Tuesday
Jun072011
A Vision in Naeem Khan
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 6:32 PM 
Photos by Charles Dharapak / AP Images, Jewel Samad / Getty Images
The President and First Lady are hosting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband Joachim Sauer for a State Dinner at the White House this evening.
For the occasion, Mrs. O has chosen a stunning ivory chiffon gown with linear crystal beading by designer Naeem Khan. An armful of Alexis Bittar bangles complete the look.
Naeem Khan has certainly become one of the First Lady's go-to designers for formal events! This is the third Naeem Khan gown that Mrs. O has worn since November 2009.
tagged Alexis Bittar, Naeem Khan
Alexis Bittar, Naeem Khan
Reader Comments (95)
Wow! First Lady sure knows how to do evening wear. What elegant lines in this stately, colum of a dress. Her hair stylist sure knows how to switch things up! Great hair! A+
She looks stunning! You can see different profiles of Mrs. Obama in this dress on theobamadiary.com. Beautiful from every angle.
The dress is by Naeem Khan!
Lovely dress but wish had not worn all the bangles. They seem too sporty for such a formal and gorgeous dress.
lovely!! Very simple cut, sexy and summery all at once.
Stunning!
Mrs O looks stunning. I really love her hair ;) Finally, she got it right, hairstyle looks nice on her ;) I wished she wore this dress and hairstyle for their England state dinner last time.
Mrs Obama A+ stunning, love the accessories too, and great hairstyle. If you go on The Obamadairy.com you appreciate it even more from all angles.
This is lovely! Fits beautifully, simple but very elegant.
I love this fresh look on mrs-o. Seems perfect for the atmosphere of the rose garden on this beautiful, golden evening we are having here in DC. Also, I'm happy to see the "She-of-the-pantsuit-of-many-hues" in a nice dress!
Lovely, lovely, lovely!! She looks gorgeous and so at ease with herself. Love the shimmery dress, the very bold bracelets and the loose hair. FUN!! I caught a glimpse of her shoes and would love to see MORE! Very beautiful head to toe.
She looks stunning as always! Wanted to share this piece from earlier today.
http://powerwall.msnbc.msn.com/politics/huma-abedin-weiners-spectacular-wife-1691025.story?GT1=43001#!wallState=0__%2Fpolitics%2Fflotus-fashion-8824.gallery%3FphotoId%3D41593
FLOTUS looks very pretty. I like the style of the dress and the hair.
Wow!!! Mrs. O. looks fantastic. Great fit. Great design. Just wonderful.
Chancellor Angela Merkel looks lovely. I am quite a fan of the Chancellor and it's so nice to see her and her husband.
Can I just say, I love this hair on Mrs. O. It's not too "done" or too tossled. It's just right. These loose waves are absolutely perfect. And the dress is absolutely perfect.
Love this whole look. Another home run for Mrs. O.
Very nice.
I now see why designers use tall models.A gown really drapes better on a taller girl
Totally fabulous, and that refers to both ladies! Michelle's dress is perfect for a warm summer night. The stack of bangles accent the dress perfectly. Love her shoes on Obamadiary! They are very "fashion forward", with a slight platform and a higher heel than usual.
Nancy Pelosi has on a KILLER white suit. Wow!
I like Mrs-O's dress and Chancellor Merkel's as well. The hair is amazing too. I love the bangles on this dress because white can be boring, so having bangles as an accessory gives the eye something to look at other than the sparkles, which may not be visible on screen.
WRT to Merkel. It's a nice, modest cut, but I wish it was in a more summery color--maybe a dark blue to make her blue eyes pop. That being said, I can say that Chancellor Merkel and her team really thought out this outfit because she's had a very hard road sartorially. She really does tend to dress in boxy, nondescript suits to convey gravitas, which is what most female politicians in the West have had to do to be taken seriously. If she tried to dress more womanly, she gets lambasted. She wore this dress at the opera for example and Germany was in an uproar about it.
http://www.n24.de/media/_fotos/3panorama/2008_9/april_7/080414/merkel_dpa.jpg
It does show a lot of decolletage, but I understand what she was going for. She's trying to convey she's a woman, and not just a politician. But after dressing so nondescript and boxy, it was a bit too much to spring on the German people. This dress says "womanly, but serious." She could have conveyed the same idea if this dress was in a brighter color.
Oh, and Mrs. O is indeed rocking a full fledged platform sandal, probably a good 4 inch heel. I think this may be the highest heel we've ever seen her wear.
I LOVE IT WHEN MRS. O CURLS HER HAIR!!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!
Love the gown, the simplicity of the cut with the sophistication of the fabric/embellishments, love the bracelets, but most of all, I LOVE HER HAIR!!!!
Mrs O is wearing a very high heel.. Maybe 4 to 5 inches as seen here. I wonder if she will regret it by evenings end..... http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0fH2cCV6Xz5Jb/x610.jpg
She looks stunning
I think this dress is pretty. However, I don't think the cut or fit is most flattering for her figure. It definitely emphasizes the lower half, without drawing attention to the top half. The dress is also too long and she keeps having to adjust it in the video and photos. I love Mrs. O's hair.
I Naeem Khan am a proud US citizen....I am honored to dress our first lady.
I am an American designer member of the CFDA..Council of the fashion Designers of America.
She is wearing an American designer proudly.
Naeem Khan.
First Lady Looked AMAZING!!! GORGEOUS Makeup! Soft and Fresh! Beautiful Hair and Wonderdul styling. Understated accessories. Bangles were everything especially with out a necklace. Dress was Beautiful. Michelle has a beautiful neckline. Bangles were the most appropriate! Hit it OUT of the Ball Park yet again! Please keep it coming!!!
Yes PLEASE! :) Long Live The Obama Administration!
I believe her shoes are Jimmy Choo - Nova is the style
This is my FAVORITE look on the FLOTUS! Her hair and dress are lovely! Her fashion sense is a a little "avante garde" for me sometimes, but this look is fabulous. THE PREZ looks awfully handsome as well. What elegance and charm from both of them!
Hot! I love the bracelets. They are becoming her signature touch.
Simply Stunning! The style of this dress has such simple lines to me, yet the elegance and detail of the design in the beadwork...stunning! Naeem the Dream....how I would love to own one of his evening garments!
Love the gown and unlike a few of her formal gowns in the past, the fit is perfect.
Gorgeous detail and figure flattering.
I like Mrs. O when she keeps it classy and doesn't try to be too daring or show too much skin.
Adore the hair but I hate the bracelets.
Too casual and clunky for such an elegant gown.
Those shoes do not look comfortable AT ALL.
And just from the very short video clip I saw on TV along with the pics on the net, it seems Mrs. O had to pull the gown up and hold it up just to walk or keep from stepping on it even while standing still.
Seemed like a bit of a pain, esp. with those heels.
OMG. I've just had to revise my 'Favourite Mrs. O State Visit Gowns' list. She looks absolutely amazing!
This is a knockout dress! I think she should wear Naeem Khan even more often. Mrs. O.'s hair and makeup look great. Mrs. O. appears to be well-rested and recovered from her trip to the UK.
Simply divine and the bracelets are truly amazing. I love this look. Naeem Khan has an amazing eye for detail. I don't think I have ever seen an item of his that I didn't like.
THE BEST DRESS EVER!!!!!!
STUNNING..
The Chancellor's dress looks very attractive, too. Thanks, @willet74 for the commentary. I agree about the color.
Great choice! Flattering fit. Simple but with nice detailing. Doesn't show too much, therefore it it appropriate for a woman of her age and station as First Lady. MUCH prefer her hair this way, She needs to at least have a few wisps on the forehead. Do what is flattering I always say!
I love her hair! So relaxed! And the bangles are a great touch. One of my favorite looks on Mrs O!
Mrs. Obama's entire outfit is amazing; the bracelets are perfect to complete the look!
Chancellor Merkel has embraced the trendy "slanted" neckline; she likes very nice.
Lovely flowing dress. I especially like the lines of the dress. Very elegant! The bracelets give the additional "Va Va Voom" to the outfit. Nice!!
A quick comment on the shoes. A formal dinner is a perfect time for MO to rock a higher heel and get away with it.
One, she's sitting down most of the time.
Two, she doesn't have to walk 6 blocks to the car in them.
Three, she needs them for the dress that's not quite the right length--or perhaps it's meant to puddle, always a possibility.
Four, slightly sore feet for a short period of time is a small price to pay on the beauty versus comfort scale.
It's right up there with squeezing into spanks for the night, only to let it all sag into a pair of sweat pants after. Or scaffolding the girls with a corset and letting them swing free later. It's what we do to be beautiful.
Just fabulous. Sleeveless and cleavage done right for the 35+ woman. Just amazing. I'd love to wear that dress. Her hair is spectacular.
The Chancellor looks pretty good herself!
Powerful women together-awesome picture.
Angela seems in love with Obama. Her body language reveal that
Perhaps many of you have seen this article before, but if not, here's a link to a WSJ interview with Mr. Khan after Mrs. O wore his dress at the first State Dinner:
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/11/25/naeem-khan-on-designing-michelle-obamas-priceless-first-state-dinner-dress/
I found it really interesting. And, to the dress at hand, this is indeed quite beautiful and Mrs. O looks amazing. Also, I love the fact that the dinner was outside, taking advantage of what looks like a lovely evening!
Both ladies look lovely. Good dresses and hair.
STUNNING!!!!! Mrs. O looks stunning in this dress and her hair IS LOVELY!!!!!
Mrs.O, NEVER disappoints when it comes to her gowns for the state dinners. She makes all the other women pale in comparison. She looks great!
Love this look! So cool to have had a comment from what appears to be by Naeem Khan, himself! A reminder for us to always be thoughtful in what we're posting because one never knows who's reading!
The dress is beautiful color but I think it puts emphasize on first lady's lower half too much.
@ Naeem - your dress is lovely as are most of your designs.
@MJMM - I agree about the bangles, I think less is more.
I really like her hair and makeup - she looks stunning !
Anar,
What is she supposed to do? Hide the fact that she has hips?! Gezz, this is one criticism of Mrs. O that drives me totally insane. As a fellow black woman, let me explain something to you. Shapely bottoms and hips are celebrated in the black and latino communities. This stuff where you're supposed to have the body of a 12 year old boy with huge boobs is not a part of our cultures, thank God!
As a black woman and as a woman with curves, I love to see Mrs. O wearing gowns that proudly shows that she does not buy into this Hollywood notion of what a woman should look like,