Sunday
Oct162011
Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 3:23 PM 
Photo by Carolyn Kaster / AP Images
The First Family appeared at the dedication cermeony of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. today. On the fashion front, Mrs. O wore a cranberry-hued dress by Alaia. A cardigan and pin at the waist completed the look. We've seen this dress once before, in September 2010, here.
Update: Mrs. O wears an Alexis Bittar Resort bowtie pin.
To read more about the dedication ceremony:
"President Obama Dedicates MLK Memorial" [Time/AP]
tagged Alaia, Alexis Bittar
Alaia, Alexis Bittar
Reader Comments (23)
Oooh, this is pretty! Kind of different, with the pinning. Me likey.
Lovely colour on Mrs. O
This is an absolutely fantastic picture of Mrs. O and the President. Her dress with matching cardigan and the brooch cinching the waist are perfect. Mrs. Obama looks beautiful and graceful as always. Her hair and smile are delightful. Simply gorgeous! The President's speech was superb.
Oh wow, got to see the Alaia jacket again that she wore in Oslo. I keep hoping she wears it again sometime. The detail, and work, that went into that jacket is amazing. I loved the color of the dress today, and the way she closed the sweater with the two pins. She is a beautiful women, inside and out.
the pin at the waist makes the whole look seem off-kilter...regardless she looks great; almost as if she's doing something different, but what the heck!!
I love the color of this ensemble and the jeweled closure on the (cardigan? jacket?) And Mrs O's makeup and hair is fresh and perfect, as always. Plus, matching tie from the president -- a coincidence? Or coordination?
Unfortunately, I don't think that the dropped waist of this particular dress works well with this particular top, though. The combination is doing something weird around Mrs. O's midsection.
The dress and cardigan look lovely together. The live stream of the First Family walking around the memorial gave much better views of Mrs. O's outfit than the still photo above; and the First Daughters' outfits too!
It may be the photographic angle, but the hip area looks strange and unnatural.
Her hair matches the feel of her dress. She is lovely.
Ooh, I have a skirt with a similar feel. I have a blouse that could approximate her pinned cardigan. I am so going to try this outft!
Great color matching -- Mrs. O's outfit to Mr. Obama's tie.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE when she wear Alaia...it just looks so perfect on her! The black one she wore for a date night was phenomenal. This deep red is breathtaking and I love the accent of the pewter shoe. The brooch cinching the waist is genius. She has such flair. I love that they President's tie matches her dress. They are stunning. What a beautiful day...to have our first African American president dedicate the MLK memorial is a beautiful thing indeed.
I checked the 9-10 photo Mrs. T. provided for the previous appearance of this dress and I like it SO much better with the counterbalance the pinned sweater adds to offset the weight of the skirt. The skirt length is perfect for the design, and the shoes make a great statement.
I love Mrs. O's outfit, and I love the presence and participation of the First Family at today's dedication. The experience of having President & Mrs. Obama, the head of the MLK Foundation, VP & Mrs. Biden and Ken Salazar all standing together singing "We Shall Overcome" is something I will not soon forget. Makes me very proud of our country and its leadership.
I love this color on the First Lady. She looks fabulously feminine and sophisticated. A perfect hue for fall. The flare of the skirt, the fitted cardigan and pin placement ~ she looks simply elegant.
Grandma Robinson was looking fly.... http://www.daylife.com/photo/06XGectbw9gc9?__site=daylife&q=michelle+obama
The color of the dress is beautiful and the idea of the pinned closure of the cardigan is brilliant. I just think the cardigan should be a bit longer or maybe not as tight. I agree with @gia the hip/waist area looks strange. I went on other websites to look at this outfit from different angles but I just can't say I like the proportions of the long waisted dress that makes the cardigan look short and pulls along the hip line.
I love the cropped jacket/sweater that she wore with the black Alaia in...was it Oslo? I forget. A sweater/jacket of a similar length might have worked better here. Or maybe something longer? Not sure.
Anyway, I hope we see this particular jacket/sweater again, because it is fab. It will look great with a pencil skirt or nice slacks.
Great look for a great lady !
Flawless! And I'm obsessed with this new hairstyle she's rocking...its the same way Sasha Obama styles her hair ; )
http://whatiworetiptotoe.blogspot.com
Mrs. O looks awesome! She has a very confident look on her face and I love it!
Yesterday was beautiful! Mrs. O was beautful, her kids were beautiful, her mom was beautiful, and her husband was beautiful. His speech was touching and inspirational. I was already emotional and then I saw Mrs. O wipe her tears away and that really made me tear up. I like this ensemble and it didn't look like this when I watched it live. Maybe it's a bad angle, IDK. I wonder if she wore this to the reception or if she changed. Anyway, it was a historical moment and I'm glad I could witness it.
The cardigan looks perfect - that pinned in waist balances the voluminous frills perfectly. It's not a colour I love by a loooong shot, but she's pulling it off, as ever.
I saw some footage of yesterday's events and they were so emotional. It was such a hearrt felt tribute and awe inspiring just looking at the monument. Everone looked really nice in their autmnal colors.
When I saw our Michelle wearing the pins I instantly thought of a use for a pair of earrings that I have in my jewelry box from the 90's. This was such a snazzy look to give to a plain old cardi. I must admit that I like this dress much better this time. It somehow looks all together different from the last time she wore it. This time, it works for me, and how! And lest I forget, our First Granny was none too shabby herself!