National Design Awards Luncheon
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 9:41 AM 
Images by Susan Walsh / AP Images
The First Lady hosted a luncheon for winners of the 2011 Cooper Hewitt National Design Awards at the White House yesterday. Speaking to the audience, Mrs. O shared:
"These men and women have breathed new life into our homes and our workplaces, the clothes we wear, the products we use every day, and even the most basic ways we process information."
To peruse the full list of winners, which include J. Mendel in Fashion Design and Knoll in Corporate & Institutional Achievement, click here.
On a style note, Mrs. O appears to have worn the same Derek Lam dress (reworked to be sans sleeves), first debuted during a trip to Indonesia in November 2010, here. Gunmetal fan earrings by Alexis Bittar complete the look.
"Michelle Obama honors top designers at the White House" [BusinessWeek]
Alexis Bittar, Derek Lam
Reader Comments (35)
Oh this dress is splendid. I love the little sparkles on the material and the earrings set off the whole outfit very nicely.
It reminds me of a brown Target dress that she wore in Pheonix a few years ago.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/2011/09/new-york-fashion-week-barbara-tfank.html
Has anyone seen this ? I love Barbara Tfank and apart from the palazzo pants I could see myself in every single outfit.
I love Mrs O - this outfit is very understated and absolutely gorgeous on her skin tone.
What a terrific dress! And those earring are fun and fab. Mrs. O looks great.
I have home-based dressmaking business and I'm putting myself out of business copying FLOTUS for myself! LOL Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous.
I LOVE this dress. I think we've seen it before (when abroad), no? The fabric looks gorgeous and I love the sparkles. Love her earrings and most of all, loved the talk she gave to the young students in the audience. Her empathic words of advice are so important for them, for our nation. She seizes every opportunity to impart confidence and hope. She must be an absolutely incredible mother. Beauty, elegance, wisdom and a big, big heart.
this whole outfit is beautiful i like it looks great on her
If this is a re-work of the Derek Lam dress she wore in Jakarta, I have to say I like it much better than the original version!
What a way to start off a morning, signing in to Mrs-O.org in anticipation of a new outfit, and having my sox knocked off by a fabulous unexpected accessory! Those earrings are "da bomb"!
Perfection. Earrings lovely! The dress looks familiar. The whole look A+
Does anyone know where one can get that dress? It's wonderful!
her dress looks marvelous, perfect fit, great belt, wonderfult colors
her earrings are classic with a twist
I'm still not liking her hair - I think it makes her look older and somewhat dated.
She is still gorgeous !
Beautiful print and fabric, looks a lot like the Derek Lam dress from Indonesia, shorter and sleeveless.
http://mrs-o.com/newdata/2010/11/9/dressed-for-dinner.html
Love it - It looks like the Derek Lam we've seen before without the sleeves .
http://mrs-o.com/newdata/2010/11/9/dressed-for-dinner.html
Love love love it!
I love this look. Mrs. Obama adds polish to everything she embodies. Not everyone looks good in browns or neutrals, but it somehow sparkles on her. The clothes become part of her and simply shine.
Gorgeous!
Beautiful, and I'll be it is even more stunning in person. That fabric!!
I like this width belt, it does not take over the dress. She always looks so glowing against that yellow backdrop at the White House.
gorgeous. Love the earrings...look how they swing! Has Mrs. O cut her hair or is she just wearing it up a lot lately? I love this up-do, but I also love when she has a great blow-out.
Those earrings are fabulous!!!
I luv, luv, luv my beautiful First Lady!!!
This dress Looks exactly like the Derek Lam Mrs Obama wore in Indonesia! , main difference seems to be the sleeves... Did she had it altered ? .... Mrs Obama's Genius at work once again!!!
It's outta the ballpark! FABULOUS!!
Mrs. O is sending a clear message that she is not your mama's first lady. LOL! She's very contemporary and she's and individual not to be compared to anyone else. Love her style!
Pretty dress and good detective work for those who spotted it! I rather prefer it the first time round when it had the sleeves. Looked dressier that way.
A+, high honors on this ensemble. I look forward to more information about Mrs. O's earrings. They remind of Ginkgo leaves.
I was not impressed with this dress until I saw the sparkles! The movement and grace they add! Wow!
Yes it is the Lam Jakarta dinner dress with the sleeves removed. It is an easy way to update a dress that may have been made the first time with sleeves precisely because she was going to a conservative country where women are expected to cover up most of their body. That entire trip to India, then Indonesia sported her most conservative wardrobe.
I just want to join the chorus of people who love this dress. I also loved the version that appears to have sleeves. I wonder if the dress we saw earlier, which was worn in a cultural setting where sleeveless would have been inappropriate, was topped with a sheer sleeve shrug or over blouse that was belted in way to blend into the dress. The thought of chopping up that dress gives me the shivers. However, I love both versions.
I cannot say that I like this dress better with sleeves or without sleeves as it is stunning both ways. I just adore these earring that our Michelle is wearing, it really puts an extra spin on this outfit. She's really mastered the art of accessorizing. Oh, what I would'nt give for a trip in her closet, now that would be fun!
I love this outfit! The sparkle in the dress is what made me gasp. It looked very stunning in one of the short video clips I saw. In this web article, huffingtonpost.com states that those awesome earrings are by Alexis Bittar. I wonder if they were made especially for our FLOTUS because I did not see them on any of the Alexis Bittar sites that I visited :(
To ALL and sundry, if you haven't "gotten" it yet, what this First Lady has proven in the last two and half years is that she marches to the beat of HER own drum, not anyone elses. So who cares if you don't like a particular belt, or earrings, or shoes, and yes, hairstyle. If you don't like it, then don't wear it. Your attitude will certainly not change hers, just as I'm sure she doesn't set out to change yours. As she has stated time and again, she wears what she likes and what makes her happy. Fashion is supposed to be fun not governed by some rigid set of arbitrary rules imposed by those who are afraid of taking risks. So for those of you who don't "approve" of what she wears on any given day, put a sock in it. Maybe you should take a page out of her book, it could possibly reduce your stress level. Your constructive opinion will be welcomed by all if it's perceived to be given in good faith, and without malice of forthought. As for the First Lady, her parade marches on, whether some like or not. So you better get out of her way, cause she'll either march with you or around you or even better yet, through you! As the song says, "ain't no stopping her now"! I may add, no one could even if they tried.
"malice of forthought"-What a great malapropism!
I love Mrs. O's choices of "party" and fancy occasion dresses and gowns. Those earrings are perfect with the dress.
i actually think this dress looks even more gorgeous in its sleeveless version. perhaps because the First Lady has a penchant for wearing dresses that show off her lovely arms, but this looks so gorgeous on her. plus the fabric and the length just make it an outstanding choice. the earrings seem like such a young, fun choice that i wouldn't necessarily think she would pick. but then again, she always seems to wow and wear something that you don't expect.