A Fresh Pop of Color

Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton via Flickr

Yesterday the first lady traveled to Bethesda, Maryland to meet with injured service members and their families at Bethesda Naval Hospital. In the photo above, Mrs. O is being briefed by Lieutenant Commander Todd Hazlett before the visit. For the appearance, Mrs. O wore a chartreuse button down shirt with a navy skirt gathered to one side -- simple, classic pieces, made new and fresh through the unexpected pairing of colors.

Update: Thanks to rm for sharing this fabulous video of Mrs. O surprising visitors on a White House tour the same day! 

Mrs. O in Harper's Bazaar

Image by Jason Schmidt 

The November issue of Harper's Bazaar includes a feature story on the first lady, "Michelle Obama: America's Got Talent". While Mrs. O has been most vocal about her "Let's Move" campaign in recent media interviews, this story delves into the first lady's ambition to celebrate American art and culture at the White House, including, most recently, the White House Dance Series. For the full article, click here.

While the interview does not focus on fashion, Mrs. O does reveal one style secret, referencing her bright blue heels paired with a raspberry L'Wren Scott sheath dress: "Well, you've got to get a color pop."

The World's Most Powerful Woman

White House Photo by Pete Souza

Mrs. O has been named the world's most powerful woman by Forbes magazine, topping even Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton, who round out the top five. The basic methodology for the list factors a dollar component and a "buzz factor," so almost certainly, the first lady's fashion prowess, along with its mass media following, were of some impact. More qualitatively, Forbes offers up this concise but quite astute rationale for the first lady's top seat on the list:

She has made the office of First Lady her own. A forceful advocate of school nutrition standards and military families' affairs, she's more involved in policy than Laura Bush was. But unlike Hillary Clinton, who championed a secretive (and ultimately unsuccessful) health care reform, Obama has stayed away from hard policy. A fashion icon and an athletic mother of two, she's Jackie Kennedy with a law degree from Harvard and street sense from Chicago's South Side. She's also effective: In response to her Let's Move! campaign against childhood obesity, companies like Coca-Cola, Kellogg and General Mills have pledged to reduce the calorie content of their foods by 2012. The first lady remains popular: 54% of Americans view her favorably.

The first lady's power ranking is also a good excuse to share the photo above, in which Mrs. O wears a wonderfully feminine dress by Barbara Tfank. Thank you to meta, who pointed out fabulous new photos on the White House Flickr stream.

Dressed to Honor

Image by Mandel Ngan / Getty Images

The president and first lady attended a Medal of Honor presentation ceremony in the East Room of the White House earlier today. The ceremony honored Staff Sergeant Robert Miller, who was was killed in Afghanistan in January 2008. To read more about the honor, click here.

For the appearance, Mrs. O returned to one of her classics -- a tomato red Maria Pinto sheath dress with inverted pleats at the neckline. A diamond floral brooch adorned the neckline.

Hello, Sunshine

Image by Jim Watson / Getty Images

The president and first lady appeared in the East Room at the White House this afternoon to host the Diplomatic Corps Reception. For the event, Mrs. O turned to a Jason Wu custom chartreuse satin sheath with inverted pleat bodice detail, last seen in April 2010 when the first lady traveled to Mexico, here.