The Belt of the Season?
Monday, June 29, 2009 at 5:00 PM 
Photo by Mandel Ngan / Getty Images
First Lady Mrs. O spoke at Unity Health Care's Upper Cardozo Center in Washington this afternoon. She was at the center to announce $850 million in Recovery Act grants to upgrade and expand community health centers across the country. To read the first lady's full remarks, click here.
For the event, Mrs. O wore a stone colored, belle sleeved jacket, paired with a wide, silver Givenchy belt and black trousers. A stack of beaded and tassled braclets finished the look. Mrs. O last wore her silver Givenchy belt for a D-Day event in France - might it be Mrs. O's belt of the season?
Mrs. O wore the same ensemble to attend the White House reception for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month later in the day.
Reader Comments (124)
How do I love this woman..let me count the ways-
A woman with a mind of her own and intent on living and doing it her way! Love it! Love her!
Great look. I actually like the belt with this outfit. Very nice.
The jacket and belt are great!
Very nice!
I just saw the President and Mrs. O at a ceremony celebrating GLBT month. The image of Mrs. O went by quickly. She might have been in this same outfit. Nevertheless, she looked great. Very sophisticated. And I was particularly happy to see that Mrs. O decided she would joined the President for this occasion.
Jazzy...that adjective is very appropriate! I love this look.
Me likey! I actually like the belt with that top and I love that it's a structured top. Structure should be her signature.
I like the belt with this jacket, too. It adds a nice bit of shine.
Yep, the belt livens up the relatively drab colors. The top is pretty neutral and can be paired with almost anything. Nice.
First Lady O look splendifirous divine!!
That is a hot jacket. Period. And the belt just adds the jazz. I like a lot.
I love love love the kimono influenced jacket and color of the belt, but the width and placement, not to mention the buckle, is a bit distracting I feel. I think a sash belt like the one on the Rachel Roy dress, sitting just at the top of her hip would have been better here, like a sleek modern play on the obi. But that is a minor nitpick, all in all this is a great look.
Btw Michelle wore this same outfit to the White House reception with President Obama in honor of LBGT month.
How I wish Mrs. O. had enlivened her jacket, which looks great, with brooches instead of another wide, under-bust belt.
Mrs. O looks lovely. Why does she wear her belts so high?
get rid of the belt, make the top a little longer and you have a great outfit!
she obviously has a fetish for belts and i dont see it going away anytime soon. too bad this couldnt at least be a clear, thin one or something that looks less like a beacon.
Love the jacket, but the wide belt look is not flattering to her figure. I wish she would drop it.
I think the LBGT event was also held today.
This is one of the few times that the belt actually works.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the look the belt is the perfect accessory for the jacket.Where I,m from we would say "SNAZZY" Mrs. O I am so happy that you are so confident with you style. 2 thumbs up!
Amen Audrey! Check out that radiant smile! Love the jacket with the belt, however I am not too crazy with the pants. I think a pencil skirt would have worked better.
Mrs. T, can you please include these Mrs.O quotes under the Mrs.O logo, maybe? They are from her Vogue interview then, maybe we can stop hearing the same complaints over and over again!!
Here they are:
"I'm not going to pretend that I don't care about it," Mrs. Obama says of the criticism. "But I also have to be very practical. In the end, someone will always not like what you wear—people just have different tastes."
"I love a belt . . . ."
Julia, I think it's because her waist is so high that without loops sewn into the clothes they tend to ride up. She also tends to wear them tight. If she loosened her belts a little and let them ride lower it'd be more flattering IMO. I actually think she should wear the majority of her belts that way, and thinner ones too. I hope she gets a thinner one in silver, the color looks great on her.
Like Julia says the high belts are becoming predictable and look uncomfortable, encroaching in the 'chestal' area, lol! Empire waist may hide wide bottoms for traditional sized women but this high a belt is ridiculous.
Props to her for wearing prints and cuts few first ladies have worn but please stop with the bbob belts.
A NATURAL WOMAN IN NEUTRAL...
I like this jackset on Mrs.O for 2 reasons:
1. the volume and cut of the jacket balances and compliments her lower half perfectly and
2. it's becomes a little more edgy with the belt, without being flashy.
A noteworthy point here is that the last time she wore the belt she also wore it with a neutral colour (white), so she is perfetly aware that a belt like this is definately a stand alone!
I can't help but chuckle and think - is this the belt that the President teases her about and calls it the "Star Treck" belt... beam me up Scottie...
I love this look! Simple and classy.
Oh yes. Back to high fashion. Who m ade that jacket?
Those bat wing sleeves are divine. Love this look!
I love the jacket. But enough with the belts already! It really destroys the clean lines of that jacket. I wish she would find some dresses that are cut as if she were wearing a belt. That wide belt really makes her look more short waisted.
All of her bracelets look cute and trendy as well!
I love this outfit! The jacket is fantastic, I love the trench like details and the belt is great with the neutral shade. A great look for summer -- sharp! Love the little stud earrings & the pile of bangles. Perfect makeup too! She looks so cool and confident.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this woman but HATE, HATE, HATE, those belts.
They are so high her breast sits on them, IMO that make her looks sloppy. They are too wide, and too high and do nothing for her figure.
I really do think most of her outfits would lool better without them.
However, clearly she like them so I guess I'll just have to get over it. :)
Great color palette but the shape is too boxy for her. She looks square. The top should hit her at the widest part of her hips and "cut" her butt in half from the rear view. Great belt but thinner and worn lower would do wonders for the overall look of the ensemble. Sorry, folks, that's the honest truth.
Don't get me wrong....I LOVE OUR FIRST LADY, but does she have to wear a belt with everything? I am ready for a new look.
Mrs. O is too short waisted for these wide belts. I love Ms. Michelle, but this look is NOT flattering.
Is it just me or the way the photographs look, but her belts always seem to be very high on her torso and not really at her waist. In this photo the belt looks like it is right under her bustline.
HuffPo today has more photos and headlines her bracelets. One of them has a tassel. I've got a hand-me-down bracelet with a tassel at home; it's got to be at least 50 years old. I'll probably wear it tomorrow!
Well, her trousers seem to fit well today. Mrs. Obama is bound and determined, however, to wear those belts where they are least flattering.
She also wore the jacket at the LGBT Pride Month reception yesterday afternoon.
oo la la!
Not fashion, but a hilarious Obama moment at the gay event - President and Michelle interrupted by duck ringtone -
Obamas and duck ringtone
How to register - I dont; see a way to do this? Thanks.
Love the jacket, pants and the color of the belt, but really wish the belt were placed lower on her waist--oh well. The jacket reminds me of the "winged" jackets she wore a lot during the campaign during some primary nights---it's one of my favorite looks on her. Very chic and youthful.
......Also, below is a link to a very extensive article on the First Lady's vision for more quality and less quantity in scheduling her events, more background info. on Jackie Norris' departure as Chief of Staff (they remain friends and still work together, but I think Susan Sher is a better fit for what Mrs. O wants to do going forward). Mrs. O doesn't play around with her vision and wanting to see progress in her contributions---a more substantive role is emerging and I like that alot along with her fashion. She seems to be very focused and not satisfied with the status quo. Per the article, I think we'll be seeing her go to Camp David more and more now....obvious reasons are in the article. The White House is truly a big, beautiful white boxy prison. I don't think she cares about what the press and pundits will say on that regard. Mrs. O will do whatever it takes to maintain her sanity and protect the environment for her children. Kudos to her. She's a mother first and foremost and when their time in the White House is over, I hope they are able to leave with smiles on their faces and their marriage and family intact. That's my greatest wish for them. I know Mrs. O is fighting for that everyday. So I hope there are many more date nights and overnight trips to Camp David. (And I think her whimsical, flamboyant dressing in her last trip to London with the girls was her way of expressing her independence but the press of course is always there----I think she's trying to carve out something separate for herself on unofficial trips to stay sane and trying to figure this all out as to her entire life no longer being private.)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090624/NEWS02/706249602
A great portion of what I mentioned above was started in Chat on another thread by dee84. guess I'm still getting used to the new site---LOL
I wish you all would stop picking on her belts.
ENOUGH WITH THE BELT COMMENTS! If you don't have anything else to say about her signature style piece, then don't say anything at all.
You know, when Hillary Clinton was running around in pantsuits, it became a part of her style. She even made fun of herself. Let Michelle have her belts, please!
Since this is a style blog, I think it is perfectly acceptable to comment on the belts Michelle Too. You have to realize that people have a right to be honest in their comments. Most of us who come here adore Michelle and are thrilled to have her as our First Lady.
I agree with the posters who don't think the wide belts riding high are the most flattering fashion statement.
I do think her makeup and hair look great here---and the colors are flattering.
As usual, she looks GREAT! BELT and all!!!!
karen anne,
To register...
Look up at the top of the page over on the right side and you will see it says: Join Mrs.O and the words LOGIN and REGISTER. Just click on the word REGISTER -- and there ya go ;)
Completely inspiring, and as always, a fashion role model for women.
It's been only a few months, and the belts are getting really old. Change the style; its getting to look like a tattoo.
This is a style blog not a "feel free to hurl insults and backhanded compliments" at a complete stranger in the relatively safe anonymity of the internet!
Discussing how her breasts hang over her belts and make her look sloppy is way over the line-
Who on earth are you miserable people who take such delight in obsessively taking potshots at a woman you do not know?!
To come on this site time and time again to bitch about a persons personal style choices exposes the very useless, unfulfilled, empty and hopeless lives of some who post here.
Misery does love company they say...and it shows in the posts of many of these cowards who hide their hateful, ugly selves behind their stupid and moronic anonymous posts masquerading as fashion discourse-
This is a style blog not a "feel free to hurl insults and backhanded compliments" at a complete stranger in the relatively safe anonymity of the internet!
Discussing how her breasts hang over her belts and make her look sloppy is way over the line-
Who on earth are you miserable people who take such delight in obsessively taking potshots at a woman you do not know?!
To come on this site time and time again (sometimes several times a day!!!) to bitch about a persons personal style choices exposes the very useless, unfulfilled, empty and hopelessly sad lives of some who post here.
Misery does love company they say...and it shows in the posts of many of these cowards who hide their hateful, obnoxious, ugly selves behind their stupid and moronic anonymous posts which mostly border on the delusional even as they fight to show they know fashion, style and everything else in their own highly held opinions of course, that Mrs Obama doesn't!