Mrs. O at Harper High

The First Lady met with students and counselors at Harper High School in Chicago, IL today in an effort to address youth violence in the city. Per the Office of the First Lady, "Harper High School is a Chicago public school that has been profoundly affected by violence – 29 current or former students have been shot in the past year; 8 of them died."

For such a serious occasion, Mrs. O opted for a more subdued look, wearing a clean-lined, blue silk shantung suit by Narciso Rodriguez, previously seen here.

Memphis Soul

As part of the "In Performance at the White House" series, Mrs. O hosted musicians and performers for a Memphis Soul workshop yesterday. Middle and high school students also took part in the interactive, daytime event.

For the evening portion of the program, there were performances by Alabama Shakes, William Bell, Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd, Ben Harper, Queen Latifah, Cyndi Lauper, Joshua Ledet, Sam Moore, Charlie Musselwhite, Mavis Staples and Justin Timberlake, with musical direction by Booker T. Jones.

Plus, there was quite a fashion crowd! Designers Jenna Lyons, Prabal Gurung, Rachel Roy, Bibhu Mohapatra were all in attendance, as was Tracy Smith, owner of House of Lavande, and Mary Alice Stephenson, stylist and beauty expert. What message is in the mix?

On the style front: For the daytime event, Mrs. O embraced bold color, wearing a yellow pantsuit with a pink blouse and gold necklace. For evening, the First Lady opted for a one shoulder black gown, seen here (thank a MI Mom!).

Update: Thanks to Charlene in Detroit, who identified Mrs. O's suit as Preen from Spring 2012, seen here. The First Lady previously wore the jacket with a Preen dress in June 2012, here.

42

The First Lady hosted a workshop for the film "42" at the White House this week. The movie is a biographical film about the life of baseball legend Jackie Robinson. Harrison Ford, an actor in the movie, and Rachel Robinson, the wife of the late Jackie Robinson, joined Mrs. O for the event.

On the fashion front, the First Lady wore a navy blue dress and jacket, accessorized with an Alexis Bittar flower pin.

Spring Planting

The First Lady hosted the spring planting of the White House kitchen garden on Thursday. Mrs. O had help from students from Sarah Moore Greene Magnet Technology Academy in Tennessee, Arthur D. Healey School in Massachusetts, Benjamin David Gullett Elementary School in Florida, Bancroft Elementary School in Washington, D.C. and Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Washington, D.C.

For her garden work, Mrs. O wore printed jeans with a yellow draped neck top and striped anorak jacket. Green Boss "Dirt Digger" gardening gloves, available here, completed the casual look.

On a Roll

Today marked the 135th annual White House Easter Egg Roll. For the event, Mrs. O paired white pants with a J.Crew Floral-stripe tee under a Talbots Grace Fit Piped Seersucker Jacket, worn in London for the Oympics last July, here. With stipes and seersucker, Mrs. O is adding a dash of prep to her spring style!