Bold Blue Barbara Tfank
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 9:22 PM 
Photo by Mandel Ngan / Getty Images
For tonight's State of the Union address, the First Lady wears a stunning sapphire blue twill dress by designer Barbara Tfank. The dress hails from the designer's Resort 2012 collection. On the accessories front: an elongated marquis pin from Alexis Bittar.
The radiant blue dress is somewhat of a departure from Mrs. O's more subdued dresses of SOTU past: plum Isaac Mizrahi in 2010 and grey Rachel Roy in 2011. It also represents a shining moment for Barbara Tfank, an artisanal, Los Angeles-based designer, who created standout dresses for the First Lady in 2010 and 2011.
Update: Directly following the State of the Union address, the president made a phone call from the Capitol to inform John Buchanan that his daughter Jessica was rescued by U.S. Special Operations Forces in Somalia. The moment is captured in an official photo released by the White House.
Alexis Bittar, Barbara Tfank
Reader Comments (53)
She looked gorgeous! I'm extremely proud to call her my First Lady.
Oh my, she looks great! I love the color and that crossover folding around the neck.
What a beautiful dress. Mrs.Obama looked radiant as always.
That color was on point!
She scintillated and was his guiding star!
Mrs. O, is always so elegant, graceful and beautiful. An inspiration. Love her! Obama 2012!
I really love the pin. Super gorgeous and perfect for the beautiful dress.
Absolutely regal!
That is a beautiful dress! The fabric and color are perfect for the occasion and the pin adds just the right touch. Love it!
She is just amazing. ....I find her very fascinating. What a lady!
My mother and I gasped when we saw her. The color was gorgeous. She looked beautiful and regal...and just vibrant. Just the right accent to the President's dynamic speech!
I love gal, you don't blend in...wear a bold colour to make you stand out from the crowd!
BOLD and BEAUTIFUL!!!!!
Blue (Vera Wang, anyone?) might just be her color.
Royal blue, what a fitting colour for a Queen !
The Entrance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW1vF2KolnU&feature=related
Yes! Obama 2012!
Really beautiful color and dress, and I love that pin. I'll be looking for closeups today!
I wonder if anyone here knows how to pronounce this designer's last name? I've just been curious.
She looks wonderful - and I love this shade of blue on her.
She looked so pretty when walking out! Hair was on point as well! I think she looks her best when her hair is down.. I guess I've gotten used to the bouffant.
Mrs. T - Thank you for posting the links to the past SOTU dresses! The Mizrahi is my favorite but they are all really pretty.
So nice to see FLOTUS wearing the University of Kentucky color! It looked beautiful on her....
Beautiful dress worn by a beautiful lady!
OAN: Dr. Biden looked great too!
There is a full-length picture on TheObamaDiary and you can see Mrs. O shoes worn with this dress. Beautiful color! Love her hair!
OMG, OMG, I'm verklempt!
Great color, not a big fan of the dress ! Her hair looks perfect !
She was radiant!
I absolutely LOVE this dress. I love the color!
What a lovely and bold choice.
I love this look. The color is amazing.
Gorgeous color for Mrs. O and her hair was gorgeous as well. Does anyone know what Mrs. Biden was wearing? She was quite radiant herself.
Would love to see a gallery/compilation of all the pins Mrs. O has worn. Thank you.
This designer is not well-suited for Mrs. Obama...the outfit she wore to Buckingham Palace was not flattering and the wrong fabric for daytime...and this Royal Blue dress was ill-fitting and inappropriate for the occasion.
I LOVE our President, Mrs Obama and the girls but I think her stylist continues to fail her. She's a beautiful woman but should not be put in shiny fabrics except for evening gowns.
WOW !!!!
What a simply gorgeous dress in a stunning color! I would love to get my hands on that fabulous Alexis Bittar pin, but I'm sure it would bust my budget.
The State of the Union, it turned out, could be gleaned from the semiotics of the First Lady’s dress. While the President was busy reading the “do nothing congress” the First lady said nothing but read my hips.
http://www.acontrolledsubstance.com/2012/01/25/tfank-you-for-not-voting-or-the-state-of-the-union-address-blues/
Absolutely stunning...what a gorgeous First Lady. Our POTUS was on point in the SOTU address. This First family truly loves and works for America. Obama 2012...God bless Mrs. Obama, God bless our President and God bless America.
Again, Mrs.O wears a gorgeous dress, but i think the fitting of the dress needs some adjustment. the dress seems a little tight.
Love the color, style and pin. She looks terrific for a cocktail party. This sinny fabric made a beautiful dress unappropiate for this state event that is basically a buisness meeting. It was not appropriate. This makes the dress for the occasion a misstep.
To the ladies who thought the dress fabric made it a cocktail or evening dress, let's get this memo you missed about 3 years ago: daywear now incorporates fabrics once thought to be only for formal occasions.
And haute couture now incorporates shapes once reserved for sportswear. For the latter, see Jean Paul Gaultier's and RiccardoTisci for Givenchy most recent shows on style.com.
I too think the color of the dress is lovely but did I not love the way it fit her. And yes, the dress was just overall not suitable to the occasion. She doesn't need to dress to stand out in a crowd - even just looking at photos of her it's obvious that she, like her husband, can just "own the room" by being there. She is very good looking, tall and statuesque and an outfit like, say, the Jason Wu dress she wore during the holiday season which was black with a white metallic collar suited her perfectly.
What makes anyone think she dresses to stand out? Does she not do that just by showing up? I really don't understand that line of "thinking". If you don't like the dress, color, fit or whatever....cool. I get that. But to insinuate that she should blend in the woodwork to make anybody more comfortable is absurd. I'm not sure if you've noticed the number of designers that are showing daywear in shiny fabrics and vivid colors. They have been doing that for quite some time now. Yet, when our Michelle wears an outfit as such, she's "inappropiate". It makes me wonder if these old rules, that have been done away with by the fashion industry years ago, are still being levied against FLOTUS because of some underlying disdain. Even though a little sugar is oftimes sprinkled in among the muck, it still smells. Hmmmmm.......just a thought.
SHE LOOKED STUNNING!
Nice nasty is what I call it, CID!!
Oh and you're right, she did look stunning!!
I found the dress amazing myself but a little bit too festive for the occasion. And seeing all the nasty comments about the price of this dress( 2400k according to nosy People magazine), i think it would have been better to pick an old dress; We all know she has plenty of gorgeous outfits that would have stopped the critics. I love and admire this family so much that its hurting to see all the hainous comments. Why not avoid them, by wearing something less controversial in these times where many jump at the occasion to oppose struggling America to the so-called lavish way of life at the white house?
Really beautiful, as always! But would someone please, please encourage our fabulous first lady to stand up straight more often? Pilates please!
Mrs. T thank you for this site - - which always brings up my mood.
You two ladies are the best!
@Nyon.. You are so right! I haven't heard that phrase in ages, are you from the South?
frederique, I think she really does not care what anyone has to say. I for one, love that. People will always have critique, so why not just live your life.
I think this color was great. The shoes are banging. Her physique is fiyah. More power to her.
To the website manager,
I posted comments the other day---mainly to the effect that this dress was not appropriate for the occasioin. Once again, my comments--while respectful--were not included with other printed comments. Interestingly, there were four comments, out of the 44 printed, which had the same point of view. I wonder how many others there might have been. And I further wonder if this site is set up as a cheering squad or as a place for honest comments.
This is terribly disappointing to me.
Obviously, these comments should not be published since they are not directed toward Mrs. Obama's wardrobe, but toward the management of this site.
Love the idea of this dress, but I agree with others that the fit seems a bit off. It looks like it needs just a touch of ease in the body, and especially across the bust. There's no denying that our First Lady looks beautiful in color, but when color is as bold as this (and the fabric as shiny) the fit needs to be perfect or as near to it as possible.
@ Denise, yep I have lived in the south most of my life. I hate living in a red state, but at least my city is majority blue.
@ DLK, so what if it is a cheering squad. There are plenty other blogs for your so called "honest" comments.
;-)
Frederique, you suggests that in order to avoid any controversy and negative comments by some that the First Lady could avoid this by wearing something "old" and "less controversial". Well, where should she start, and where would it end? You seem to forget that for some anytime this lady steps out of the White House she's subjected to the relentless scrutiny of a whole horde of people, some of whom profess to like and admire her and her family yet they feel obligated to criticize and castigate her for what she chooses to wear. So no, she does not have to consider anything you or anyone else feel is appropriate or not. As she has said repeatedly, she wears what she likes and what makes her feel happy. For those who think otherwise, tough. I, for one, have never understood ever since she stepped on to the national stage why so many have deemed it their responsibility to "educate" this highly educated and self-possessed woman on what she should wear and how and when she should wear it. It's one thing to opine about her fashion choices, but I think many are missing her point, which is to wear what you like regardless of what others think and feel. Remember, she's not advocating that you should dress or act like her, instead she's is a strong proponent of your right to wear whatever makes you feel and look comfortable. For some your constant nitpicking and caterwauling have grown tedious and repetitive and old. If you don't like what she wears, so be it, she's not asking you to replicate what she does. So for those of you who just cannot help yourselves and contain your snark and senseless critique, I say GET A LIFE and do something worthwhile with that life instead of just harping on the same crap.