Tuesday
Sep142010
Delightful Dots
Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 12:50 PM 
Image by Jewel Samad / Getty Images
The first lady is giving a major push to her "Let's Move!" initiative this week. Today Mrs. O delivered remarks during a Hispanic Heritage Month event at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. For the speech, the first lady wore a bronze and navy dotted tie-front silk taffeta shirt dress, paired with blue pumps for an extra pop of color.
Update: Thanks to reader Ari, who pointed us to this US Weekly post, identifying the designer of Mrs. O's dress as Kevan Hall. An editorial image of the dress can be seen, here.
tagged Kevan Hall
Kevan Hall
Reader Comments (85)
I like everything about this outfit! Great color combination for fall, too.
Love this dress. Love the first lady. What elegance and panache.
SPQR1052
Good insight @ Asereht. Bless Our Michelle and her entire shoe collection! Before I began following her fashion, I would never have thought to buy blue shoes unless they were..well.. SPORTY(???) LOL
Ladies, what I love about the First Lady (yes, our Michelle) is her versatility and her willingness to always think outside the box. I find it so funny when some posters on this site repeatedly try to fit her into some pre-ordained box they think is "appropriate", when they know (and she has demonstrated repeatedly) that that's not her thing. Yet they persist in their fruitless quest! Her ability to try something different and new is what has the fashion world so in tuned with what she's doing, yet she's smart enough to know that she doesn't have to be a slave to the dictates of the fashion establishment (and yes, some posters) in order to set her style. Maybe this attitude would explain why she always seems so comfortable in whatever she wears. So for those of you who insist she must be "matchy, matchy" and predictable, you should realize by now that you have the wrong woman. Maybe previous First Ladies were more willing to be confined in the predictable box that some would impose, but not this one, she marches to the beat of different drummer. So, Michelle, keep marching, I love your strut!
I love the dress and I LOVE the shoes!!! I have a weakness for shoes and handbags, and these shoes belong in my collection! They added just the right pop for this caaa-ute dress. I think bronze would've been meh, navy would've been boring, and black would have been WRONG!!!
Ladies, your FLOTUS is a big chief ; the dress is wow, the shoes are wow, and the mix is just incredible. It is exactly the dress that fits to any professional or personal event when you must feel both remarkable and comfortable. Could it be a Lanvin dress (cause of the dots, the brown/blue match and the fabric ?) Anyone knows ?
And I agree with Susanna Rose : pearls (especailly earrings) would have probably brightened the colour of the dress
About the shoes : it amazing, but in the end, it works.
Love, love, love it! The bronze/navy print and reverse print of the sash, the shirtwaist and tie of the dress and absolutely the pop of the blue shoes. You can see the fabric has some iridescence to it so the bright blue is no doubt in there. It's nice, it's playful, it's young! I also like heels on her more than the kitten heel but I know she's on the go too much for traditional high heels. The only other shoe color would have been bronze or navy but that is too boring for Our Girl. The length is perfect ... remember this is not your customary FLOTUS in any way, shape or form. I have gained so much inspiration from her both personally, spiritually and sartorically.
Pinch me please she is beautiful!
MO wears this amazing outfit well! As a previous poster wrote, those shoes are her accessories.
Love everything about this look. I can't wait to find out who the designer is for the dress.
And since no one has said it, if my legs looked that good I'd be wearing a dress every day!
Mrs. O BANGS!
Whew! What a vision our First Lady is! Love the dress, and the shoes look "delicious"--like the perfect glossy blue gum ball or jelly bean. ...And those legs! Burnished, brown and beautiful.
What a great look for the First Lady! Flawless!
Love the dress and the shoes really match the dots, you can't tell in this pic tho. Her hair is off today, but what can I tell you besides 'real' women have off hair days. ::))
Nice to see Mrs O with sleeves.
Chic and simple without breads and fake jewels.
Mrs O looks stunning ! the dress is perfect on her. The choice of shoes is an wonder but still , she looks fine and modern.
Defenetly my favorite.
Mrs O , you looks so chic today.
Interesting to hear from someone who was there and says how much the shoes mirror the sheen in the fabric. Photos are so inadequate sometimes, aren't they?
Slightly OT, but Slate has an interesting slideshow on the history of polka dots in fashion. So much I never would've thought about:
http://www.slate.com/id/2266177/slideshow/2266195/
Mrs. O appeared at another Hispanic event tonight wearing a very slinky, shiny short dress
which is a dark color, maybe black. See Yahoo news for the photo.
@desertwind: thanks for the interesting link! Animal skins, disease, etc., but especially the thought that the dots were named after the polka because it was such a dance craze. As you said, who'd have imagined?
By the way, we now know where the dots have been named from in the USA ; french people name them "pois" (peas), probably because we love both fashion and eating
Should I add : we still do not know who made the dress :-)
Love love the look. I disagree with those against the shoes. I believe the fabric is tafetta like so give diff shades of color in real life so shoes work perfect with it. I will not change a thing.
Love love the look. I disagree with those against the shoes. I believe the fabric is tafetta like so give diff shades of color in real life so shoes work perfect with it. I will not change a thing.
Love love the look. I disagree with those against the shoes. I believe the fabric is tafetta like so give diff shades of color in real life so shoes work perfect with it. I will not change a thing.
Brandy wore the same dress, but in the reverse pattern.
http://www.usmagazine.com/stylebeauty/news/who-looks-better-in-the-polka-dot-dress-brandy-or-michelle-obama-2010179
US weekly says it's by Kevan Hall. Of course our lovely Mrs.O wore it better.
I wonder if the dress and belt are reversible?
Her shoes are like an exclamation point! Mrs. O knows when and how to make that bright mark work. I admire the bold shoe colors that she wears. Instead of playing it safe and blending in, her confidence, style, and boldness makes her literally "step out" and "stand out" from the crowd.
WOW, Ari! Thanks for that incredible side by side link! I don't know, they both look great but I wonder why Brandy chose burgundy red shoes?
US weekly is right
http://www.kevanhalldesigns.com/press.htm (see page 7 on 25)
I believe the singer Brandy recently wore an "opposite" version of this dress to the Macy's Passport Glamorama Fashion Extravaganza. Noticed it in the Celebrity Sightings slideshow on msnbc.com.
I have to say this is VERY flattering on Mrs. Obama. Truthfully, she all too rarely wears anything that really looks good, but this does. The sleeves and added volume at the shoulders and neck have a filling out effect that balances her bottom-heavy silhouette. And the shoes go along well.
This is a first Kevan Hall for Mrs. O and I hope it won't be the last. Michelle looks great. Kevan is a fabulous designer and I hope the first lady buys from him again.
I think this is truly one of her most gorgeous looks, hands down. The dress is extremely chic and she wears it well with those blue shoes. She shines beautifully.
Wow....really? "......"Truthfully, she all too rarely wears anything that really looks good"...... REALLY?? That "compliment" has all the teeth of a pit bull, and a bite that is equally as nasty. I find myself wondering why some bother coming here with a community of people who openly share their enthusiasms for our Michelle. We are known to disagree on her outfits, but we do so with civility. Once again, I ask.....REALLY?
@ Charlene in Detroit,
I hear you and agree with you. Sometimes I wonder about these nefarious people who ocassionally come on this site in an attempt to pollute it with their venom and bile so as to rile up the rest of us. Mind you, on ocassion i've gotten so angry at some of the hate they spew, then I gather myself and realize that that's the effect they want. So what I do now is I don't even read their postings once I see their names. Remember, some of these people have a visceral hatred of The Obamas even though it makes no sense to anyone in control of all their faculties. What's the use, it's not worth it to let these people upset your day when all you want to read about are all the wonderful things the POTUS and FLOTUS are doing, and looking good while they're doing them.
So Charlene, to steal your phrase, we REALLY have to ignore these people, but if they persist with their nonsense, request that Mrs. T. delete their postings from this site since they are not offerring any postive contribution to this blog.
P.S. Remember, as the POTUS often says, "we can disagree without being disagreeable". So let the grown-ups come out now!
@ mszonian, you are so right and I appreciate your counsel. I guess one of the most frustrating aspects for me is that I've been without my laptop for a couple of weeks. I had to use that old dinosaur of a desktop that has cold molasses type dial up speed. So now I'm playing catch up and I see this hooey! Holy guacamole, Batman! Once again, thanks dear!
Love this outfit!!! The shoes are awesome!! Love the fact she embraces individuality