Thursday
Jul092009
Sunny Delight
Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 10:22 AM 
Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images
First lady Mrs. O visited Palazzo del Governo in L'Aquila, Italy this morning with other G8 spouses. The medieval city was hit by a powerful earthquake in April 2009. As Mrs. O surveyed the damage, she said, ''I'm very moved. I and my husband have been very struck by what we're seeing and we'll try to do everything possible to support you."
Dressed in a yellow floral Liz Claiborne cardigan and chartreuse pleated skirt, Mrs. O brought a ray of sunshine. Fittingly chosen, Mrs. O wore a beaded brooch from Italian fashion house Moschino at her collar. Update: We've confirmed that Mrs. O's skirt is indeed J.Crew's cotton sateen Gateau skirt in chartreuse.
tagged J.Crew, Liz Claiborne, Moschino
J.Crew, Liz Claiborne, Moschino
Reader Comments (169)
The dress with the the leggings underneath look fine to me. They in there for 30 minutes to look at a coloseum with her kids and back in to the car. Come on guys, can she get a break :)
After seeing what the other ladies wore, I think its all good. I heard alot about protocols etc. and the other ladies seem to say the same thing about protocol : I am defining my own view of what protocol is. And I love it.
They all looked cool and beautiful to me. Especially Mrs. Brown, its like she felt its ok to be her unique self and wear colors and be relaxed. The british press finally appreciating her sense of fashion. What i have seen so far is women feeling that its ok to be themselves and not a fake person that the public wants them to be and I loved it. I want more of this, more relaxed women who understand their role but are not defined by it and in beautiful clothes that expresses who they are.
I agree that Mrs. Brown is looking so much better in looser fitting clothes, and years younger. Good on her!
A bit further down the page that Nyon referred to above, there's a picture of many of the first ladies with the Pope. (Michelle is not in the picture.) ALL of them are wearing veils and dark clothing. Protocol all the way around. ;-)
Perhaps the Obamas private audience is tomorrow?
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//090709/481
/7ac71562726b417cbfe91c9716f86ce3/#photoViewer=/090709/481
/d98f83b833964b86a422034d39aabdee
I haven't had a chance to try the link instruction posted by PalGirl2008. Is that the way to get a link like Karen Anne uses at 3:30 above?
Thanks.
Willow, that's correct. You'd use that coding to come up with a "hotlink" (a clickable link) like this one
more photos!!
I personally do not appreciate this kind of color, fluor! too flashy , too much !! the lenght of the dress is a bit limit for a lady in her position.
Although, i do like her make up, and her hairstyle. As a black woman, she should try to let her hair naturally( if she hate the dreadlocks).She can add human hair as well !!why not!
I understand that Mrs O refuse to carry a handbag but i am sure a such accessoire will enhace her style.
Love all of Michelle's outfits so far. She's looked fabulous. Relaxed and cool with the children, relaxed and elegant with the spouses. I love her in this charteuse colour. That dress Michell wore off the plane to arrive in the UK the first zingy success and this J Crew skirt is no slouch to follow. My favourite item so far were the two tone shoes on arrival in Rome. They were beautiful. The leggings looked good to me! Mrs O's got amazing legs and in the heat I would imagine they would be extremely comfortable. Nothing worse than sweaty legs in the summer in my opinion. Gah.
Sarah Brown is showing a VAST improvement. However, there's a way to go yet for me. Widthways stripes? Full bodied blouses that have an extra widthways line and gather RIGHT on the nip line? Knee length skirts on less than great legs? Every outfit she wore today was screamingly better than the Britt Lintner dress and anything she wore in France for D-Day, but I'd love to see some ankle length flowing skirts/dresses and structured, tailored, body skimming tops or jackets. But hats off to her for an amazing improvement.
Soooo, no Mrs O with the Pope eh? Oh I DO hope she isn't going at all!!!!
@Posh Tater---Per Politico, the President meets tomorrow with the Pope at 10:15 am ET, and then the Obamas together meet with the Pope at 10:40 am ET.
Ahh well. I shall keep my fingers crossed for no veil anyway!
Thanks, Willow! What a great brooch, and we finally get a good picture of her wedding set as a bonus.
I'm about the same color as Mrs. Brown. When I first saw the photo of her in the wide striped skirt, I thought she was wearing white nylons with the dress-- and then I realized it was just her legs. :) No wonder I just wear long skirts now.
I love that she's continuing the parade of vibrant colors. She really stands out. Not sure about the pleats on that skirt though, I think one without them would've been more flattering with this look. Also, a nicer walking shoe would tie in better as well. Still, she looks fresh and one can almost taste summer in Italy through her clothing choices there. Love that.
Thanks, Christina.
Here's my attempt at a hotlink:
Leggings
It worked! I feel so cool! Thank you, PalGirl2008.
Mrs. O looks great! She has really inspired me to be more conscious of my every day gear. For years, I too, have combined high and low end pieces and now I'm taking it to the next level...even if I'm making a run to the market. Why not?
Hmmmm. I'd imagine that "what to wear" is least of the worries for a meeting with the pope!
I was mistaken earlier. Here's the link to the photo of the first ladies with the Pope. Just scroll down a bit.
Pope & First Ladies
I have that yellow Liz Claiborne sweater..love it and I always get lots of compliments when worn. I have never thought of wearing it with a yellow skirt. No BELTS today.
I agree with the leggins comments, they are a bit underdressed. Even if she is on her own time, this is an official visit to the country in her FLOTUS capacity.
About the audience with the Pope, I do hope Mrs. O does not stray too far from protocol; usually meeting the Pope requires no sleeveless, lowcut, pants, too tight or too short dresses. And yes, it also requires a darker color and if one is not Catholic, a mantilla or hat.
I know some posters will bristle and go on a non-conformist uproar about my post, but this is somewhat important to me, as a practicing Catholic. Sometimes, I think Catholics get the least respect out of most religions; Jewish religious symbols are treated with kid's glove and no one would dare enter a mosque with shoes or uncovered head for women, so why not adhere to the requirements of the Catholic Church as well? That being said, I am more than certain Mrs. O has done her homework in protocol and will look nothing less than elegant and appropriate, with her own stylist twist, of course.
Just testing the html link:
Mrs. O
Thanks palgirl2008!
Another home run for the FLOTUS!
She wore this sweater on Memorial Day weekend with a gray skirt..........liked that casual ensemble as well as this look. I love that she mixes and matches. Good stewardship - good for kids to see.
@ Nora.. I understand your sentiment as a catholic but out of curiosity did you get to tell the other first ladies what they should or should not wear even as your opinion. Just curious. I kind of think sometimes we treat tthis grown woman like she is a kid to be told how to behave in public. She has lived 45 yrs of her life so far and has done it well. Hillary wore her pants to see the pope, nice Laura wore her dress nice. Likewise, whatever the first lady we will see but she is not a child. She gets the same standard and respect that other first ladies where afforded is my opinion. Just because she likes fashion does not mean otherwise.
In my opinion i think the pope has been treated with respect by all presidents. Every religion deserves their own due respect whether its the catholic, jews, christian, muslims, tao, buddism etc.. so with that i agree with you.
Love the Liz Claiborne cardigan!
She's truly a vision in this picture. the way the light falls on her, the face the clothes..her body language is so graceful and unpretentious. I am in love with this woman! She is one for the ages.
I am thrilled that her clothes have STOPPED making front page news. This is because a style icon makes everything memorable and timeless. Now that we've gotten over the thrilling novelty of it, we can see she truly does have style and is not a walking manican.
I do not think Mrs. O. looks "sloppy" during the Pantheon visit with her daughters, but I do think that she is dressed too "young" for her age, which she has done on occasion.
Yes respect is an issue. And the issue for me is that respect is a two way street. I promise this is not a bristle, I really am just talking about it, quite neutrally (I know you can't hear my voice!), but I do feel that the RC church has failed a lot of people in a lot of directions. And maybe that's starting to be noticed, and vocalised. Which may be why you feel they don't get much respect. Maybe they really don't. If they could listen to that and learn, there can be some shifts that would help people - past, present and future.
The veil is just a tiny part of that and I'd like to see women saying "You know what boys? This game is over". And I believe she probably will wear the veil. Anyway, we'll know soon!
I think Mrs. O's wardrobe on this trip is a vast improvement from her first foreign trip during the G20. Pretty much every single thing she's worn on this trip has been on point and well tailored. The only thing I didn't like was the first outfit where she had the belt over the duster. But the only thing I didn't like about that outfit was, of course, the belt. So for my taste, I think she's hit it out of the part 95% of the time so far on this trip, which is really hard to do.
And whoever is doing her makeup is earning every bit of their pay. I love that her makeup has evolved into light shimmery tones, which is so flattering to her face. I didn't like how she used to wear such dark colors on her face. The dark makeup and the sharp eyebrows made her looked ticked off even when she was smiling. The person doing her makeup and eyebrows now knows what they are doing.
Thank you for the link to that image, Willow. Some of the other images there are well worth checking out, too.
It's live on Cnn.com
I saw one of the cabinet member wearing a veil so I believe Mrs O will wear one. There are reports also that the Children are meeting the Pope as well
I saw some staff wearing a veil. So, I think she'll do it. Who knows. Whatever she wears, it'll strike the right tone.
Sorry, I have to say it , the hat that the wife of the South African president is wearing in several photos is just CRAZY(in a church lady way).
Considering the tempest in a teapot that was created after she touched the Queen (after the Queen made a friendly gesture towards her) I don't think that she'll be going too out of the box on this occasion.
And, just to make a sweeping cultural statement, American black people who grew up going to church (I'm assuming Michelle did) are familiar with covering one's head on certain church occasions. It may be protocol as well but I don't think MO would bristle at it as an imposition.
she looks like a nun lol
She dressed in all black and wore a veil.
Sorry its just weird and somber. I have never understood why meeting the pope should look so sad like a funeral. OH Well on to greener pastures.
Glad that's over
outfit looks like a black sweater (maybe the one she wore to meet the queen in London?), a black version of the white top with the big bow she wore in Germany, a black skirt, her favorite black belt and black kitten heels. A very matronly look.
she was more than appropriate. Good for her. I have to say her facial features are great. She's beautiful.,
In this case it's better to follow protocol than cause controversy....She off to Ghana Now
I hope everyone is happy, she wore the veil.
She wore a veil. I have to say I'm happy she did, although I sympathize with the notion of a woman being free to wear no veil to greet the Pope. But, as they say - When in Rome...!
She looked very nice and appropriate. I think she wore a black version of the white shirt with the bow from Prague. I also think I spotted her Azzedine Alaia belt, although the shirt was loose and covering most of it.
@ Mimi - she does look like a nun! LOL.
Iva I'm telling you at first glimpse I thought it was a nun standing there until I looked closely.I just thought it was too somber but like I said, since it's protocol, so be it..
I'm catholic as well and I never understood meeting the pope in this way. Looks like a funeral. lol
Well, meeting with the Pope doesn't have to be a fashion "moment," you know? I think if I were somehow to finagle that kind of meeting, I'd probably err on the side of "matronly."
Ghana should be fun!
She definitely wore the black version of the blouse from Prague and it looked quite shiny while watching it live online---even though she was wearing all black, I could definitely see all the contrasting textures from the veil to the skirt. She was extremely appropriate in her dress and quite graceful as usual. But I have to say, I'm used to seeing Mrs. O walking with her husband and not 20 steps behind. But it was a respectful visit and I'm glad they went but it's hard to critique any fashion when visiting the Vatican--it is what it is. I don't care for a veil, but I do believe what was mentioned before, "when in Rome..." especially over the nonsense generated from the first visit with the Queen.
Now that's over....off to Ghana! I just heard on TV that in Ghana, they put screens up all over town so that people can watch the Obamas' every move and not miss a thing! Vendors with Obama merchandise are all over the place and they want tourists to come. Ghana should be fun to watch. They're not playing around over there---they're going to maximize on this visit and I don't blame them. Everyone needs an economy boost---maybe Five Guys should open up over there :)
Links to pix please? I'm not as on top of everything as you all are...
where are you all seeing pics of the visit to the Pope??
Where are the photos? I cannot find them!!!! I read that the Malia and Sasha were also meeting the Pope. What a lovely and unforgetable experience for them.
@ Christina - I think we were all watching it live online or on tv. So I don't think there are pix yet. Soon enough.
@ Janelle - It was strange seeing how demure and restrained she was, but it was very appropriate for what's expected. I hope the White House releases pictures with the whole family and the Pope. Stupid question, but would the kids also have to wear a veil?
Here ya go, Christina!
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Papacy-and-Vatican/ss/events/wl/033002pope#photoViewer=/090710/ids_photos_wl/r1847157070.jpg
She looks very nice. I like that she respects how she has to look in front of the Pope, and she does what she has to do, out of respect. And I dont think she is wearing a sweater, it look like the long Michael Kors coat she has wore before.
i think its really silly to say leggings are "unfashionable" when you are touring ruins and earthquake sites. what, you think there are elevators everywhere? its quite sensible to have some kind of pants on. and the leggings are very cool, and they cover a lot more than shorts. who makes up these goofy rules?
This is a good shot. http://www.daylife.com/photo/06pr4ar4bYeuo