem to fit the bill.
tagged Alaia, Jimmy Choo in Outfits
Alaia, Jimmy Choo in Outfits
Reader Comments (354)
@Bevi,
The ideas are whirling around in my head, because I really have no clue. Mrs. O is so surprising, risky, daring, you name it that it's hard. But I never got out of my head the one finalist from Project Runway a season ago name Korto Momolu. Her designs were so vibrant, ethnic, flowing and wonderful and boy I could see Mrs. O in her designs.
Here's Korto Momolu's site:
www(dot)kortomomolu(dot)com/gallery(dot)html
Hello all,
As probably many know tommorrow and Wed at 9 et. is the inside the obama whitehouse program on nbc. There are some cute video clips from the program with Michelle Bo and Prez here:
www(dot)whitehouse(dot)msnbc(dot)com
...forgot to add Korto was born in Liberia and I adore her clothes. She's very talented.
Janelle...Thanks for the reminder! I will be watching.
Do you know if Mrs. O is going on the entire trip with the President? Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Germany, France.
@ Rory,
I sympathize with your point of view. My secret wish (which I am sure will not be granted) is that, when Mrs. T unveils the new blog in two weeks, it will miraculously have a "forum" or "message board" attached, a mechanism which would allow different kinds of discussions to take place. I realize this is wishful-thinking on my part, as it would involve more work than Mrs. T might have time and energy for. Forums require lots of help from their posters.
My favorite post on this was by rickydee, a commenter who no longer posts here. (Hi rickydee, I hope you are still out there lurking and read this. You were valued!) On January 29, in the thread Showing a Little Feith, he posted this re the desirability of broadening the area of comment:
"A comment from a process perspective. Living from outfit to outfit over four years could be tedious. It is, in the end, the body of work that establishes a first lady. Now that the long run has begun, it seems important to consider Mrs O as the complete First Lady she will become. I would like to see fashion and substance evolve together on one blog. Not sure how to suggest this happen, but not to do so would be out of synch with the Obama’s personal agenda. Fashion, role as wife, mother, and First Lady, social and political events - all are excellent topics to help one understand the experience of our Mrs. O!”
I particularly co-sign this comment because -- for all the suggestions to take off-fashion discussions to another blog -- no one ever names a blog that might be similar in its serious and respectful tone to mrs-o(dot)org. I have looked for other blogs but have only found michelleobamawatch, a respectable blog but one that is sustained mainly by feeds and does not have a strong commenting community.
It's a testament to Mrs. T's prescience and kindly moderation that mrs-o(dot)org has become THE ONE. But as such, I wish it could be richer.
I yield to no one in my admiration for the President and First Lady, and in my estimation of this administration's cultural importance. As a black woman, I feel the Obamas'success essential to my personal well-being. But I am almost completely out of things to say about her outfits.
I love Mrs. O's date night outfit. It is the epitome of subtle sexiness. I do not think it should have been knee length because of how it would ride up while seated in the theater might not be comfortable. I personally found discussions of the bra distateful. To spanx or not to spanx is a personal decision. Being comfortable in your own skin and body type is the ultimate sex appeal every date night should possess.
POTUS is president of all the United States not just D.C. and as such should have a date night in a U.S. city, town, village and hamlet in all fifty states including the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. For goodness sake, they are a one couple stimulus package.
I do not think FLOTUS is going to Ghana, but will meet up with the prez in Paris for their June date night...Oh what will she wear...I simply cannot wait.
For the individual who suggested that those of us devoted to this site should get a life, sadly does not understand that life is full of simple pleasures and good clean fun. Also for those who love fashion following Mrs. O's fashion sense is quite an interesting hobby.
Thank you Mrs. T. for your continued hard work!
B and Bevi, I guess your comments were directed at me. I have not taken the time to go and check each post for correct grammar. Please believe me, I definitely know how to write correctly as well as speak correctly. I won't bother listing all my credentials. However, when in an informal setting, I feel comfortable enough to speak the way I feel and on here, write the way I feel. Please do not try to insult my intelligence CUZ U don't know me and what I am all about. I did not know the grammar police was employed by this site.
@Ann#1,
From what I read a few weeks ago, Mrs. O would not be in Saudia Arabia or Egypt, but she would be with the President in Germany, France, and Ghana. In fact, I heard that Kenya was feeling a little slighted so a lot of Kenyan dignitarities are going to Ghana to see them both. So unless they've changed Mrs. O's itinerary, which is possible, she will be in Ghana.
@Anna#1 I believe press secretary Robert Gibbs said that Mrs. O would be joining the President in France, I can't remember if he mentioned Germany but I know she's not traveling to the Middle East with him
I do not find anything offensive about the poster above saying the fisrt lady needs a better bra. Undergarnments can sometimes make or brake an oufit and are part of fashion and style. As long as the comments are not lewd, they do pertain to this discoussion. Also, about the cost of the "date," I don't really mind it per se, except I wish it were a little less expensive (perhaps leave the press pool in DC and rely on local reporters next time); it was also a little ill-timed with the announcement of the GM bankruptcy the very next day. Other than that, date away Mr. and Mrs. O!
Janelle & Dee84 Thank you! She travels so well and I can't wait to see all the outfits.
Bevi you have been missed. You have a calming influence on this site and as you can tell it got a little side tracked.
Hope you enjoyed your trip.
silly goose, it is not a presidential option to leave the press pool behind.
The nature of the time that the president spends with his family should not be dependent upon current events.
Nyon,
I'm not the grammar police, and this doesn't even qualify as a grammar issue. I think most of us reserve such "language" for those who DO know us and what we're all about and therefore don't make incorrect assumptions about our intelligence.
They are a handsome couple.
Re: that RNC silliness. The theater where Joe Turner's Come and Gone, the play that they say, is playing reported today that advance ticket sales yesterday tripled what they had been. I am a (transplanted) New Yorker, and the tourism, and particularly Broadway, just like everything else has been hammered here because of the recession. The Obamas, just be attending that show, will keep actors employed longer than they probably would've been, contribute to tax revenues…well, all sorts of things that aren't necessary to go into here. God bless Barack and Michelle Obama.
@Alsace - I agree with you completely. There is only so much that can be said about any outfit Mrs. O wears. Trying to keep comments focused there has gotten some of us into trouble... (smile).
I often wonder if Mrs. T has found that her kindly blog has attracted a larger and more diverse community than she may have anticipated. Her interest is in fashion, and I understand she is preparing to write a book on the subject. I've no doubt that if she has a full-time job besides running this blog and trying to write a book, that she is quite overwhelmed enough.
But many of us here are interested in commenting on the larger historical, political, cultural, social, spiritual, racial, etc. context in which Mrs. O wears the exciting clothes she finds.
It is a testament to Mrs. T that she has attracted this audience, and to everyone here for the mostly thoughtful and courteous comments that are made. But it seems that the community that formed here has outgrown the original intent. I'm not sure how that can be solved. Serving the broader interests of this community may not be a top priority to Mrs. T.
This may be a topic this community could discuss. I don't know what it takes to start or to run a blog. What could be done? Shall we do some brainstorming about this?
B,
Grammar,language,english, whatever you want to call it. It is not up to you to dictate how people write their responses. Don't get me wrong, you read someone's comment and you don't like it, you defintiely have the right to inform them that you disagree, but as far as how they write it, I think you have crossed the line. I feel comfortable on this blog and most of the people are cool, so I decided to respond in those terms. As far as insulting anyone's intelligence, I never have and do not plan to.
@Lilly O - I appreciate your comment on the importance of undergarments in making clothes look really good. There really is no way clothes can look good without good foundation wear.
But I did see the point of those commenting on the seeming lack of respect in mentioning Mrs. O's.
Wednesday:
Michelle Obama delivers Spring 2009 commencement address at Washington Mathematics Science Technology Public Charter, in Washington D.C.
Saudi Arabia - June 3rd - President Obama will meet with Saudi King Abdullah in Riyadh
Cairo, Egypt - June 4th - President Obama will deliver his long-promised speech to the Muslim world.
Dresden, Germany - June 5th - President Obama is planning to visit Buchenwald concentration camp in Dresden, Germany This is not going to be an official state visit. The US president is planning a private trip in which he will go on a personal search to places of importance for his family history. President Obama's great-uncle, Charlie Payne, served in the 89th Infantry Division during World War II and took part in the camp's liberation in 1945.
Normandy, France - June 6th - President Obama is set to participate in the commemoration the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy.
Paris, France - Michelle will join President Obama in Paris, Saturday June 6th
@ Willow,
I am grateful to you for your comment @ 11:55 pm, and to Rory for the comment @ 8:21 to which I originally replied. I am also totally appreciative of the work Mrs. T has done, and for the wonderfully smart and responsive community she has created.
I agree with you that the blog may have been more successful than even she anticipated. My sense is that many who contribute here would appreciate the opportunity to discuss more topics than just one. Especially if this could be achieved in a serious, supportive, and yet still joyful way.
My "secret wish" to see the blog evolve into a forum (or "message board") is based on my very positive experience with a board to which I used to post a few years ago and have since watched grow and become ever more highly evolved and defined. The board is a fan site for the young tennis player Rafael Nadal but could serve as a model for boards dedicated to individuals and issues of all kinds. It is: vamosbrigade(dot)com.
Vamosbrigade(dot)com has a home page with current news that can be viewed by all visitors, but its forum may only be entered via user registration (a simple enough process). It is worth looking at even if one is not a tennis fan --- because it is a fine model of how a message board can accomodate everyone from pre-teens to the most serious connoisseurs of the "star" and his or her work. For anyone who has never visited a message board, it can provide an excellent introduction to the methodology. A board for Michelle Obama would be richer and more complicated than for a young tennis star, of course.
But the basics would be similar, i.e. setting up rules for discussion, creating topics, having moderators to make sure the rules are followed, and allowing wide enough parameters to enable new aspects of the subject to be discovered and grow as the subject itself grows and changes. (For instance, many of the fans there have been following Rafa since he was a boy of 16 and ranked #50 in the world. He is now 23 and ranked #1. Along the way, he has acquired a girlfriend, new styles of playing, and much notoriety. The fans have, in a way, grown up with him.)
Vamosbrigade itself grew out of an earlier board, vamosrafael(dot)com, which made it easier. One aspect of a message board is that it allows members to communicate privately via PMs (personal messages). Members can exchange email addresses, plan private trips to tournaments, or just meet for a drink ---I had drinks with one of the founders from England here in New York! And depending on age and interests, there are families formed within families on the board. Youngsters do MSN and AIM and shout themselves sllly whenever Rafa plays. And later, "old heads" post analyses of the matches that are better and more detailed than you could read in most specialist magazines. English is the language of the main board, but since Rafa Nadal is an international star, there are now additional boards in German, Spanish, Italian, Serbian, etc. And another board where you can start a thread to meet others in any language you wish.
In a way, I feel bad raising this issue because I am past retirement age and yet now find myself with the career of someone who is 40. So my time is dreadfully limited. I couldn't volunteer to take any responsibility. But I always seem to be able to shoot off my mouth, and that would probably continue (hopefully in a way that was helpful)!
There are two separate trips. This week the President goes to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Germany and France. Mrs. O is going to be in France for sure, not sure about Germany. In July the President goes to Russia, Italy and Ghana, with Mrs. O going to Ghana for sure.
Toni,
Michelle is meeting him in Paris AFTER his Germany stop.
I posted the dates and info a couple of comments up.
Here are the dates for July:
Russia - July 6-8th
Italy - July 8-10th - President Obama will attend a Group of Eight summit in Italy.
Africa – Accra, Ghana - July 10-11th - The President and Mrs. Obama will visit. While in Ghana, the President will discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues with Ghanaian President Mills. The President and Mrs. Obama look forward to strengthening the U.S. relationship with one of our most trusted partners in sub-Saharan Africa, and to highlighting the critical role that sound governance and civil society play in promoting lasting development.
Nevermind Mrs O - who looks fabulously radiant as usual - LOOK @ Mr O - he is one handsome guy!!! I just adore men in beautifully cut suits and a simple white shirt (wish my hubby was reading this!).
I should have included Woodrow Wilson among unashamed intellectual US presidents, but personally he was a bit of a killjoy. The Obamas live joyfully on several levels, hamburgers and upscale organic, J Crew and Alaia, pop culture and August Wilson. Such an interesting couple!
Lol, Boazwife - You are so funny but so right!
The hullaballoo about THE President of THE United States taking his wife to New York for an evening is too bizzarre.
Where were all these folks when Airforce One was shuttling the Bush daughter Barbara from New York to D.C for weekends?!
Or jostling to Houston to pick up Bush senior and his wife for parties at the White house every other weekend?!
Where were these folks when guests were ferried on Airforce one to Texas for Jenna's wedding festivities?!
Were any of these activities "official business"? and did anybody ever ask how much it all cost us taxpayers? Was there ever a tally of costs for security/transportation for anything Bush related?! NEVER.
Now people have the guts to demand the cost of President Obama's activities!
I hope they keep doing exactly what they feel like doing & remain undeterred by this crap;
Every other president did - But like someone pointed out earlier somewhere here, every other president has been treated as the BOSS, but Obama is now treated like the SERVANT.
I think it's time for him to reign in the transparency & humility thing - Enough already I say because every idiot now has the nerve to query him under some guise or other.
Oh & lest we forget, Chelsea Clinton was in California for college for 4 years and her parents were always out to visit her but nary a peep about "costs"!
Janelle,
Did you visit Kortu's website? There is a pretty yellow dress; also a print dress that with a few alterations would look very nice on MO.
Kortu has some interesting jewelry pieces - some of which have a very rich color palette. I am surprised that the web collection is so small.
@Bevi,
I did see Kortu's yellow dress, and it's my favorite. She's done a ton of clothes that I don't see all focused on the site. In a slightly modified form, I could easily see that yellow dress on Mrs. O. Maybe she's still working on her site, but the full collection that she debuted at Grant Park was extraordinary. I hope I can find a link someday to post of all of her work, but a lot of her clothes that I saw can be worn by women of all sizes and her resort wear is gorgeous.
I wish Mrs. O could wear just one of Kortu's outfits---getting financial backing to get your fashion business going is brutual, and from what I've read about Kortu and seen on Project Runway, she hates the politics involved in fashion. I just wish she was the final winner, but she made it to the top 3 finalists that season on Bravo.
Huffington Post has a link to a short video of President & Mrs. O showing off Bo's handshake to Brian Williams. Right column of home page, scroll down a bit.
Camille you are on point with your post. We all know that there is a pink elephant in the room. They try to say that the president is "elite" but "elite" is code for uppity and not knowing one's place.
Great dress, but I also would have liked to see it a few inches shorter. No fear of riding up even at that length, I think.
"They try to say that the president is “elite” but “elite” is code for uppity and not knowing one’s place."
Or, having standards, what a concept.
MSNBC has a series of 15 preview clips from tonight and tomorrow night's shows behind the scenes at the White House.
Its soo refreshing seeing these two together!
A couple of things
1. I'm hoping to see a new post soon :-)
2. THIS blog is "..follow the fashion of Mrs. O." and that's why I visit. If this were to turn into something else, I'd doubt it would be worth my time to return.
3. I did watch the season of Project Runway with Kortu and cannot remember any of her designs that resembled anything I've ever seen Mrs. Obama wear.
OK, let's bet this dead hourse one more time. Everything the President, any President does h as political implications. I'm a dem, contributed to O. But all on my own, no outsdie influences, when I saw this story, I thought, this doesnt look good. You guys who immediately attack people, calling them haters and replublicans, dont realize everyone is not an Obama fan, and this was giving Fox news something to scream a bout. With GM going bankrupt,and people losing work I dont want to see my Democartic president taking this trip. And yes, it isnt fair, because Clinton and Bush and lots of others did this too. But I for one hold a Democratic president, who doesnt represent the corporations, like some do, to a higher standard. And that's it.
Just a clarification: Air Force 1 is for the exclusive use of the President of the United States. It is not a plane that can be used to "shuttle" people around or to fly invites or relatives around the US.
I also think that this bru-ha-ha is also fired up because of the constant comments from Congress and the President regarding the need for others to limit their use of private jets, cars, etc...; the plans to limit executive pays and expenses, and, the need to be aware of global warming and carbon footprints (planes, cars, helicopters,etc.) But - this should too shall pass.
OK, I lost the will to live about halfway down that lot so I'm sorry if I've missed anything good.
2 comments though - firstly, the Republicans really have nothing to pin on Mr Obama seeing as he's doing such a brilliant job, and that is why they stoop to picking on a date night in New York. Which was clearly promised months ago. So all you can do is feel sorry for them running around going "what can we have a go about?" "NOTHING!"
Secondly, the bra thing versus the they-should-have-a-baby thing. The baby thing offends and bores me only because Mrs Obama has clearly said that the campaign was their third child and that they would not be having another baby. Case closed, you would think. Secondly, I feel that any couple's decision to have a baby is deeply personal and is no-one's business UNTIL a pregnancy is announced. Therefore, no conjecture, no "should", no gossiping about it, no anything. It's private till they tell you! As for the bra issue, I'm afraid we are all her to discuss matters of style, and in my opinion (cracked, bizarre and fruitloopy as it may well be), your underpinnings are the beginning to great style. So they do come under the heading of fashion and style. Ish. We have all commented on pants!! It is better to always wear a bra, in my world. Even if you don't need to. It just looks smoother. Of course you could say that that comes from years of looking at increasingly airbrushed, taped, compressed and inhumanly perfect models and celebs.... so perhaps the comments come from that. We're not used to seeing them out there, free as nature intended. Hey ho.
Sheesh! I forgot to say I LOVE THE DRESS!!!
And why is a visit to theatre reported anyway? We never hear about the Gordon and Sarah Brown going out. Everyone can go out, it's not even news!
Politico reports that Mrs. O is to have lunch at the White House with Nancy Reagan tomorrow (there's a Reagan bill signing today, but Mrs. O won't be there this afternoon). I'm sure the full press won't be allowed to their lunch tomorrow, but I'm sure the White House will release a photo of them that the photographer Pete Souza will take (as they did when she met with Queen Rania of Jordan).
That should be an interesting and nice lunch for them both. Mrs. O commented in the latest Time magazine how she appreciates the First Lady Club and how they have all reached out to her. There's certain things only they can know about the WH experience, that Mrs. O's closest friends couldn't fully appreciate.....especially after the all the commentary from their Saturday date night.
Alsace:
I completely agree with your post.
I have gone into lurking as there is nothing new to say about Mrs. O fashions.
I do realize that this is a "fashion" blog, but constructive discussion should always be welcomed.
So, I will wait until the new website is up and running. Hopefully, Mrs T will take some of the feedback into consideration for the improved website.
Speaking of Mrs. Reagan, Vanity Fair is reporting tha Michelle Obama called Nancy Reagan for “advice” and “suggestions,” and in the course of a 45-minute conversation, Mrs. Reagan encouraged Mrs. Obama to have lots of state dinners. Colacello from Vanitty Fair senses that she’s about to contrast the Obamas favorably with the Bushes, who were famously averse to entertaining at the White House, but then stops herself. This should be an interesting article particularly if Mrs. Reagan discusses fashion, china and White House ceremonies.
Janelle:
Read an article where Mrs. Reagan stated that she thought that she should have been invited to the signing for the stem cell research bill. She explained that she doesn't give many interviews but would have definitely gone to DC for that. She believed that her being at the signing would have been a big boost for President Obama (being that she is a Republican). Those are her words, not mine.
I will try to find a link to the article and post. It was in yesterday's Huffington Post.
So, maybe that is why they are having lunch.
@ Posh Tater
"OK, I lost the will to live about halfway down ..."
LOL! Oh, you are so cracking me up. Because I'm right there with you.
I take back anything I said earlier this week. I wish they had not gone on this trip. I almost hope they never go on outings again. This has just engendered too much conversation here and on Fox News and everywhere else. Next time they should just get the Broadway show to come to them. And hell, the restaurant too.
I think it's great that President Obama and Michelle went to New York. I think the media should have spent more time defending his trip by comparing it to the other President's personal trips.
Bush took the most vacations on the taxpayer's dime (he didn't drive, take a bus, or a commercial airline) he took AIR FORCE ONE!
487 days at Camp David (149 round trips)
490 days at Crawford Ranch (77 round trips)
43 days at Kennebunkport Compound (11 round trips)
Bush Total: 1020 days, more than 1/3rd of his presidency. Bush set the record for most vacation time taken by president. — which comes out to 2.8 yrs of vacation in 8 years.
And this does not include all the Air Force One trips he took to campaign for other Republicans, the trip to New York to take Laura to a Broadway show "Wicked", and other vacation locations, etc.
Other Presidents:
Carter took 79 days in 4 years.
Clinton took 152 days in 8 years.
Reagan took 335 days in 8 years.
Bush Sr. took 543 days in 4 years!
Presidents can not use public transportation, so of course they are going to travel on the taxpayers dime and should not be expected to be held prisoner in D.C.
In my opinion it is pathetic that the media/public has President Obama under a microscope every minute and feels the need to bash him while at the same time having amnesia of the past.
@Jersey Girl,
Yes, I read that and today the press secretary was asked about Mrs. Reagan's comment in Vanity Fair, and he said something like (paraphrasing) that not inviting her to the stem cell research signing wasn't a slight, but an oversight and wasn't meant to offend her in any way. I don't think it was a slight because she's a Republican because at a recent bill signing, the President had Bob Dole there on stage with him who supported a bill and he always has other Republicans with him in the audience if they strongly supported a bill because he always likes to emphasize something that garners bipartisan support. And I do think it would have been a big boost to have Nancy Reagan there on that day, but I think it was an administrative oversight, since the Obamas have always spoken well of the Reagans.
....side note, because of perception and the broohaha caused by many state dinners, I don't think Mrs. O will have many until the economy comes back more, although being selfish I want to see more. Especially over "Date-gate", I think Mrs. O will have much less than the Reagans at least for the next couple of years. Mrs. Reagan was eaten alive over all their state dinners in the middle of the recession, and the recession then wasn't nearly as deep as it is now.
I think Mrs. O will continue to have many events highlighting various causes and issues, but I don't think she'll be having a lot of formal, very-dressy affairs for a little while. I wish she did though. It doesn't bother me one bit---that's just me. I think we need to start bringing other countries here to break more bread together and get this diplomacy going. People sometimes need a drink and a meal in order to sit down to sign a peace treaty. Sad, but it's true. We should of had a state dinner for Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas when they were here. Breaking bread, being relaxed, showing U.S. hospitality is all part of that, and Mrs. O would have really done us proud and is a great ambassador of this country.....not to mention looked stunning in her evening wear!
P.S. ...forgot to add, I say do a few key diplomatic state dinners and close it to the press, except for the White House photographer who can release photos later. If the state dinners are done in the right amount and are strategic and with a purpose, I see no problem with it even during these economic times. It's not like it's a party for partying sake. If done right, then I agree with Mrs. Reagan; and again, the less press the better.
Im going to miss the NBC Special 2nite b/c I have to work..Im 2 upset..and I have to work 2morrow night 2..ugh!!!!
I hope NBC shows the full episode on their website.