Monday
May302011
Happy Memorial Day
Monday, May 30, 2011 at 8:50 PM 
Image by Charles Dharapak / AP Images
Happy Memorial Day dear readers! And thank you to all of the men and women in our nation's military services.
Today the President and First Lady attended a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. For the occasion, Mrs. O dressed in a patriotic blue sheath dress accessorized with a double strand of pearls.
Update: Thanks to those with memory sharper than mine. It appears the First Lady wears a dress by Narciso Rodriguez, seen in 2010 here and here.
"Standing When the First Lady Pays a Call" [New York Times]
tagged Narciso Rodriguez
Narciso Rodriguez
Reader Comments (71)
i love her in sheaths
I'm sorry; I know many posters will be mad at me, but it is way too tight, especially for the occasion.
On a different note, that's a cute yellow shirt/dress, Mrs. T. I don't believe we saw it yet. Scroll down on the page; she wore it for a Sesame Street PSA
http://theobamadiary.com/
@Nora, do you mean this one? http://mrs-o.org/newdata/2011/4/19/bright-and-cheery.html
@ Nora. you had to say something negative. You must be an old lady.
Yes, Mrs. T, that's the one. And no, dale@jamaica, I'm very much young and vibrant, just hit the 30's and I do adore the sheath Mrs. O has one, even have a similar one myself, but just would not wear it to a memorial day ceremony. I'm just being honest and you do not have to agree with me; that is the beauty of this great country of ours :-)
She is walking with such confidence. I love her look and her hair is cool too.
It is inapropriate to wear such a tight fitting dress, in my opinion
I have to say, I agree with Nora. Yes, I am an old lady--older than Mrs. Obama, anyway. Whatever. Mrs. Obama is not young enough for the cling of this dress.
@Nora, the dress may look tight in stills, but in video, it looks more clingy (in material) than anything. It is definitely the type of material you wear when you want to accentuate the contour of your body. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NFASZJBCOwE
But FLOTUS looks confident and graceful. Actually, there is another photo from today that I really like: the camera catches MO with her eyes closed and with a slight smile on her face; might sound weird, but it reminds me of someone in a sort of walking meditation: http://www.daylife.com/photo/00j9gw0c3g3L2?__site=daylife&q=Michelle+Obama
I'm with Dasie on this one; I, too, love the First Lady in sheaths. She certainly has the body for them, and she wears them tastefully. I mean, with pearls, flats, and hem-touching-the-knee (de rigueur, "conventional" first lady standards), I think she looks fine--in every sense of the word!
Sorry, gotta side with Nora on this one -- there is no earthly reason that we need to be seeing Mrs. Obama's belly button indentation showing through her dress. When you can see that, the dress is inappropriately tight, particularly for someone in her position.
dale@jamaica makes a nasty stereotypical attack on here that I hope you will delete, Mrs. T.
Sensational !
Mrs. T have we seen this dress in coral? I could be wrong, but the cut and fit reminds me so much of the Michael Kors one she wore during one of her visits to one state dept. and the one to the launch of Joining Forces, the neckline is different though.
I agree with Nora...it's a great sheath, beautiful color, and too darned tight! Since when do you have to be an old lady to think that a dress is inappropriately tight...especially for our First Lady?!
Mrs. O dress is nice, and she has dressed well for the occasion.
@ Nora, I totally understand what you mean. Jersey dresses are beautiful and very very sexy and for this occasion could be a distraction, specially when you have a beautiful body like Mrs O!
The dress is beautiful and totally appropriate. If you have problems with it being "distracting" because it is "too tight", those are YOUR issues and not Mrs. Obama's. What, should she wear a burlap sack because the mood is somber?
@ Joss - We have seen this dress before but I can't remember when or where. There are so many dresses to remember. I do remember though the subtle ruching that meanders along the front of the dress. I also think that she last wore it with pearls as well. Still gorgeous and yes she's sexy but it's definitely a plus. She can sing " I'm too sexy for my car, too sexy for my ....whatever she wants it to be.
I've been to the gym all weekend, honestly i was going to give it a miss tonight but seeing Mrs O's fabulous curves has inspired me to get down there tonight and feel the burn.
This dress looks great. It is completely appropriate and looks lovely with the pearls. I just don't get some of you. You post humiliating links to emphasize the merits of wearing a tighter dress to avoid wind whiplash, and then criticize a tighter dress within the space of a few days. What was the weather like at this event? Maybe she was avoiding another "winded" event.
Can we give this woman some credit for looking wonderful without trying to second guess her choices - at least on Memorial Day when Mrs. O would attempt to look her best and as well as respect the gravity of the event?
Lovely, Dear Readers, this photo shows Mrs. O mid stride and at an angle, the dress is not too tight. Mrs. T, you have the patience of a saint to carry this blog. Great Job!!!
Bevi: Neither I nor the posters who commented on it thought the link you are referring to was "humiliating." It was just cute and whimsical and one of those things you can't help; if anything it humanizes Mrs. O even more. If YOU want to make it unto something negative, then of well. I know what and who I am, and don't need to defend my posts nor myself. I love Mrs. O but do not feel compelled to be untrue to myself and "pretend" to like everything she wears. When I love her outfit head to toe, I am one of the first ones to gush over and over, and I'll leave it at that.
And Laure, Touche. Indeed what a body it is; she definitely rocks the jersey sheath like no other!
Well said, Bevi. Personally, I'm done with trying to get round to some of the bloggers here. It is very obvious that a few of them have another agenda for posting and it does not include admiring the first lady, They know who they are and I'm beyond caring about them anymore. I saw evidence of true love and admiration last week when the Obama's were in London and that's good enough for me.
EVERYONE irrespective of age, race or creed were talking about them. The news reports and papers were jam packed with pictures of our smiling Queen and young girls being in complete awe of this great woman. Does Mrs Obama worry about the moaners ? Does she make their negative comments live in her head rent free ? - I highly doubt it so neither do I. Have a great day.
Isn't this the same dress she wore when she met the first lady of Greece?? Also I think on a magazine cover shortly before???
I'm 90% sure that's the dress she wore on the cover of Newsweek & also meeting a counterpart First Lady. When she did that she had awesome gold bracelets & silver mirror shoes.
Negativity does not dwell here. The unfortunate comments thankfully do not influence the majority of us, so ladies I would not raise my stress level on them.
Mrs. O. looks lovely in her blue sheath dress.
Too tight? I was not expecting that comment at all. I was thinking more of how wonderful it is to see a woman with curves and shapely legs and walking with such confidence. I guess when we are so accustomed in seeing the skinny models on the runway with no curves, it is hard to appreciate a woman with curves. I am not mad at you Nora, for your "polite" opinion or even if you are old. But do understand when you get up at 5:00 am to work out and try to eat healthy when there are so many temptaions to lure you not to, your body, mind and soul takes on a new transformation. I am just enjoying the ride. FLOTUS represented us so well last week and her words, hugs and smiles for those young girls will last forever in their minds. I really don't think what she wears will ever make a difference to them. All I am saying is let's appreciate our First Lady inner beauty and confidence as well.
@dale@ jamaica Re: @ Nora. you had to say something negative. You must be an old lady.
If that logic holds, dale@jamaica must be an old lady, as well as disrespectful. Since when is being an old lady negative and being a young positive? That does a great disservice to many beautiful, vibrant, intelligent and (even) opinionated women beyond "a certain age." Just where are you going to draw that line?
Why should ageism and bad-mouthing other posters creep into this blog? It's as evil as racism and sexism and a bunch of other isms we could list.
I would bet that what readers want from this blog is a respectful discussion of a woman and fashion which all of us love. If one of us loves a dress and another thinks it's too tight or sexy or not sombre enough or has too much belt or whatever, why isn't it possible to read that and simply disagree? Why is it necessary to resort to unpleasant, personal attacks?
I, too, think the dress is a little on the tight side, but that's how some women like their clothes to fit. That's their choice. From a design perspective, it is my opinion that clothes do not look quite as attractive (or as rich) when they pull across hips or breasts or whatever. That said, I also think it is a smashingly beautiful dress and MO looks fabulous in it.
I love the color and cut of this dress. In a sea of blue, the classic simplicity of this look still stands out. Beautiful.
Isn't this the same dress Mrs. O wore when she met the First Lady of Greece?? I think it was also worn on a magazine cover shortly before......
Picture perfect, appropriate and patriotic yet gorgeous and fashionable. Nobody has ever done it better and no First Lady has ever championed the lives of Military families the way she has. So many pay lip service to supporting our troops, but how many actually do something for them other than placing a bumper sticker on their car? Mrs. Obama has called on us to write letters, send packages, support legislation that truly supports them when they get home, reach out to real families in our neighborhoods and babysit, check in on them, get to know them. It's a powerful message that she has set in motion.
There is nothing wrong with this dress. Let's simply ignore the remark and not react the way the poster wants us to respond. Let's move on, pleaseee.
I think a good old-fashioned slip or lining under the dress would have solved the problem of the revealing outlines and still complemented her figure. As someone mentioned last week, the British Royal family's designers help them avoid situations like this or the wind gusts last week by modifying garments to endure the elements the wearer will be exposed to during the event.
She definitely looks best in sheaths, as they give her a long lean line --- as long as she avoids her tendency to add a visually disruptive belt.
Calm - Cool and totally appropriate.
No fuss, no pins, no belts ... just simple and elegant.
@ Nora, I hope you enjoyed your Memorial Weekend
@Bevi, I know you enjoyed your Memorial Weekend and appreciate your comment
@Jestina, Bevi, Trinisamba & others who responded to the negative post by Nora:
Bevi, I understand your point, but comparing Nora to "old ladies" would be insulting to that group because most older women I know are respectful of others and even if they should need to "correct" someone's dress or behaviour usually find a very subtle and engaging way of accomplishing it without insulting that person. Nora, instead of being positive even in her critique, chose instead to be bitchy. Yes, I mean "BITCHY" with all it's negative connotations because it seems as if her intent was to demean and put down the First Lady. Thank goodness we've seen over the last week, both in Ireland and the UK, where all people ranging from laborers all the way to the Queen, welcomed this woman and her husband with such outpouring of affection, respect, and love, and they could care less what outfit she wore. The people of Ireland and the UK saw more in her than what she was wearing, instead they saw her and they liked what they saw, and what she represents. So who gives a damn what the likes of Nora and others have to say on any given day...NO ONE!
I LIKE IT!
Here's to the old ladies of the blog (whoever you are). Just because they are old, doesn't mean they are crabby, picky or old-fashioned. Personally, I can't tell if you ladies are old, young, tall or short and I don't know why we should care.
It's one shot of one dress taken in one moment. Five seconds later, it might have been flapping in the spring breeze and we all would have had a different opionion about it.
My opinion: it's a gorgeous colour and a flattering cut for her. I can see the indent of her belly button too .... glad to know she's got one. Talk about "humanizing", huh Nora? [kidding!]
On another note, I stop by this site at least a half-dozen times a day ... more if Mrs. O is out and about. Mrs. Obama has motivated me to get serious about fitness again. I workout 6 days a week. I don't have Mrs. O's build but that's not the point, of course. Just tryna be the best me I can be!
Have a great day ladies ....
I can't believe how a little comment like "the dress is way too tight, especially for the occasion" can draw such a reaction from people who equate a negative fashion comment as a negative against the First Lady. Lighten up, this is a fashion blog!!! The dress looks tight, so what? It's a free country and people are entitled to their opinions. I am sure that the majority of posters, even the ones who are honest about their fashion opinions still love Michelle Obama.
Michelle looks pretty, and the fit of the dress is great. Happy belated birthday to Natasha Obama!
@Mia Monte, I think Sasha's birthday is in June (7th? - maybe) and Malia's is July 4th.
@ Mia Monte Natasha aka Sasha's birthday is June 10th. Michelle said in a video. Malia's is july 4th :)
@ mszonian524, please pray tell how I qualify for the moniker you dubbed me, (which does not bear repeating)? I have been nothing but respectful to all on this blog. Not one curse word or insult has ever crossed your screen from my screen name. (You can go back over all my posts, which started almost as far back as the blog itself.) And while I agree you cannot gauge the honesty of my intent or my opinions, you can at the very least grant me and those you disagree with the same respect we give to others. I enjoy fashion and love exploring and commenting on Mrs. O's versatile fashion sense and I will continue to post on this blog as long as Mrs. T will allow me to. Thank you
You want to know how a little comment about the dress being "too tight" can cause an uproar. I will tell you how. We know that comment came from a HATER. Yep, I said it. Nora is a hater. And I don't care if she's a old hater or a young hater. She is one, PERIOD. This person constantly looks for the bad in everything that Mrs. O wears. You didn't link that pic of Mrs. O's dress flying up as a cute moment. You linked it to make Mrs. O look silly. Like she should have called the weatherman and told him, "this is Michelle Obama and I'm wearing a cute dress today, but I need to know if it will be windy today." Puh-lease, give me a break. No matter how many times you throw a nice comment out there about Mrs. O, we still see you for the person you are. You are not straight! You know it, I know it, and even the people who will come to your defense know it.
All the regular readers of this blog know that Mrs. T deletes any and all comments that are critical or disrespectful of Mrs. Obama. So the regular readers of this blog should realize that if a comment has been posted, it has already been read and approved by Mrs. T.
That means that people who post comments should stop flying off the handle and getting so outraged every time they read an APPROVED comment from someone whose opinion differs from their own. Come on, people, grow up and don't take everything so personally!!
Mrs. T you also need to moderate (delete) comments from rude commentators who personally attack other commentators just for expressing their opinion.
Nyon's outraged comment and reaction is so disrespectful and out-of-proportion to what Nora wrote that it should be deleted since it adds nothing of value to the comments section. (You can delete this comment too, once you delete Nyon's. :)
@ Dana-an-unregistered-commenter,
I also think Mrs. T should REQUIRE posters to be registered in order to post a comment on this blog, since you insist on telling her how to moderate HER BLOG.
Ladies, this is such a disappointing way to converse with each other - it is quite possible to disagree with a differing opinion in a courteous manner. Both Mrs T and Mrs O have provided us all with such pleasure on this website and it is dishonouring to both these wonderful women, for us to speak with such unkindness to fellow bloggers.