A Grand Welcome
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 1:36 PM 
Image by Jim Young / Reuters
The much anticipated state dinner festivities have begun! The president and first lady welcomed Mexican President Felipe Calderon and First Lady Margarita Zavala to the White House with an outdoor arrival ceremony earlier today.
First Lady Mrs. O dressed in a classic raspberry coat and dress (confirming designer), paired with a statement bib necklace and black pewter heels. The turquoise and orange flecks of color in the necklace certainly pop against the pink dress - gorgeous!
The first ladies later visited New Hampshire Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland, which was awarded the USDA's Healthier US School Challenge Silver Award in 2009. Note Mrs. O's change to orange-gold flats!
Update #1: Mrs. O wears a carmine viscose jersey dress with carmine silk nylon coat from Calvin Klein Collection, Pre-Spring 2010.
Update #2: Mrs. O wears a necklace by Erickson Beamon.
Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
Reader Comments (72)
I wish we could see Mrs. Calderon's dress! It looks lovely but her coat = not so much.
Lovely red, and the pop of turquoise in her necklace is nice as well. chrystelle provided some greats shots of Mrs. O in the dress w/o the jacket and the dress has an interesting draping type of design to it as well.
mrs. o. this is a flash back to a funeral before mrs. o. became first lady. she looked delicious.
lol
scroll down and u'll see desiree rogers and michelle obama.
http://books.google.com/books?id=8csDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA53&dq=OBAMA&lr=&as_pt=MAGAZINES&cd=13#v=onepage&q=OBAMA&f=false
Finally without a shawl ... thank goodness! The first lady of Mexico, that is. I was so tired of the shawls - it's like some short person perpetually sporting platform shoes, from sneakers to pumps. Now, she looked really great in the blue dress and black coat. Nice legs! Our FLOTUS looked as beautiful as always. Love the red coat. Can't wait to see your update on the designer.
Frost pic mrs Obama finnely look nice love her black shoes the second pic she change her shoes for a flat shoes but she didn't change her hair maybe tonight she will let her hair drown .
First Lady Obama looks wonderful...
Wow! The necklace is tremendous! Did both of these First Ladies know the plan for running around the gym??? (So strange to go from all that pomp and circumstance to skittering around with the kids, however admirable.) I esp. wondered if Ms. Calderon knew. She is a lovely woman--gorgeous face and hair. If she prefers to stay covered up via shawls and coats, that is her choice. She may, in fact, be quite shy.
Mrs. O is stunning as always. I prefer long coats w/long (to the wrist or more) sleeves, but that is just me. Likewise, I am not much of one for matching coats and dresses. BUT... Mrs. O is beautiful, and I do love that shade of--let's call it--raspberry on her. That necklace, though, is really a killer. Whew. She wears it beyond well.
Happy Wednesday to all,
JMH
Mrs O, Why Why please Why you style your hair like this, The style and the cut looks good but not for Mrs O face shape. I really like her hair when she styled it like this http://media.photobucket.com/image/michelle%20obama/michelleobamaexaminer/michelle-obama.jpg?o=45.
please everyone have a look the link. I always love that photo of Michelle.
I don't like the brushed back hair, but I get that it's an easy breezy style, but it just screams old lady to me. I like Mrs. O's outfit. It's very traditional First Lady, but it's still nice. Not her usual thought provoking style, but simply nice.
Mrs. Calderon's dress looks like something very similar to a dress Mrs. O has worn a couple of times. I don't like that black coat, though. It's not very polished. I actually would have preferred one of her famous shawls to this coat. It's not as stylish or as smart as Mrs. O's coat.
The turquoise in Mrs. O's necklace matches the turquoise color of Mrs. Zavala's dress.
nic john, that hairstyle is Mrs. O's fun, flirty, evening hairstyle. In addition to the WH music series event, she wore the same style at the Time Persons of the year award and for the G8 summit dinner last year.
I love her new hairstyle. It highlights all the finer features of her face and seems easy to maintain.
Nic John stop obsessing with her hair.she has many hairstyle like any normal person on earth.just because one style speaks to you doesn't she shouldn't be more adventurous.it is that simple.
ok i know we all follow the First Lady style but their Chief of Protocol is sharp.her heels are sky-high.
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Michelle-Obama/ss/events/pl/050108michelleobama#photoViewer=/100519/ids_photos_ts/r1226398175.jpg
@ nic john
the photo in the link is fabulous, but I can certainly understand why she wouldn't want her hair in her face each day, especially when speaking to the First Lady of Mexico or the children.
I am happy with the fact that MOI gives us variety in the hairstyles ....unlike Mrs. Bush, whose hair looked exactly the same for the 8 long years she was in office.
The dress and jacket are a great color and the Neckace and heels are FIERCE !
Huff Post has a great closeups of this photo: Mrs. O's necklace appears to have darling little charms on it: a butterfly and two tiny turquoise flowers....exquisite bead work.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/19/obamas-welcome-calderons-_n_581757.html
Queen Michelle. Automatically the colours come together beautifully with this absolutely amazing bib necklace that fits perfectly between the dress and coat.
.
I like that in the background of this picture are two girls, one in a hot pink coat and one in a teal skirt the same colors as these first ladies.
I like the color and I LOVE the necklace!!
Here is a lil piece of video. It shows Mrs. O skipping with the kids, but it also shows how a lil sweet girl may be getting her mom in a whole heap of trouble:
http://www.politico.com/multimedia/
I'll be really honest about this dress. It is stunning, I love the color and the draping especially the photos that I've seen of the dress. Any idea of the type of fabric. It is really soft looking.
Calvin Klein! That's great. A subtle nod to it's creative director Francisco Costa's Latin roots.
@ Nyon
Ooohhh! That little girls momma is going to be so ticked off and embarrassed. Did she say her mother doesn't have papers? Reason #127590 why complicated and divisive political issues should not be discussed with or around grade schooler's. You teach them the basics but keep it simple until they are older and able to know when and how to discuss these issues.
I looked further at chrystelle's url (thanks!), and if you go on to about "#25 of 309" there's a nice pic of Sra. Calderon's dress without the coat; and there's another pretty good one at #27, which also shows a detail of Michelle's dress that I am FASCINATED with -- at the "half-tunic"? or "half-cheong-sam split"??? cut of the skirt? can't wait for one of you wonderful people to ferret out the designer, 8-)
@Nyon
Someone told that little girl what to say IMO, and she will definietly get her mother in trouble for being an illegal immigrant. Also, I am shocked that FLOTUS outfit is pulled off the rack, because it looks custom made.
That necklace made me exclaim out loud! This is my favorite all-time look for Mrs. O!
Did Michelle change to different shoes when she met with the kids? Oh, I love those yellow flats (or they seem)!
I think it's adorable how the POTUS very often matches his tie to the outfit the FLOTUS is wearing!
Mrs.T, Mrs.O pumps aren't black. they have some kind of cut-out details.here is a close-up
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/99988916/AFP
a full-length picture of Mrs.O and Sra Zavala. how cute are they?
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/99988872/Getty-Images-News
@ Mia Monte,
The outfit does not look like it is pulled of the rack. I have two questions for all in the forum. 1) When did we all become Mrs. Obama's fashion consultants? 2) What is going on with all of the nitpicking over small details regarding hair, jewelry, etc.? IMO, Mrs. O wars what she feels comfortable in? She has stated this in the past. Whether we like it or not, we can't change her mind regarding her clothing choices.
I agree with chrystelle. The shoes look more like "pewter" or "gun metal gray".
Oh lord, I really hope that little girl and her mom don't become the incident that overshadows this wonderful event, like the gate crashers thing last year. Mrs.O handled it really well but wow.
oh Ari.i was thinking the same.given how inept your media is. are they playing it already like it is some major incident?
@Ari - I don't think that'll happen with this little girl. I also don't think the feds are going to be looking for her mom to deport all of a sudden.
I don't know who keeps telling our gorgeous first lady to slick back her hair like that. It's old-fashioned and completely unflattering. Longer hair suits her better, but in the meantime, at least reintroduce side swept bangs. Embrace your youthfulness, Michelle!
Another opinion about Mrs. Zavala's shawls - they're a sophisticated and subtle nod to the rebozos Mexican women at all social strata wear every day to carry babies, to secure market bundles, to accent their attire...a fashionable way of identifying with a proud, enduring culture. On this site I noticed the way Mexico's first lady wore a shawl by looping it through the strap of a tank top, and found it elegant enough to emulate.
Ahhhh! Finally, Mrs. Obama is incorporating the blue turquoise into her jewelry. I've been waiting for it. Didn't see it in any pictures during her visit to Mexico City, yet I'm estatic now! This necklace is absolutely beautiful against the kissing chic raspberry ensemble! Mrs. Zavala's turquoise blue dress is very pretty. I especially like the pleated skirt and her coat. They are two grand First Ladies!
@ IVA I so hope you're right. I read that the school administrators will do everything they can to protect the identity of the little girl and her mom, which is great.
@ chrystelle So far the story has been picked up by some blogs and news outlets but it seems like it won't become a huge ordeal.
The white house has released the details for the State Dinner. Beyonce and Mexican singing duo Rodrigo y Gabriela will be performing. The main colors for tonight's arrangements are different hues of "Myan Blue" as well as fuchsia and purple centerpieces. I wonder what color Mrs.O's dress will be since I heard that the arrangements often play off of what she is wearing. I'm guessing she'll go with a more neutral color like white since the arrangements seem to be so colorful. Here's the info:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/19/mexico-state-dinner-detai_n_582339.html
I don't think someone asked the little girl to say what she said. I think she a very perceptive, curious, anxious second grader. Kids today pick up on everything, and it's not out of the question that she came up with her question all by herself. I certainly hope the school protects her and her family's privacy. I'm sure all the networks have people scrambling to find out their identity. Ugh. Whatever the answer is for the immigration issue, this child shouldn't have to be plastered all over the media for each side to make its point. On a much lighter note, I love the dress the FL is wearing. The coat doesn't do it for me, but the jewelry more than makes up for it! And Senora Zavala's choice of color is wonderful. The ladies look like they have a great rapport, too!
This shows how accessories can bring an outfit to life. I love Michelle's necklace but without it, her outfit would have been safe and dare I say, a tad boring. As for her hair, I love it. I often wear my hair like that for work. Michelle's hair is healthy and a good length to show off the swept back look in all it's glory. I remember everyone up in arms last year when she was pinning it back for weeks only to knock us dead with her fantastic hair style at the state dinner.
Does anyone know if the dinner is going to be streamed live on CSPAN ?
The question was TOO detailed and out of the norm for a second grader, for the little girl to NOT be prepared by an adult previously. The little girl opened her family up for critique. Second graders don't just walk around talking about their parents being illegals!
Just saw Mrs. O and OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! SHE LOOKS SO BEAUTIFUL!!!! On my screen her dress looks royal blue with some kind of sheen and it's one shouldered with a silver belt or cumberbund or whatever. Her hair is very curly. I need to see a pic to see it all better, but she looks AMAZING!!!
mrs. o looks wonderful, the raspberry color is great on her and the lines are simple and flattering; and of course that statement bib necklace is gorgeous, and filled with all the bright colors i associate with mexico. it's funny, i was thinking to myself last night that mrs. o might wear calvin klen at some point during the festivities, though i thought it might be her gown.
anyway, my guess for tonight is a white gown, perhaps something one shouldered and draped; she'd really stand out beautifully against the rich hues of the decor she's selected for tonight. i can't wait to see how she wows us this time.
lol i couldn't have been more wrong apparently, although i did guess one shouldered; didn't realize the dinner was getting started so soon. :)
talk about royalty!! first pic
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Michelle-Obama/ss/events/pl/050108michelleobama#photoViewer=/100519/480/urn_publicid_ap_org77ed89827bf0468eb4bb3c0f6f6a83aa
Mia Monte - if your parent wasn't a citizen and talks about the immigration issue in the house, and the TV is on running stories about who has their papers and who doesn't, you might as an eight year old come up with the question all by yourself. But even if she didn't, so what? I doubt her mom told her to tell the FL that her mommy doesn't have her papers! So even if coached, it'd be awfully silly to throw that little tidbit in there, right? That sounds like the total honesty of a second grader. Sort of like a certain seven year old telling her whole class that mommy didn't make the cupcakes she brought for the birthday party! Not that my daughter was referring to me or anything! ;-]
BTW, I don't think the little girl was told what to say either. Mia Monte you will be surprised how smart and plugged in little kids are. My little 5 yr old cousin told me something about her mom that she was not supposed to and she me told to keep it a secret. I had to tell her to stop talking so much and to not tell her mom's or anyone else's business. They are just too smart for their own good.
As long as the crazies don't make it a big deal, I think and hope that everything will be ok.
LADY IN BLUE SHE LOOKED GREAT JUST SAW IT ON CNN. THE PICES SHOULD BE OUT AFTER THEY FINSHED EATTING.
Absolutely beautiful.....a wonderful, bright color and a fabulous necklace!
Thanks for the link chrystelle---I'm so loving it and the flow of the gown tonight. No one does color like our FLOTUS!!!! My guess for the designer is Peter Soronen.
I really like this raspberry tone outfit on our Michelle. The below the elbow length on the sleeves are just right for some long leather gloves in another setting. (Just listen to me, thinking aloud that I could style FLOTUS..ha!) Anyway, that bib necklace is something special. I think she looks great. The First Lady of Mexico's dress is quite flattering and just brings out her skin tone. That origami style pleating is still around this season for a reason, it's very flattering on several body types. They both look nice and full of life. I got tired just seeing them playing with the little ones, boy, are they energetic!
chrystelle you are on point with the quick updates. Thanks for that.
My guess is Peter Soronen too. The way the corseted bodice fits her reminds me of the last 2 Soronen dresses she wore.
Not loving the First Lady of Mexico's dress. I think she could have done without the shawl on this one but it's nice how the colors of her dress and Mrs.O's complement each other. .
Hmmm...red, white and blue for Mrs. O today? She wore solid red today, and then the blue gown with the white band around her waist...Clever.
It troubles me to see the words "royalty", "queen", and "little princesses" used when referring to the First Family. This is the United States of America! I would be surprised if the Obamas were comfortable with this, especially concerning their daughters. It appears that they are trying to raise them with as normal a life as possible.
WOW on the blue one-shouldered gown! WOW on the hairstyle! Picture 16 is endearing. Can't wait for a closeup of the earrings!!!
my first reaction was Peter Soronen so i'm sticking to it!