Sunday
Nov132011
Pink and Grey
Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 2:40 PM 
Photos by Charles Dharapak / AP Images
The President and First Lady attended the APEC leaders dinner in Honolulu, Hawaii last evening. Above the first couple is pictured with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen.
On the fashion front, Mrs. O debuted a new frock, a pink and grey off-the-shoulder cocktail dress. Lovely!
Update: The First Lady wears a custom Vera Wang knee length charcoal and stone stretch faille dress with tulip-pink organza draped shoulder. To my knowledge, this is the first time that Mrs. O has worn a Vera Wang design for a public event. The designer took to Twitter in her excitement, writing, "What an honor and privilege to have dressed our beloved First Lady, Michelle Obama."
tagged Vera Wang
Vera Wang
Reader Comments (66)
Mrs. O is wearing my favorite kind of make-up. I love this kind of make-up on her. She is looking great.
Fabulous
Just lovely!
Mrs. Obama, continue to Wow me! She's adorable and so is this dress...
Stunning!!!!
Gorgeous, but I cant help but to wonder if she should have been more conservative at this event and showed less chest and arms. In other pictures I've seen of the other first ladies at this event, they are all much more conservatively dressed.
One of the things about FLOTUS you just never know what she is going to wear next. She has worn so many different styles in the past week it is dizzying and I loved them all. Didn't like the patent oxfords but so what! She looks stunning in this get up, any word yet on who the designer is? This blog is such fun even when folks get snarky. Is she going to Australia? Hope so, more frocks!
VA-VA-VA-Voom!!!!!! You go girl!
They both are beautiful. Yes,President Obama is beautiful! The look in his eyes of pride of being seen with his wife is undeniable. She is wearing this dress. It isn't wearing her...and she knows it. The confidence in Mrs. Obama and in what she wears oozes from her. She has just got it going on. I am working towards attaining her aura.
FLOTUS is absolutely gorgeous in that style dress and she looks amazing all the time!!!
Ooh - so sophisticated! You have to feel sorry for the wife of the Canadian PM. Mrs. Harper looks great, but Mrs. O's just hit it out of the ballpark again...
The gray parts are lovely but the pink looks like a piece of leftover fabric. It seems to fall off her shoulder in the first picture so that tells me that it doesn't fit right.
I would give this dress a "No".
What an extraoridnarily beautiful dress. The First lady looks like a runway model. I love this new grey look that she has been sporting lately. But then she look great in almost everything.
I think she looks amazing.
When I first saw this the line created by the pink material made me think of a nod to Polynesian culture -- sort of "sarong-ish" I do think it's lovely, although perhaps a bit challenging to wear (e.g. the fiddling w/the shoulder in some video). I really like the gray, and was interested to see the color reflected in a number of the other women (the wife of the South Korean president in a really lovely material, the wife of the prime minister of Paupea New Guinea, even the Australian Prime Minister had a dove-gray top/sash). I do wonder a bit about the belt which has a kind of curly-cue tie in the back -- that didn't quite go with the rest of the line by my eye. That said, I really like the look and how Mrs. O is carrying it off!
She is so Lovely !!! - Very nice and chic !
SUPER STUNNING!!!
THEY ARE A BEAUTIFUL COUPLE!! (inside and out)
Mrs. O was equally stunning today hosting the spouses.
Take a look here: http://theobamadiary.com/2011/11/13/hawaii-host/
I don't think you don't have to feel sorry for Laureen Harper, wife of the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at all. She looks amazing. That colour is just right for her and she pulls of the simple & understated yet powerful blue much the same way that the Duchess of Cambridge pulled off a beige bandage dress beside MO's party dress at Buckingham Palace.
Each woman has chosen a perfect look for herself and neither looks out of place beside the other.They both rock their clothes in their own way. Especially considering that LH cares nothing for fashion at all. She's a self-confessed farm girl more at home with a calf in the 4H. She has little interest in clothes. Nor does she have MO's budget. I'd say she looks right on point beside MO.
I went to casually check in with Mrs. O, thinking nothing new would be there given the holiday weekend and I gasped! She is such a knockout! I can only wish to ever pull off great clothes like she does...she makes it all look so effortless. This dress is gorgeous. She looks amazing. I love that the First Couple always look so happy. Bless them!
Awesome series of FLOTUS APEC photos on daylife with some other fab fashions!
Check it out here: http://www.daylife.com/topic/Michelle_Obama/photos/1/grid
I love Mrs O but I think this dress isn't appropriate for this event.
Too sexy.
I thought that when I saw the first pic of it and then I looked at the wives of foreign leaders and confirmed that they weren't in dresses like that.
Love the dress, don't like it for the occasion.
I agree Mica. Mrs. O is supermodel gorgeous but the dress is more date night than official stae business attire. She is wearing the hell out of it but its not for this occasion, especially considering what the other first ladies/head of state are wearing. She makes a garbage bag look fab but there is a time and place.
I agree Mica. Mrs. O is supermodel gorgeous but the dress is more date night than official stae business attire. She is wearing the hell out of it but its not for this occasion, especially considering what the other first ladies/head of state are wearing. She makes a garbage bag look fab but there is a time and place.
Too sexy? Longer that PM Harper's wife's dress, neckline is higher. Only difference is the bare shoulders and the sexy woman in the dress. Can't fault Mrs. O for being sexy.
Dress is a home run, IMO. Style is fresh, color is feminine, and accessories are gorgeous. She looks like a million bucks and the hostess with the mostest!
I think if she wears potato sack but shows her shoulders and neckline she will look sexy. It's because her shoulders are just so beautiful and she has beautiful skin so one wants to keep looking at her. Otherwise the skirt is long and the neckline is high. It's just a very different dress and in that sense it is not conservative at all. It definitely stands out.
Hmm...I think I can agree that the dress is sexy, but I think it's fine for the occasion, which seems to be a dinner. Of course she should not wear something like this addressing government workers, or working in the garden with school kids, or touring a school. But for a cocktail-hour dinner? I think it's okay.
I really like it. I'd love to know the designer!
Love the dress. And, it IS a bit sexy. HOWEVER, if anyone can get away with it, it's Michelle Obama. She has the body, style and charisma to carry off her sometimes eclectic, bold or avant garde fashion choices. And the woman IS sexy. Make that "alluring." Even with all that radiant brown skin showing and glowing, she still communicates "classy-ness" and "tastefulness." ...Perhaps some of us are so accustomed to always seeing cookie-cutter buttoned up, buttoned down and stodgy conservative fashion on most of the world's first ladies that we don't quite (yet) know to receive the unique and breath of fresh air that Michelle Obama brings to the world's political stages. ...I think by now we should all "get over it." This woman/lady clearly has decided to dress on her own terms--as she's shown us again and again and again...
On the first lady of Canada, I agree that this color fits her well. She has a well-toned body and the sleeves are very becoming. Her shoes are adorable. I would though add a teensy bit of length--no more than an inch or two and no longer than the top of her knees.
I've seen her at many of these events and she always looks lovely.
@ philly, I was being slightly tongue-in-cheek about feeling sorry for Mrs. Harper. You're absolutely right, she doesn't look 'great', she looks 'amazing', and your comparison with the Duchess of Cambridge's Reiss bandage dress juxtaposed with Mrs. O's party frock is spot on. Thanks for commenting!
I was just bemoaning to myself that the sun hadn't come up here, and was consoling myself with pictures of this cocktail dress of Mrs. O. Then I opened the blind to see the sky slashed with beautiful pinks and greys. Nature's seal of approval!
Heaven's above, that dress is sensational and completely appropriate for the event.
Very pretty and feminine dress. I love the color combination. Just wish I could get a close-up view of Mrs. O.'s earrings!
I have to agree with philly; I think Mrs Harper looks absolutely amazing! I've no idea whether she is interested in fashion or not, but in the pictures I've seen of her she always looks really nice and wears some lovely clothes.
Mrs Obama's dress is lovely and very striking. But. I'm not sure, I don't find the skirt part very flattering. Maybe it is the shiny fabric, or maybe it is a little too tight, I'm not sure. Lovely shoes!
I like the color combination, but I'm just not to crazy about the dress...
I'm not a fan of this outfit at all.
The concept is well intentioned and it had the potential to be unique but the execution of the ideas fail miserably IMO.
The fabric looks cheap, the bottom part of the dress is not flattering to her figure and the pink wrap part looks sloppy and haphazard in the 1st picture.
And the outfit seems out of place for a formal event with world leaders. She sticks out like a sore thumb among the rest of the attendees.
I went on Daylife and looked at other views of this dress. It photographs well but there are pics where I think it is hanging to low. It may needed to be tucked in a few places to prevent it from sliding down. It appears a bit to bare in the back. It is really a lovely dress and she looks wonderful in it but maybe not for this occasion. She has lost weight and is very toned so this dress is amazing fit but maybe a bit big in the wrong place.
Yes!!! Simply stunning! I love the color palette and the fit! Mrs. O is wearing that dress!!!
@Marcus Perry I concur with every word that you have written!! Well said!!!
@Chauny -- have you seen other pictures of this event? I'm curious to see how much she "sticks out like a sore thumb," as you say. I'm not getting that impression in these photos, but if you have any other links that'd be great!
Obviously the pink top part is having trouble staying in place.A little double stick tape would have done the trick.
You're right Chauny,she does stick out, but not like a sore thumb, more like the Belle of the Ball. And eventhough I use the term "ball", it was not one. It was a cocktail dinner. Laura Harper has on cocktail attire, as well as the other spouses. It's not Mrs. O's fault that she's sexy. She's completely covered up except for her shoulders and back. What's the difference in this strapless dress compared to the purple dress she wore to the State Dinner recently. Nothing, in my opinion. Both were sexy and "appropriate" (whatever that means). She can't help but to be sexy. She has a husband that showers her with love, admiration, and devotion all the time (no matter where they are).Plus, he's sexy too. Haha, the sexiness just can't be stopped!
The overall look is very elegant .... her makeup and hair are flawless !
Mrs O - Way to Go - I think it is just right for the occassion - She is a stunning hostess - just as she needs to be!!!
The dress is by Vera Wang.
The dress is by Vera Wang.
It's a Vera Wang dress...and me likes
Vera Wang! The dress is Vera Wang who expressed her pleasure in dressing "our beloved First Lady" on twitter. A first?
Lovely, INDEED! And not at all inappropriate, IMO.
LOVE IT!
I just picked myself up from off of the floor! Humina ... humina ....I have no words!
I agree with Nyon that this dress is no different (sexy?) in terms of other strapless, one shoulder dresses/gowns that Mrs. O has worn to other formal events....isn't this a cocktail party? Anyway, congrats to Vera Wang. Mrs. O you go!
I am struck by the sheer joy on Mrs. Obama's face. I've never see her quite as glowing as she is in these shots; she must love wearing this dress and it sure loves her right back. Breathtaking!