Stunning in Peter Soronen
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 7:04 PM 
Image by Paul J. Richards / Getty Images
The first lady is a vision in blue this evening, wearing a stunning one-shoulder gown by the great American designer Peter Soronen. There is a quality about this look that is pure perfection -- at once timeless and timely, embodying a thoroughly American brand of glamour. From the classic, handcrafted gown, to the impeccably chosen accessories, our first lady has never looked better. What a moment!
The azure blue gown was created using three layers of fabric -- chiffon over lame chiffon and silk. As is Peter Soronen's signature, the gown features a corset top with a lace-up back. The concept of the gown, one-shoulder aside, recalls the lavender Peter Soronen dress Mrs. O wore for the Kennedy Center Honors in December.
Update: A new detail to report! Mrs. O's shoes last evening were Jimmy Choo "Jasper" Rhinestone sandals. The first lady also wore a pair of Sutra Jewels blue sapphire and diamond earrings. Click here to hear Peter Soronen talking about the gown on Access Hollywood!
Top two images Getty Images / Bottom image Reuters
Jimmy Choo, Peter Soronen, Sutra Jewels
Reader Comments (223)
Mrs. Obama looks simply amazing! This is my fave hairstyle on her so far - stunningly beautiful.. Mrs. Zavala's dress is quite nice but would have been even better without the wrap and with some silver sandals and perhaps an updo. Did anyone else notice how she was wearing the wrap......under her gown! There is a back view in the daylife pics posted by Nic John where she is being greeted by the President. It clearly shows the wrap over her shoulders but underneath the dress emerging through the armholes, something I have never seen before. It certainly solves the problem of trying to keep a wrap securely on the shoulders!
OH yes! Mrs O 's hair stylist has done a great job! as a black woman , a curly hair works well! i do wear my hair like this and i feel natural in it. I dont need to spend hours trying to have a straight hair.
Obviously,Mrs O has lost weigh and looks a bit worries ! This function as a first lady is a hard, i guess.
the dress seems fabulous thought ! everything is almost perfect without jewelry. I Love seeing Mrs O with jewelry , this dress would go well with "Tanzanite germs" and diamond.
Mrs O have a very strong body, muscles like a bodybuilder but woman should always have that soft body .
I wonder what kind of perfume she is using ?
Oh my God, Someone fan me please!!! Fan me, fan me!!
Hmm. Well, I didn't like anything about that outfit or hair. Hard to follow the knockout success of the last ensemble... Mrs Obama is very beautiful tonight, but to my mind that's in spite of the dress and hair, not because of it. As I usually adore Peter Soronen's dresses I feel a complete frightwig not liking this one. I dislike the hair intensely. And while I think some of the component parts of this look are nice, I'm not enjoying them altogether. A bit mess. Sorry, sorry, sorry.
And she STILL looks beautiful! What a smile.
Speaking as someone who makes and wears corsets on a regular basis I agree with those who have said that the corset doesn't fit quite right under Mrs O's right arm. It's difficult for people who only wear corsets occasionally to get this right. There is an art to it! The trick is to get into the dress and before lacing it up, to lean forward and place the dress where you want it to sit, hold it in place firmly, under the bustline, then stand up and have a look at how they look. If it doesn't sit right, keep trying until it does. Then don't move until someone else has laced it up for you. There is NO earthly way you can get breasts in the right position AFTER a boned dressed is laced up at the back and there's no way of doing it yourself! It looks to me as if Mrs O has hoiked 'em up a bit after the dress was done up, and they never quite sit right when you do that.
For those who are saying that it's just a boned bodice and there's a real woman in it, I agree that it's wonderful to see a real woman with real breasts in a corset. However, the chest should be even and there is a roll of flesh here that is not just from moving around.
Oh dear...don't jump on me but I don't like the cut of this dress at all. The details of the one-shoulder don't work for me as a composition.
I would have loved it if it were strapless. The color, fabric, belting etc are elegant and jazzy.
The hairdo is awesome! The blue eyeshadow also dazzling.
she looks ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! wow....what a stunning first lady we have!
Absolutely fantastic...but no surprise there. So Goddess like!!
A note to the haters, MO is a woman of colour in more ways than one. She is bold and adventurous and constantly shows her changing moods through clothes. That's what people of colour do.We have fun and we enjoy and express it through colour.Too many of you are stereotypical and cannot appreciate or understand her varying styles of dress.
COME ON! Give her a break, or rather give yourselves a break.She is beautiful, confident and will continue to explore new looks as is her right.
It's her hair. She can wear it straight, pulled back, curly or shave it off if she wishes. She will still be beautiful. That is so because she is a woman of substance which is something that many of you cannot claim.
You look for every opportunity to nit pick. Too shiny, not shiny enough, too old-fashioned, too modern, too tight, too loose, too ........oh hell. I cannot say what I really want to say here.
She will never please all the people all of the time. And guess what? She doesn't need to.
Admire her clothes as is the purpose of this blog but quit the snarky criticisms. It's tiring. Better yet..........GET A LIFE!!
She is stunning! Beautiful! Clearly, a vision of lovelines! The color is great, but then, she looks great in most colors. I love the way the President sometimes holds his hands like her...it's almost like he does it to keep from touching her. I can understand how he would have a hard time keeping his hands off this woman, she is beautiful. I am so pleased to be living in a time in our history that our society has learned to embrace beauty as more than just blond hair and blue eyes.
Mrs. O's beauty runs much deeper than the hair, clothes and makeup she wears. There is something about the sparkle in her eyes, the way she tilts her head when she's listening to someone, how her smile goes all the way to her eyes, the way she exudes joy and happiness and how she seems to be having the time of her life at every event, the way she reaches out to touch people as if they are the only person in the room when, in fact there are hundreds of people about...these are all qualities that enhance her physical beauty. I am always so proud of the way she represents our country, her the wonderfulness of being a wife and mother but what she does best is honor us as women. Being a Black woman myself, gives me a personal sense of pride. (You would have to understand "our" journey to appreciate my personal feelings, so posters, please don't feel the need to make that one sentence the whole of this message.) Thank you, Mrs. T for such an inspiring site. Have a blessed day everyone.
Oh my goodness. She is beautiful no matter what she wears. I love this dress and it fits her so well. Mrs. Obama you are my inspiration, not because of fashion but because you go above and beyond your duties. I am from Columbia, South Carolina and I see so much that needs to be done.Mr. President keep your head up, a job well done.
For Posh Tater and the rest of the clueless ladies who haven't had the pleasure of wearing a corset: please note that the dress is asymmetrical. The right side does not have a shoulder strap which emphasizes the right side of the chest. I find it fascinating that this grand look is being picked apart by those who would not know sexy if it slapped them in the face.
I love the belt she used to wrap around the dress..
BRAINS AND BEAUTY REIGNS. IMAGINATION FASCINATION. I've never seen her looking as good as she is tonight. DAZZLING.
Everything she’s done….every moment we’ve loved….our concerns, our passionate comments, the do’s and dont’s...... all that we’ve said, described, criticized over
the past year, TOOONIGHT, Mrs-O.Org and all the fellow bloggers were rewarded with a dream come true. Mrs. T thanks a million your'e God sent. Curly hair - perfecto.
@Ms.M. sweet-cute.
Love the hair! But isn't the fit of the dress (right side front) just a little too tight or??? Mrs O is spilling over in a not very attractive way....the inaugural gown didn't have this problem so it's not the one shoulder style per se...
@trinisamba
Sista, you said everything that I was thinking. The majority of the individuals posting on this blog wish they had half of the swagger that Michelle has. I would love to see the pictures of the individuals who are very critical. Now that would be funny. I am sure that many of you wouldn't post a picture with your comments. I have found that an individual who talk the most and are the most critical, normally are the least attractive and lacks a true sense of style.
@ Brooksie
I totally agree with everything you said. Especially the part where you said, ““Being a Black woman myself, gives me a personal sense of pride. (You would have to understand "our" journey to appreciate my personal feelings.”
I mentor teens (black) and they are happy to see someone that looks like them on TV. The teens love the way she carries herself and feel that she(Michelle) keeps it real.
As a young African American female, I am overjoyed to see someone on TV with my complexion. My parents raised me to be proud of my color but, I was always bothered by the lack of women of color (dark) in media and on tv. My mother and aunts are s-o-o-o-o-o happy that Michelle is doing things on her terms. Michelle and Barack always have their swagger turned on. I love it.
Love the the hair and the make up. Very pretty colour dress and she wears it with confidence.
I feel the bodice is a little ill fitting, perhaps a little too close under the right arm, and I also felt the dress could be a little longer.
Stunning dress! And I love the hair and makeup and earrings!
I don't think we can really comment on fit unless we have observed her in the flesh walking and sitting in the dress. A couple of photos aren't going to give the full story on fit.
Absolutely gorgeous!
Now the First Lady of Mexico looked like a hot mess, sorry :(
I still love this dress, but I'm a little sad to say that the fit in some pictures is unfortunate since her breast and under her arm is poking over, making the dress appear ill-fitting. People are talking about that in other venues than this blog. I have looked at as many pictures as I can find, and it isn't always so pronounced, so I think a lot of the problem is the way she's standing with her hands in front, hence rounding her chest and shoulders.
Oh well! Live and learn. I think she'll just keep refining how she picks dresses and gets fitted for them. I know that she doesn't get fitted by the designer, she simply sends her measurements. That might be part of the problem since they can't see the dress on her and make corrections little by little.
Anyway, she is really gorgeous and looked totally glamorous last night. Love her hair and make up. The President of Mexico gave her a nice shout out. I think she woos everyone she comes across.
I think Mrs. O looks gorgeous in this outfit. What a vivd choice of style and color. Am I the only one who thinks the right bust line needs to be adjusted for a better fit? Mrs. O once again you continue to dazzle us with your intelligence, grace, style, and charm.
About an hour ago I saw where Yahoo had posted some pics inside of the State Dinner last night. It looked like there were some of the entertainment portion of the event. There were two pics that showed Malia and Sasha sitting at the table with their parents. I said 'were' because now they are gone! Yahoo's site says that it is no longer available and has an error message on the page. I appreciate that our President and First Lady are fierce protectors of their daughters' privacy. (It was a cute picture, you could see the back of the girls' dresses with Sasha sitting next to Mom!)
I would never choose this dress for MO, but I have to say she pulls it off.
The dazzling color is the best part of the dress - I don't really like the fabric.
Love the hair and makeup
Too bad the First Lady of Mexico didn't get the memo that the event was formal. Why would she travel to the US to attend a STATE DINNER and pack that housedress as an option?
People are raving about MO in the papers - I'm glad she is getting good reviews for style
She looks lovely. I understand what some are saying about the fit - still gorgeous however! I hope she wears her hair curly more often - I love this look!!
Charlene in Detroit, this may be the picture: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Michelle-Obama/ss/events/pl/050108michelleobama#photoViewer=/100520/ids_photos_ts/r2017575286.jpg
Check List:
Hair - Perfect
Make up - Perfect
Jewelry - Perfect
Dress - Jaw Dropping Perfect
Shoe - Perfect
Overall score: ABSOLUTELY FABULICIOUS
Love her gown! Love her earrings too! Has anyone been able to identify who designed the earrings? Is it a loan or owned by Mrs. O? Would love to know!
@CID and IVA - Thanks. Very nice pics. I just bought a long sleeve black top with same shoulder detail.
Mrs. O may very well have the most gorgeous shoulders ever to have graced the earth.
Otherwise, though, I am dismayed by the negative comments aimed toward the First Lady of Mexico. She is her own person, with her own style and context and history. I cannot imagine what must have gone through her mind when considering that she and Mrs. O would basically be paired for fashion observation at the State Dinner. I admire her sticking to her own self. In fact, I think she is quite lovely.
@ AttyGirl - "Now the First Lady of Mexico looked like a hot mess, sorry :(" AND
@ river rush - Too bad the First Lady of Mexico didn't get the memo that the event was formal. Why would she travel to the US to attend a STATE DINNER and pack that housedress as an option?
Why do have to be so judgemental? People are different. Think about this. Margarita Zavala IS the First Lady of Mexico. YOU are not.SHE lives in a palace. YOU do not. SHE was a guest at the White House. YOU were not. Enjoy the blog and stop being so mean. LIfe is short. I may not have chosen the dress myself but if Ms. Zavala wore it and is comfortable....WHAT THE HECK!!?? Not everything in life is for comparison or competition. YOUR FL would NEVER be so unkind. Take ONE page from her book and hold on to it for dear life.
Life is too short for us to be demeaning fellow humans in this way. This is what has caused the world to be in such a mess......Mean and unkind people. Are YOU perfect in EVERY way AND in EVERY choice YOU make???? THAT WILL BE A BIG, FAT ....NO!!!!!
No matter what anyone says, they can't steal Mrs. O SHINE (literally and figuratively)
I found this adorable pic of Mr. O and Mrs. O from earlier yesterday:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/20/obama-pda-first-couple-sn_n_583555.html
Rocky, I loved your write up.
OMG, that hair is BAD. I really don't think Michelle is classy, she has good days from time to time - but this is far from being first-lady style. Look at Mrs Zavala and her simplicity! Michelle is NOT a celebrity but the first lady of one of the worlds most important countries - she just can't go out looking like she belongs to Hollywood.
I love everything about this, except the fit on the bodice. It's not disrespectful or mean to say that the fit's just right there. And with a designer of this caliber, it should be perfect. Mrs. O. is not flabby, but the dress cuts in and makes it look as though she has a roll of flab hanging over the top.
And the dress for the last state dinner was so stunning and original that it seemed magical. This one is not that unique.
COMPLETELY STUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!
I know I have not commented in a long while, but this one deserved one!!
And not to mention, how beautiful and silky her skin looks! She was the SHOW STOPPER that night, HANDS DOWN!
Beautiful woman, both inside and out!
@ Charlene in Detroit - I saw that picture of Malia. Her hair was straight and she looked so beautiful I cannot beleive how fast those girls are growing up. But as quick as I posted the link to a friend, it was removed !!!!!
I really can't blame the Obama's for protecting their girls. I really can't.
Really a gorgeous dress and fabulous hair, although I will get picky and say I did not like the way the gown made her right female accessory stand out and look uncomfortable.
@ Wanda,
Since you took the time to "thoroughly" explain why the honorary doctorate conferred on the First Lady by GWU is just an honorary decree and not, as you put it, an "earned doctorate", I think you should have taken it a step further. In an effort to be "fair and balanced", you should have explained further that the First Lady indeed has "earned a doctorate" since she's a Juris Doctor, a degree conferred on anyone who has completed their law degree, which she rightfully earned at Harvard Law School. How about that! Your discertation would have been more credible if you had done your research and freely communicated that information to the posters on this blog, instead you came off sounding very condescending and ultimately ended up sounding silly and ignorant instead.
Love the dress although it appears a little tight on the right. Hair is nice, but too much for a State Dinner. Hair seems appropriate for an award show or Hollywood premiere. Nonetheless, she looked stunning.
@IVA, Thanks girl...good looking out! Jestina, try again, I just did and one of the pictures is back up on the Yahoo site. I heard on CNN that the entertainment was really nice and everyone said the evening was a huge success. I'm so happy. I like it when there is an appreciation for this administration.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOMAZING!!!!!! I CAN'T STOP SMILING!
I love love love the dress and her hair. i do have to agree with an ealier comment that the bodice is to tight on one side and the dress should have been a tad bit longer, but Mrs. O just looked fantastic. Her make-up was done very well also. She does it again!
@ McKinley. I love intelligent comments, constructive criticism about relevant facts. So try reading what I wrote in my earlier post. I MAKE corsets and have spent the best part of the last 13 years wearing them all day for about 11 weekends a year and hitching various friends into them. This one does NOT sit right.
@ Trinisamba,
BRAVA! You hit the nail on it's head with your comments; I couldn't have said it any better. You know what, there'll always be that small, nefarious group of people who occasionally crawl out from the pit they habitate to try to drag this lady down to their level. But what continues to frustrate them is that no monkey will ever stop the First Lady's show! If you weren't convinced before, their recent actions confirm that these haters are truly hateful people. How else do you explain the constant carping on looks, skin tones, and body shapes; they use the superficial to hide their true dislike. They are true cowards, plain and simple. No thought is being given to how we treat and relate to people; I guess that thought process requires a higher degree of consciousness and intellect that they truly lack. That may explain why some are so hyper-critical of the First Lady even when it doesn't make any sense.
I am speechless.
Glad to see longtimer Posh Tater standing up for herself. The dress doesn't fit right. If you doubt, have a look at the original from which it was adapted - Peter Soronen's Spring/Summer 2010, top row (it's a short cocktail dress there, completely strapless) and there are three views in B&Wl
Corsets are very tricky. Ill-fitting or laced too tight and you get an instant muffin top effect where you don't want it. In one place it looked as though she was being cut under her right arm.
I don't care for the fabric which looks like theatrical costume material. Contrast it with the beautiful rich fabric - really rich fabric - in the Barbara Tfank dress posted a few days ago. Tfank specializes in rich fabrics. It shows in even the photographs of her designs.
At Huffpo, Soronen is quoted as having worked with Ikram on the order for this dress. It was Ikram who specified the one shoulder addition. From two colors Ikram specified, Soronen chose to do blue. The dress was completed in three weeks, from order to delivery. Do you suppose he ever actually fitted it on Mrs. Obama? He says he didn't even know for sure that it was for her........
Looked again, comparing it with the way the bodice on the original Soronen fit. It is possible that the dress was put on a bit off center - skewed a bit to the left. That would account for that boned pointed part coming up in an unfortunate place - it is supposed to come up at the far outside of the breast. A look at the back might reveal whether it was not centered on her just right.
I would have been miserable in a boned bodice that fit like that - his designs have full corset stays.
Hello everyone. After having read most of the comments on this dress, I decided to chime in here. First of all to you critics, let’s not be so nit-picky here. Mrs. Obama looks positively gorgeous in this dress. I also feel that the dress does not fit right on the right shoulder either, and think this is a flaw in the design. But to me this is minor because I think the overall look is so gorgeous. For you perfectionists out there, let me remind you that she is not a 20 year old runway model. She is a 46 year old mother of two, and a damned fine specimen I might add. I again applaud her courage in wearing this dress even though she undoubtedly was aware of the flaw. Because she probably believed as I do that it was maybe not perfect, but still looked good on her. We have all done this on occasion. I’d like to see how some of you critics look in some of your clothes. I have always found that the least attractive usually are the most critical of others.
In the words of the young “Mrs. O you rock”
Wishing you all life, light and love.
I agree with IVA... it's a STUNNING dress and Madame Michelle looks lovely, however, the dress does NOT FIT properly around the upper chest area. WHY did the designer not get that fit right?! I mean it's the first thing you notice when you look at the pictures and that should not be.
In any case, Michelle always pulls anything off becuase she's so much more than how 'sharp' she looks. And that hair is C U T E..! love it love it love it...
But please, get the fit right next time Mr. Designer..
mszonian524,
Calling a JD (Juris Doctor) a doctorate degree is a bit of a stretch. It is a professional doctorate. The LL.M degree is the Masters of Law degree. Research and academic-based doctorate level degrees generally fall into four categories: Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.S.D); Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.); Doctor of Comparative Law (D.C.L.); and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) If you have one of these four degrees you would have earned the title of Dr. either inside or outside academia. At best, a JD is a bachelors degree of LAW (even though it is earned after a bachelors degree of science or humanities). Outside of academic circles, honorary doctorate recipients are not referred to as doctor.
Dr. Tsetse Johnson said: "BEAUTIFUL FROM HEAD TO TOE!!!!! Mrs. Obama (pardon me Dr. Obama )was truly born for this!!!!" This blog is not an academic setting and therefore not an appropriate place to refer to MLRO as Dr. Obama. I think MLRO would agree.
Pros and cons:
I like this, over-all, a LOT. Love the soft hair, and ABSOLUTELY love the silvery-blue color.
Unfortunately, the silver belt doesn't do it for me. I don't know what I'd like better, but the belt as-is feels a bit "blocky" to me.
Also the fabric layers are just a tiny touch too stiff, to me; it's ALMOST flow-y enough, which shows nicely in the breezey shots, but when she's obviously standing still, things look a little "thick", a touch too much body in the chiffon, I guess?
Although I don't do corset weekends (not my time period), I've studied their construction and certainly seen hundreds being worn, over 20+ years. IMHO Posh is absolutely correct about the fitting issue here. Possibly Soronen's fitting staff weren't clear enough about how to do it if they weren't there? (I had thought originally that it might be a movement issue, since there don't seem to be folds on the shoulder-strap side, but Posh's explanation is much more likely.)
The dress and the color are stunning. In some of the pics though, it appears that the corset is too tight because of the way Mrs. O's bosom is being pushed up on one side. I also would have preferred her hair pulled back in a bun with this dress. Overall, the first lady is georgeous as always!
Okay, let's breakdown the fit of the dress. If one looks at Picture #3, you will see that it differs from Pictures 1 & 2. Yes there appears to be something going on in the shoulder area but only when the First Lady is walking or moving as indicated in Picture #3. She is a WOMAN and not a size zero model. I dare anyone to say that they do not get a bit of movement when they walk in their clothes especially when wearing a tight fitting bodice. The dress was clearly designed that way. Any different and she would be falling out of the dress and then we would have the haters in here with their sarky comments and this blog would run for miles.
The Verdict - The dress fits perfectly.
As always, she was the belle of the ball last night. She stepped away from the boring conventional ( Do you hear that, Char ?) and knocked it out of the park. The Obama adminstration has made politics and the White House exciting. I'm British and I follow US politics more than the politics in my home country.
I don't think any First Lady in my lifetime has been scrutinised as hard as Michelle Obama and YET she appears to be the most hardworking. I guess some people just can't be pleased.