Assorted Reading
Friday, May 8, 2009 at 11:13 AM 
While Mandi Norwood's Michelle Style has been getting a bit of buzz this week, it's not the only new Mrs. O read in the style section. (Of note: Mrs. O wears a rarely seen Narciso Rodriguez dress on the cover. She wore the same dress to a campaign event in September, seen here.)
Fashion Week Daily has released a special edition of their mini-mag to chronicle Mrs. O's First 100 day of Style. The images and information are familiar, but to experience them all at once, in their high resolution, glossy page glory, is quite a treat. We especially loved the tribute to Mrs. O's favorite designers. The mini-mags are available on newstands and in major bookstores. They can also be bought online here.
Finally, our friends at InStyle have shared their latest photo gallery -- First Lady Style: 10 Tips to Make the Most of What You've Got -- definitely worth a peek!
Narciso Rodriguez in Outfits
Reader Comments (128)
Just wanted to say, that I am an AA woman and just like Michelle, we had mothers, grandmother, aunts, Sunday School teahers who instilled positive attitudes at early ages. Being rasied in the south, that was our strong support. We never really cared what others thought of our hips, butts because we had love at home. It starts at home, folks. And as cruel as the outside world can be we were special at home. As a child growing up, I never could understand why the different shades of out beautiful skins caused so much hatred for others while they would spend hours in the hot sun just to tan, Now, I understand and some of my white girlfriends were honest enough to share their feelings which lead to stronger bonds. When you feel good inside about yourself, it shows outside. One of my favorite aunts taught be to be proud of my body and self-confidence is all in the attitude.
I know they were not official functions,but here is my 2 cents about Friday's looks: Adored her in the capri combo, was not so much a fan of the skirt; it seemed to ride up a bit too high in the back and created a weird effect. As far as her being "hippy" most men and a few women would agree that there is nothing wrong with that. I don't know what size she wears, bust it could be a 10 or 12 in regular misses clothing, depending on the cut. Remember, she is fit, but a tall woman. And we regular women, like Mrs. O, who shop at regular stores like JCrew do not wear model sizes (What is a size 0 anyway? I always found that a ridiculous designer label marketing gimmick!) I am finally glad some agree that Mrs. O does indeed wear a perm! Can you imagine the amount of maintenance natural hair would have required? We black girls do not have it easy (smiles). Also, I suspect that the "cute" ponytail we are admiring as a look is more like a convenient way to look groomed in between hair appointments. A girl gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
@ Judie25,
As a black woman, I can tell you that most black men like curves too. So yes, the hips count as well. To them, there is nothing cute about a boyish figure no matter how big a butt you have in the back. That's why there are songs about liking their women's curves, liking women that are shaped "like coca cola bottles" and the list goes on.
So yesterday after work I went to indigo to buy Michelle Style, only I couldnt wait till I got home so I finished while I was still @ indigo. Great pics, some I havent seen before.
Cant wait for MrsT's
Lilly, MRS O wears 6 / 8 or 38 /40 (don't ask me how I know!). The difference between a size 6/8 and 10/12 is obvious. Lol
@ Mimi
Mrs. O wears a Sz 10 or 12.
For someone who is 5' 10, if she still managed to wear a Sz 6, she would have to be rail thin, like a model. Sorry, I ask how you know because it seems very inaccurate.
@ Lilly
I agree with you 100% on all your points, though I thought the Friday "skirt" you are referring to is indeed a dress.
Yes, I hear you about the use of the "cute" pony tail. Tie that hair up and go about your day to get things done. It is amazing how sometimes functional hairstyles get all this attention as if they were an intentional effort. An example is when she had her hair pinned. I know I do that when my hair is less than stellar to be worn down. Meanwhile, the media were going crazy reporting about Mrs. O's new haircut.
I saw an article in one of teh UK newspapers referring to Mrs. O's Time 100 hairstyle as her new haircut and they were listing other celebs that have "made the decision to go short." I found it really annoying. If you are going to report something, report the facts.
Mimi,
Mrs. O is 5' 10 3/4 and about 177 lbs. Of course with some fluctuations. That is not a sz 6 or Sz 8.
@ Mrs. A have you seen her medical records or something lol. BTW she has said she is 5'11
@ Dee
Her height has been published in many places and at 5' 10 3/4, it would suggest that she rounds up to 5' 11, which is consistent with what you are also saying.
It seems that the event tonight will be full of celebs and journalists and politicians and things kicked off early. Politico has the full scoop here
politico(dot)com/blogs/dinnerdish/
OO by the way, the dinner will be live on MSNBC @ 9pm
MRS T, may be you should open the post earlier and we can start guessing MRS O designer-wear tonight.. (just a suggestion). Hopefully I'll beat Janelle on this one (smiles)
Re sizes, there is no legal standard on how women's clothes are marked. I've shopped on rare occasions in upscale places, and many times in Target or discount stores. I've found that high-end stuff is always undermarked. What is a real 12 is marked 6/8 or small. I've also seen Oprah over the years, when she dieted, say on her show, Now I'm a 12! when she clearly would be a 16 or 18.
Ok What Would Michelle Wear!!
I think Michelle will wear a Kors because he was misidentified and did not get full credit for his dress.
@ Elaine B
About Oprah - Hers is just being in denial and also lying about her size. Oprah is the same woman whose wardrobe tema/ on set stylists would have to cut the tags on her clothing so that she wouldn't see the size and get upset about how far she has gone up. She is pretty self-conscious about her weight and said it herself that she lied on many occasions to make herself feel better. So take that for what it is worth.
About sizes being different in upscale stores - I have noticed they are different too, but my experience is that they run smaller and I have to go one or two sizes up in Upscale stores. But your experience might be different.
I'm excited about tonight's event. Off to run all my errands so I can relax and watch it at 9PM. Can I have coooks and personal assistants in my life too?!!!
*wardrobe team
I think she will wear a Peter Soronen. Maybe the corset worn with the other dress belonged to a full dress we will see later.
I also have an inkling that she will repeat something we have already seen. I really liked that dark brown knee length fitted dress she wore to the all woman's affair they had and would love to see it again.
LDS said: "Just wanted to say, that I am an AA woman and just like Michelle, we had mothers, grandmother, aunts, Sunday School teahers who instilled positive attitudes at early ages. Being rasied in the south, that was our strong support. We never really cared what others thought of our hips, butts because we had love at home. It starts at home, folks. And as cruel as the outside world can be we were special at home. As a child growing up, I never could understand why the different shades of out beautiful skins caused so much hatred for others while they would spend hours in the hot sun just to tan, Now, I understand and some of my white girlfriends were honest enough to share their feelings which lead to stronger bonds. When you feel good inside about yourself, it shows outside. One of my favorite aunts taught be to be proud of my body and self-confidence is all in the attitude."
Thank you so much for this. I have some disabilities which have kept me quite isolated for some decades, so I may not be as much "in the know" about what's going on "out there" as others. (My strengths now seem to be inner-world things.) :-) But, as a white woman, I wondered the same thing you did. Why are we so hateful toward dark skin, while at the same time risking skin cancer to darken our? Personally, I have always found darker skin much more attractive than my own very lily white skin. This is not a self-hate thing. Having quite an artist's eye, I just think skin with color is far more attractive to the look of the body and to compliment clothes than white skin is. Obviously enough people agree with that to keep the tanning industry very healthy.
I also admire and even envy the strong family and community support you and others had growing up. It may seem a strange thing to say, but bear with me a moment. It seems that the prejudice and hate your people experienced from the outside resulted in the flowering of this incredible strength inside your families and communities (not completely, of course, as there is such heart break and devastation in other areas of the AA community.) But, as in my own life with it's imposed restrictions, I have found a flowering on the inside that would not have been possible without those limitations.
Anyway, I think you get what I'm trying to say. Something like "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger", or being crushed allows the sprouting and flowering, etc.
I love the lesson I'm learning from watching Michelle, and that I'm hearing from you and Iris and others: Self confidence is far more important than the shape of the body or the items of clothing worn. Michelle's confident smile always trumps her clothes for me, even when I think she's sort-of "missed" with an outfit.
Thank you LDS.
I just posted a response to LDS's much appreciated comment, and used a smiley face in it. I guess it put my comment into moderation. I'm still learning how this site works.
Willow, I've wondered about that too. You can use a parenthesis in regular mode, but not next to a colon or semicolon to create a smiley. Can anyone post which characters are acceptable and which are not? Thanks in advance! (smiley face)
Oh, also I've seen posters use an actual yellow smiley - how do those go through, I wonder.
Elaine B - Thanks for your help. I can tell you that I used a semi-colon, a dash and a parenthesis to make my smiley face, and in the message which I can see is in moderation, my symbol has been turned into a yellow smiley.
Now I know that I must simply stick to saying things like (with a mischievous smile). (Smile)
Mara, I really appreciate this comment of yours:
Many black women do this, especially in the workplace, to not draw attention to an area often viewed (or perceived to be viewed by others) as looking “provocative”. Women of other races are likelier to be able to “get away” with wearing the exact same outfit, but not be viewed as “provocative” because of the butt factor."
Unfortunately, I think this is true.
Godschild, I enjoyed reading your post. This statement in particular caught my attention: "White women normally pay for what come naturally to ethic races (breast, butt, lips, color (tanning products))."
I have long wondered at the strange juxtaposition of the denigration of black women and how they look with the constant effort in our society to engender the desire in white women to have that same look. The only thing I can come up with to explain this bit of insanity is that it is profitable: making us unhappy with our natural selves sells magazines, products, etc.
Mrs. O looks fantastic in this sheath dress.
I picked up the "Michelle Style" book from library today. It's a nice read. I loved the history behind "The View" dress.
Okay, I got my "100 Days of Style" in the mail today. And I'm kind of annoyed. Remember that dress she wore on The View? the black and white one by Donna Ricco and was sold at White House Black Market... well in the book they attribute it to Maria Pinto!! AND!! They didn't include Maria Pinto in the "Michelle's Favorite Designers" section. Peter Soronen but not Maria Pinto?? If I was Maria, or Michele for that matter, I would definitely be offended.
Did anyone else notice this??
One more thing, where was the Narciso Rodriguez outfit from the Inaugural celebration at the Lincoln Memorial??
The publishers of this little mini-mag definitely failed in capturing what they called "Every Great Outfit"!
Dear See, I think the concept is to feature Mrs. O's first "100 Days of Style", counting the Inaguration as Day One, so that's probably why you see less of a focus on prior looks. I will have to check out the Maria Pinto / Donna Ricco credit for The View dress - did not notice this.
Mrs T-- good point on the 100 days of style. I forgot about that. In which case, I'll forgive them for not including that gorgeous wool coat. BTW, the Pinto/Ricco is on page 62-63.