Wednesday
Jun082011
Style Staple
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 8:12 PM 
Image by Charles Dharapak / AP Images
After a state dinner last night, the first lady was back to work today, visiting CentroNia, a bilingual child care facility in Washington. Following her visit, Mrs. O announced Let's Move! Child Care, an effort to raise healthy eating and living for young children.
On a fashion note, Mrs. O turned to one of her favorite frocks -- a wisteria print dress by Tracy Feith first seen during the inauguration in 2009 and three times since! Bracelets by Jordan Alexander completed the look.
"First Lady Unveils Let's Move Child Care" [White House]
tagged Jordan Alexander, Tracy Feith
Jordan Alexander, Tracy Feith
Reader Comments (36)
Love it!
Obamadiary has some more precious pictures. I want more Mrs O with teh babies!! better than teh kittehs and teh baby twins on youtube.
I love this dress on Mrs. O, and I love the work she's doing, too. Be sure to check out obamadiary.com to see adorable pix of Mrs. O and the kids, in action. It's so fun to see her interacting with toddlers for a change. She seems to really love it!
I love her hair style.
If you follow the White House link Mrs. T has provided, which provides the text to her speech, and hover over one of the upper tabs: Photos & Videos, and then click Video, the video of this event will show, or will be found underneath if they post another in the meantime.
Other videos are offered with eons of pages. Right now on page 1 you will also find her preview of the State Dinner, snd one that wanders into the White House kitchen. On page 2 are a couple of videos from her harvesting.
And so on. Her speech at West Point shows up in later pages. Lots on President Obama, but they seem to be getting better at posting her events..
I love the hair style. very nice.
Love her hairstyle, hate that dress. That is one of the only dresses that I just really don't like. Oh well, of all the gazillion great looks that Mrs. O has in her closet, I'm sure that she'll lose sleep over me not liking one of her dresses... NOT. LOLOL
This is so funny,,,but I liked that dress from the very first day!!! I would wear this dress but it
looks much better on Mrs. O.
On a personal note; my husband and I drove through the South side of Chicago years ago, when
Mrs. O would have been very young and I can not get over that a little girl from there is now in the
White House and doing such a fabulous job of it! Amazing!!
I've gotta agree with you, isonprize. That is my least favorite dress of hers. But hey, it makes her happy, so be it.
This particular hairstyle is quite nice though.
I've always loved this dress. She wore it after the Inauguration and it hinted at what was to come--no adherence to fashion "rules."
I agree, it's a flattering updo. I think a softer look than when Mrs. O pulls it back. But then, I have a different hair type and am not going to say she 'should' be doing this or that!
I'm not a fan of the dress but its pattern + stack of bangles + hairstyle + signature smile all add up to a great look for visiting a school. And good on Mrs. O for shopping her closet. (I do the same thing myself but that's because there's not much in there!)
This dress must have grown on me because I remember hating it the first time she wore it. Now its like an old slightly strange friend :) She's definitely got her money's worth for it because she wore it to two events yesterday - a visit with Denmark's Queen and the kids! http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//110609/ids_photos_wl/r475127539.jpg/
This is one of my absolute, top 10 Mrs. O favorite dressess! I bought the fabric (Kona Bay Fabrics) and copied it using a Vogue pattern. EVERYTIME I wear it I get many, many compliments! The dress is stunning (on Mrs. O and on me ... hee hee)! I'm glad she repeats it. She knows.
Memories........memories......memories !!
I truly love this dress for what it signifies. On the campaign trail her clothes represented campaigning , the Rodriguez dress (which I loved !!!!!!!) represented victory on election night, her day and evening inauguration outfit represented a magnificent day in history but this dress represents the first day of the rest of her life. This is the dress that she wore the day after becoming the nations first lady when she went to church in the morning and greeted visitors to the White House in the afternoon. It is for this reason that I will always love this dress.
By the way, love the hair and how she interacts with the kids.
Wow...she looks like she is having such a good time the dress almost takes a backseat. Great dress the pattern on it is what I love. Wanting the stack of braclets!
I love this dress and I love her hairstyle. Wonder what shoes she wore with the dress?
Chic "mom-in-chief!"
You know...Today was the first time I seriously thought "I wonder if Mrs O reads Mrs-O?"
Why? This is like the 5th time we've seen that dress and as far as I can recall, she's always done something different with the shoes.
I can't even remember what I wore last month lol, let alone 2 years.
Just a thought.
I've always liked this dress since I tend to like prints on Mrs. O. And I totally agree that she has gotten her money's worth on this one since it can be worn for so many different occasions. Her hair does look amazing with this and I loved the pink flats with this dress as well.
This dress is a perennial favorite of mine. It evokes memories of the dresses of the 50's - soft, interesting prints, and billowy skirts.
I'm so fond of this pretty dress. As others have already said, it was certainly was a mark of things to come, a fresh look, a move away from deadly dull suits and block colours. So exciting. I love seeing it. There's a little bit of me that wonders if it gets worn the day after big tiring events because it's a dress that is comfy and simple and pretty - it does its job without Mrs O having to worry about what it's doing.
I LOVE this dress. She wore shoes to match the hydrangeas when visiting the kids and then greeted the Queen of Denmark, I believe, in the same dress with black slingbacks. See Obama Diary. Very nice. This dress and her election night dress are 2 of my favorites. Yes, I am one of those. It takes all types to make a happy world. Have a great day!
not my favorite dress but love her commitment to children's health and welfare.
She is a great First Lady.
I actually really like this dress on her.
I've always loved this dress on her. I adore the print and love how she changes up her shoes to pick up different colors in the fabric . Beautiful!
I love this dress. It's really pretty but I guess it also reminds me of those first days around the inauguration when we were beginning to get a feel for Mrs. O post-election style. So I'll always love this dress!!
She's wearing another beautiful pastel coral sleeveless sheath today with lots of tucks in the skirt. She has her hair up again and she looks really terrific. Silver sling backs and it looks like maybe light blue or opal drop earrings?
This dress is one of my favs, it reminds me of a Monet painting in a Mad Men 60s style!
@Bsewinglady....oh I envy your skills!
@Char...please know that the South side of Chicago is full of a variety neighborhoods, which produced not only Mrs O, but many, many many leaders of industry, government, media, the arts, science, etc.!!!
Er'ry time I see this dress, I like it a little more ... which is saying something cuz I didn't like it at ALL the first time I saw it (immediately after the Inauguration).
Looks comfy tho.
I never get tired of seeing this dress. The fabric looks like it is smooth as butter, the print is so exotic. I see several other posters have commented on how our Michelle switches shoes and accessories each time she wears this, and don't we all. I'll get stuck on something and will wear it a million different ways until I get on my own nerves. LOL
@ BSewing Lady....how clever are you. I had never heard of Kona Bay Fabric before. That must be a seamstress' trade secret. Thanks for letting us in on that tidbit.
This is one of the reasons that I love this blog. I know tempers can run high at times, but for the most part we share information and exchange ideas all the while admiring our Michelle. I'm so glad to be a part of this and I'd like to say THANK YOU to all those that contibute to making and keeping this community enjoyable.
As a little girl growing up in the 50's, my closet had church clothes, school clothes, and play clothes; play clothes were dresses at that time. This dress reminds me of "play clothes." This dress and the 2011 Easter Egg Roll dress are beautiful Mrs. O play clothes in my head. Lovin' them!
Hey BSewingLady, I found the Kona Bay fabrics website on facebook with the hope of tracking
down the fabric. No such luck :( If I had found the fabric, I would certainly be scurrying to my seamstress to make the dress. Darn! Sigh.....
I have noticed that she always wears prints around children. Perhaps because children are drawn to colors and patterns. She looks so happy, relaxed and involved with the young ones, it's as though she is a teacher at heart. This dress is pretty, sensible and unique. Truly Michelle.
Thank you, Jestina, for recalling that this dress was the one she wore to welcome people to the WH. I would have put a lot of thought into what I wore that day in order to express my feelings of humility and soberness for the task ahead, as well as happiness and joy at the success achieved. I often choose my clothes based on my emotions, maybe Michelle sometimes does that too.
Happy 10th Birthday Miss Sasha http://tinyurl.com/3gtocrf
Hey @Anagrom, Thanks for the link on Sasha!
Thanks @jestina and @Posh Tater for your comments re this dress and its significance. I do recall being surprised when I first saw Mrs. O wearing it at the uplifting and celebratory church service the day after the Inauguration. On reflection, I was probably surprised because of being unused to seeing a female Washington public figure looking so utterly normal in a pretty dress at a Sunday church service. I wondered where was the suit jacket, the purse, or the hat? How ironic it is that to be yourself and to be normal and not politically correct is a risky undertaking. I liked the print and loved the way it looked on Mrs. O, but it caused me to wonder because I was unused to seeing someone so comfortable in their own skin, and I guess I wondered if the dress worn so simply was appropriate for that Sunday occasion. Silly me. The dress is understated, stylish, pretty, comfortable, and shows Mrs. O's unique style and her unconventional / unrestrictive approach to how she dresses. Definitely reminds me of the Narcisco Rodriquez dress Mrs. O wore on the historic election eve, in terms of its similar unique impact and significance.
@BSewingLady, ahhh, how cool of you to find the fabric and be able to make a similar frock by adjusting a Vogue pattern. I've done some sewing and I love it, but I have not yet gained the expertise I'd love to have, and the time as well to devote to such a rewarding enterprise. When I saw linked on this blog, a gorgeous leather dress by Barbara Tfank, I absolutely wanted to be able to make my own -- an alternative to not being able to afford the huge cost of designer frocks.
BTW, have you guys seen the Fashion Paper Dolls created by artist Tom Tierney (done on different fashion eras, and on celebrity and political figures)? If not, here are a few links:
http://www.amazon.com/President-Barack-Obama-Paper-Dolls/dp/0486471500/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b
http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Diana-Prince-Charles-Fashion/dp/0486249611
http://www.amazon.com/William-Kate-Paper-Dolls-Commemorate/dp/0486483789/ref=pd_sim_b_3
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Deco-Fashions-Paper-Dolls/dp/048644158X/ref=pd_sim_b_2
http://www.amazon.com/Great-Black-Entertainers-Paper-Dolls/dp/0486247481/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1307899555&sr=1-1
I think Mrs. O deserves her own separate commemorative rendering, as Tierney did for Princess Diana:
http://www.amazon.com/Diana-Princess-Wales-Paper-Doll/dp/0486400158/ref=pd_sim_b_5