Mrs. O Goes West Coast
Monday, June 22, 2009 at 6:49 PM 
Photo by Kimberly White/ Getty Images
Mrs. O is in California this week to kick off the 2009 National Conference on Volunteering and Service. Joined by the first lady of California, Maria Shriver, the women began the service effort by rebuilding a playground in San Francisco.
First Lady Mrs. O kept her attire understated, wearing a printed top, black cardigan, cropped pants and her Puma sneakers. Update: New York Mag reports that the tunic is by Suno, a brand we are eager to learn more about!
Later in the evening Mrs. O spoke at the conference wearing a sleeveless dress that combined print and texture. Update: Mrs. O wears the Reid dress by Rachel Roy, as seen here. Thanks to Holly at Make Luxury Count for the tip!
Photo by Robert Galbraith / Reuters
Rachel Roy, Suno
Reader Comments (100)
Love Love Love the Rachel Roy dress on Michelle! The pants/top/cardigan outfit yesterday not so much. The cardigan is too tiny and smashes down the blouse underneath. Would have been better with a colorful T-shirt under it. Also, I would love to see Michelle in a pair of great jeans. Yesterday would have been the perfect day for jeans.
Right, Rachel is part Indian and part Dutch. She was married to (or is currently separating from her husband) a black man, Damon Dash, and has two kids with him.
@ Derek,
Rachel Roy is not African-American, but Indian and Dutch. She is always grouped in with AA because her soon-to-be ex-husband is Black. I love her style and appreciate her lady-like designs!
Here are some links to a few sites and a You Tube video about Rachel Roy. Love Her!
http://niralimagazine.com/2007/05/city-of-roy/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Rlozig9Dj4&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.famegame.com%2Fperson%2FRachel_Roy&feature=player_embedded
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Roy
Michelle does look completely stunning in this outfit! Michelle always looks better than the model not only because of she picks the right outfit (mostly!) but because her personality oozes from the dresses. For most designers, professional models are admittedly just hangers, so Mrs. Obama will always outshine the model because she is not a hanger--she's a real woman with strengths, weaknesses and personality shining through. Plus, she has killer hair and makeup people.
I really like this dress. I can see myself wearing it.
I think she looks stunning. I love when she dresses like this; simple, understated and streamlined. The cut really works on her evening outfilt and her make-up is perfect. I like her day look but I would prefer her w/o the cardigan and with black ballet flats.
I'd love to know what her hair stylist uses to give her hair that shine. It's really attractive, but it also has movement; it doesn't look like it's shellacked to her head.
GORGEOUS DRESS...what a brilliant conception! SD
Mark - I second your shout-out to designers. Their clothes look far better on real, full-bodied women than they do on those too-skinny models they drape them over. How I wish they would wake up to that fact! :->
A full length picture of Mrs. O in the dress (from the side), including her shoes can be seen here:
http://www.daylife.com/photo/029O7YQ1vN5cM?q=Michelle+Obama
Agree that the Rachel Roy dress is great for Michelle. The belt/sash is where a belt should be rather than underneath the bustline, and it's part of the outfit, rather than being wrapped around a dress or jacket that was not designed to be belted. Really a great look.
HURRAH! ! ! I was just now able to post on the chat board, and hopefully here, without it going into moderation. Maybe the Login bug is fixed! At least for me at this moment!
I have a message in moderation that provides a link to a full-length photo of Mrs. O in the Roy dress, from the side, that also shows her shoes. It is at:
http://www.daylife.com/photo/029O7YQ1vN5cM?q=Michelle+Obama
the first lady looks beautiful
but do we really need a hundred posts to say Rachel Roy isn't black?
i think everyone saw the first one
I'm glad to see Mrs. Obama finally wear Rachel Roy. I wish she'd wear more Tracy Reese too. This dress looks splendid on Michelle and the colors are so complementary. Again, the hair is flawless and the makeup is pretty. I'm glad Michelle likes to wear makeup. I couldn't imagine a First Lady without hair & makeup. Maria Shriver also looked lovely at the event in San Francisco.
Ooh yeah, we can post again on the Chat!!
Love the dress, I thought it was a skirt and top.....nice
For me, the lines are a little reminiscent of the Maria Pinto dress she wore on the night of the primary victory, except instead of a separate belt this sash sits lower and is built into the structure of the dress. Very flattering!
I absolutely love this dress. So happy to have a woman in the whitehose who wears clothes that celebrate the human form not hide it with boxy blazers which is the Washington DC power uniform. She is an example that women can look professional without losing their femininity and that women can have fun with work clothing.
MO looks amazing in this dress. Perfect cut and fit for her. Her hair and skin look lovely. The lipstick is beautiful...kind of a pink and coral blend. I like that it is not over accessorized. You just see her.
Mrs. O looks great in that dress.
Very chic dress. I don't care much for the day look.
michelle looked nice but her blouse was a little off . now she is not carrying a child everybody is sayying that she is but she is not ,so very body need to stop saying that and read those stuped papers.
Hope nobody minds that this is about the girls: they are apparently with MO in San Francisco, as is her mom! Today (which was perfect "Chamber of Commerce" weather) they rode a cable car and then drove down the "crookedest" part of Lombard Street. Very touristy, but totally fun - and I take everyone who visits to do exactly the same things.
I could only find one picture (go to SFGate.com, and search under Sacha and Malia). But I know ya'll are much better at finding pictures than I am. So: go to it and report back!
I love this dress. I think it is going to go in my top picks of Mrs. O outfits.
I just went on Rachel Roy's website, and "I die." (Who was that? CafeFashionista? Hilarious.)
I think that woman is brilliant. I can live without much of the Spring 09 line, but check out pre-Fall and Fall. Gorgeous! What really impressed me was how many different looks she has - it's not just small variations on a single theme. I hope MO gets into this line - much of it is perfect for her and it would be so fun to see!
I loved the dress MO wore last night to the conference. She looks fantastic - strong, confident, feminine - all the right notes. I thought about buying it on sale at Neiman's (egad, they have my size), but then I'd be the woman in the Michelle Obama dress in the same town in which she wore it. Maybe I could take it with me and go live with Posh in the UK for awhile . . .
I'm trying to figure out the pattern on the top. Looks like leopard, just exaggerated. Maybe?
Well, this dress does look nice on her. I like that it has pockets and the red around her waist is cool too.
The Rachel Roy dress is alright. I'm neither loving it nor hating it. The playground outfit was appropriate for the occasion, I just wish Mrs. Obama wouldn't button her cardigans at the very top.
I know she has done it before, but maybe now she is buttoning her sweaters at the top so that the photographers won't be able to catch her at an unfortunate angle; like they did at that harvest lunch.
Vous êtes magnifique Madame la Présidente !
Grâce à vous, la beauté de cette robe a été révélée.
Merci de nous faire rêver ...
The belt is perfect for summer - much softer and provides a nice contrast with dress. This is the right dress style for FLOTUS.
I still can't post in chat.
I think this is among the top 3 most beautiful photos of this lady i have seen. The dress, the hair..everything is in place.
I love the colours and the cut - gorgeous.
Tess, the one button at the top look is very much on point/fashion forward. May not suit everyone but another way we know that MO is fashion forward. It's also the most flattering way to wear a cardi. Worn open it just flaps around; buttoned up it's frumpy; one button at top allows for less bulk & shows off cute top underneath. IMHO
Robert Gibbs announced today that the First Lady will be with the President throughout his upcoming trip to Russia, Italy and Ghana and that he will be meeting with the Pope. Wonder how Italy will handle the hostess duties. Berscaloni is enmeshed in a nasty scandal and his wife is threatening to divorce him.
Hey guys we can look forward to some outfits in Roma, Mrs.O will be accompanying Prez. O when he visits the Vatican on July 10th and from there their off to Ghana.
ROAD TRIP!
Oh I am so looking forward to the Africa 2009 trip!
Dare I say that this modern twist on a leopard print is the begin of so much more color and texture to come. I'll be living my life vicariously through the First Lady as she travels to Rome, Italy and then Africa. I would agree that this Rachel Roy outfit is SUPERLATIVE in every way.
But y'know I just can't get over that thing Mrs.O does with her mouth - y'all know that kind of twisted mouth almost smiling but not really look... Well I hate it!
Mrs.O looks so joyous and sometimes even demure when she smiles. So just SMILE already!!!
I didn't know she'd be going to Russia too! The outfits should be very interesting and diverse with all of the different cultures of 3 different continents in one trip.
@ Rocky - I love Mrs. O's smile too...I think she'll be more aware of her expressions as time goes on. I used to have a tendency to look sad when I wasn't smiling or emoting something. There were an inordinate amount of not so flattering shots from Paris that I am so sad the photogs caught. So I think she may be more aware of her expressions going forward.
I don't mind it when she does'nt smile. Some women just don't do fakey perma grin plastered maniacal, desperate, stiff smiles. We think and when we think we may seem pensive but we are not angry. People are going to need to get used to it. They take pictures of her every second...she cant hold a fake smile every minute.
I still think Mrs. O is pregnant, she tries to conceal her bump, but if you look careful you can still see it. I saw it when she was sitting down on her interview on I think today shoe, plus her face is glowing and full. I am not sure if she is or not, but time will tell.
Do you all know about this for tomorrow: A LUAU AT THE WHITE HOUSE; that should be fun!
See WH luau takes shape article on politico.com
in today's WaPo, the article about the first lady mentioned that Sasha and Malia will accompany their parents to the Russia/Italy/Ghana trip.
and I looove this dress!
Malia and Sasha are going on the overseas trip with their parents next month! Three times the fashion!
Very nice, I am not fond of the print on top, but allover a nice fit.
How much do I love & admire this fantastic lady & what she is doing!
Anybody have a designer for the hearts tunic Mrs. Obama was wearing at the playground event?
I am absolutely stunned by the beauty and creativity of this designer. Truly exceptional. What I'd do for similar clothes! East meets West in the most elegant of ways. What colors!! Thanks, Mrs. O and Mrs. T :)
Her hair-perfect and the stone colour looks very good on FLOTUS.
First Lady Michelle Obama follows in the stylish footsteps of Jacqueline Kennedy. She's shown that she has a true penchant for style, always dressing well and appropriately for the occasion. In a very short time, Michelle had already managed to influence the clothing choices of numerous women throughout the nation. Thanks to her love of affordable pieces, any American woman can duplicate Michelle Obama's singular style.
I really like the personality of Mrs. Obama in print and texture. She looks stunning in it .