Dazzling in Dublin
Monday, May 23, 2011 at 12:43 PM 
Photos by Carolyn Kaster / AP Images
The President and First Lady have begun their European tour in Ireland. First stop: a meet-and-greet with the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, and her husband, Martin McAleese, at the Presidential Residence in Dublin. Second stop: a tour through the official guesthouse, Farmleigh, with Fionnuala O'Kelly, wife of the Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny.
For this first appearance, Mrs. O wore a black and white print (possible lace overlay?) dress, paired with a jeweled belt at the waist and polished black jacket. Tweed pumps completed the ensemble.
Update: Above, Mrs. O wears a black and white openwork lace sheath dress by Peter Som. The dress hails from the designer's Fall 2011 collection. The First Lady also wears a custom piece by Paris-based Shourouk. Originally intended to be a tiara, Mrs. O modified the piece to wear it as a belt. Further detail can be found here.
Reader Comments (15)
Eeeenteresting. I don't dislike it (the fabric of that dress is beautiful), but the length is not the most flattering I've ever seen on Mrs O and the jacket completely hides all her beautiful slenderness and curves. Maybe it is supposed to. The belt looks very pretty.
I remain optimistic for more knockout things later on!
I am with you Posh, I don't hate this out fit, but I don't love it either. It's one of those things you wear when you know you have to look nice, but you're not in the mood to dazzle and have all eyes on you. It's modest. Which is good every now and then for Mrs. O.
I will also say - since I have a feeling many people will mention her hair being pulled back - that it is very windy there right now. Nora O'Donnell made reference to it this morning on the Today Show. Because of that, I am guessing Mrs. O opted to pull her hair back, since black hair (even with the best relaxer and stylist) most of the time will not return to a flattering position after it has taken a ride with the wind.
I like the outfit better in the first picture.
I don't like this outfit at all. Also, I really do not like when she wears her hair like this. Her makeup is flawless as usual.
In a situation such as this, it can be a very good thing to wear a noncontroversial outfit- one that people may neither love nor hate. However, I really like it. The skirt length is a professional length and the fit is great. I love the belt! It is that special one something that makes the outfit. Note the emerald green!
I'm in the minority. I love the dress, particularly the cute belt with the discreet touch of Irish emerald green. It looks to be of a slightly heavier material which is perfect for the breezy and quite fresh weather that Dublin is experiencing today. In fact we had some pretty breezy weather in London over the weekend.
On closer inspection, Mrs Obama's dress to compliment the outfit that the wife of the Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny is wearing. I don't know whether this is a coincidence but it is a really special touch.
she looks matronly - in a good way. It's unfortunatie the choice of hairstyle though, as it was totally blown away when she got off the plane. It was all she could do to keep smiling. And black hair has nothing to do with this choice of hairstyle in my opinion (it may just be convenient).
I am sure that weather played a big part in the choice. I think the outfit looks lovely, heavy enough to cope with the blowing weather better in the unpredictable climate they are facing and subdued enough for a country in which people are likely more conservative in dress. I think a simple matching head band would have saved the hair from blowing out in the wind. Not looking like a fashion plate is appropriate here.
I love this outfit. It is conservative and right for the moment and the shoes are EXQUISITE!
I love this outfit and think it is exceptionally flattering on her. I like it better than the Marc Jacobs look above.
Not my favorite outfit but at least it's appropriate for the occassion, setting, time of day etc. which, as much as I like Mrs O. she does have a problem with at times.
Have always hated her hair this way and continue to feel that way.
Sorry :o(
The hair thing has been explained countless times; I'm afraid its not something the monotony of a hair band ala gossip girl can solve everytime, its really about the fact that the elements(heat, wind, rain, humidity, sweat etc)constantly change the body and texture of our hair, whether relaxed or natural. The First Lady has to do the best with what she's got. This is not easy as she's always in the limelight. If you are not black, you will probably never understand this...
By the way, I love the emerald touch and the shoes!!
As soon as I saw this I thought "oh NO, please don't go all political spouse on me." The electric blue suit has redressed the balance but I hope we don't see too much of this 'appropriate' and conservative with a small c stuff. We can get that from every other political wife currently in existence.... and none of them are interesting to look at. Fingers crossed.
I didn't like this outfit either, and i was disappointed that she didn't wear green (unless you count the little bit on her belt, which i don't). It may sound a bit corny, but I would really have loved her to have worn green, especially as the colour is beautiful on her.
But, that said, we were delighted that they came to visit. The weather was absolutely awful on the day, but they got a hearty welcome, and the weather didn't deter the crowd. Love them!
These shoes dont work for me.