Fresh O

Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton

Taken in late May, the photo above shows the first lady meeting the granddaughter of White House florist Nancy Clark.

Mrs. O is dressed in an orange skirt and cardigan by the label Hanii Y. The double layer cardigan is a different version of the cardigan Mrs. O wore on her recent cover of Essence. We love the bright, burst of citrus hues here.

Mrs-O.org Site Changes

For the past few weeks, we've been preparing to migrate Mrs-O.org to a new platform. The migration begins this afternoon, and will take 12-24 hours to complete. Once migrated, the new and improved Mrs-O.org will include user registration, as well as a new discussion board (by request!). There are still a few things to be worked out in terms of site function and aesthetics, but we'll happily fine tune with your collective input. As always, email me at contact@mrs-o.org with any feedback.

Update: Thank you for all of the positive feedback thusfar! To answer a few other inquiries that have come up:

- The site is still transitioning from old to new, which I believe is why not all of the photos are loading yet. This should be resolved by tomorrow morning.

- User registration is a feature that was requested by a wide range of Mrs-O.org regulars. All content on the site will be visible without registeration, but to automatically comment or participate in the discussion board, you will need to have a member account. You actually can still comment without registering, however the comment will sit in moderation until it is manually approved.

- For those having trouble registering, some errors may be due to the site migration. If you're still having problems tomorrow, please do let me know.

- On a Mrs. O note - We hope the first lady is enjoying her mini-vacation in London! We heard she was wearing a Hussein Chalayan silk dress at the House of Commons yesterday.

PHOTOS: Thank you for the emails re: photos. They're not loading for us either! They may need to be manually re-uploaded which we'll begin ASAP this morning. Thanks for your patience as we work to correct this. 

Pretty and Punk

As we wrote on Friday, the first lady wore a Parisian-chic scarf in violet and green hues to tour the Eiffel Tower. We were curious to know more about the scarf's label, Prova, which we're delighted to share here.

Prova, which translates to "to try" in Greek, was started by Irini Arakas in 2005, and first focused exclusively on jewelry.  Before starting her design venture, Ms. Arakas, a native New Yorker, worked at Vogue as a fashion writer and editor for seven years.

When Ms. Arakas launched Prova in May 2005, the line began immediately selling out at esteemed stores such as Barneys and Kirna Zabete in New York, and Ikram in Chicago. In Fall 2008, Ms. Arakas expanded with the launch of the Prova scarf collection, including a limited edition line of Sandinista scarves and Skinny fringed scares, all crafted from vintage and limited-edition silks and beaded glass fringe.

The Sandinista style, which is triangular in shape, is the same style worn by Mrs. O (sans fringe for the first lady). The scarf was inspired by Clash frontman and punk icon, Joe Strummer. Pretty and punk - what's not to love?

Also in Mrs. O's accessories mix Friday afternoon was a distinctive purple wristwatch, seen here as the first lady toured the Eiffel Tower. We've learned that the watch is a  ToyWatch, from the brand's Neon Plasteramic Watch Collection in ultra violet. Mrs. O isn't the first to embrace this playful time piece. Al Gore owns one, and Oprah named them to her list of "Favorite Things" in 2007.

A Day in Paris

Picture by KCS Presse / Splash News

Mrs. O has been to the Pompidou Center today, and is now enjoying a bit of shopping around Paris, seen here. The first lady is wearing the "Lei dress" by Tracy Feith, last seen for a daytime event during the Democratic National Convention in August 2008. Click here to see our earlier post on the dress.

The dress features a bodice of hand dyed cotton and silk, trimmed in strips of metallic shot, tea dyed chiffon and cotton batik. The skirt is heavy linen, with peace lace trim at the hem, hand beaded with tiny beads and sequins, at the hem.

Remembering D-Day (Updated)

 

Photo by Yves Forestier/Getty Images

President Mr. O and First Lady Mrs. O are in Colleville-sur-mer, France this morning to mark the 65th anniversary of D-Day, honoring the Allied soldiers who gave their lives during WWII.

Mrs. O and Ms. Bruni-Sarkozy were once again stylistically in tune, both dressed in white dresses, belted at the waist. Mrs. O wears a white sheath dress, topped with a white coat of minimalist lines. Her ensemble is cinched closed with a wide, silver belt. Jimmy Choo Lantern heels complete the look.

Per the Daily Telegraph (Thank you Mara!):

The French president’s wife chose Dior again, but dropped the grey in favour of a youthfully chic and flattering cap-sleeved ivory satin sheath with a gathered neckline – just the sort of arm-revealing dress Michelle Obama has made her signature.

However, the American First Lady chose to relinquish what her husband jokingly called her “right to bare arms” for the day, choosing to put a coat by Narciso Rodriguez Michael Kors over a dress by Michael Kors Narciso Rodriguez (both New York designers), though the belt she wore was by Givenchy.

Update: In fact, the Daily Telegraph had their details backwards. Mrs. O wore a dress by Narciso Rodriguez in optic white nylon crepe, paired with a Michael Kors coat in white double face stretch wool.

And there we have it - American with just a dash of French, the latter perhaps a nod to her host nation. Mrs. O's sartorial savvy continues to delight!