Dresses, Old and New

Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton

May 20: To greet a crowd at a meeting of the Corporation for National and Community Service, Mrs. O wore a blue - never seen before! - floral dress by Moschino. The print has some resemblance to this Moschino skirt worn in October 2008. Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton

April 30:To meet hostesses at the annual Congressional Club Luncheon at the Washington Hilton Hotel, Mrs. O wore Thakoon's floral inside-out dress, last worn publicly for the first Presidential debate in September 2008. Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton

May 13: First Lady Mrs. O wore a purple polka dot dress from the 2009 Lanvin resort collection for a meeting with Communities In Schools board members at the Ferebee-Hope Elementary School in Washington. For more fabulous photos of First Lady Mrs. O, see the updated White House Flickr page, here

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Behind the Scenes: Congressional Spouse Luncheon

Last week, First Lady Mrs. O hosted a special luncheon at the White House for the spouses of members of Congress. In attendance was Mrs. Childers of Mississippi, wife of Congressman Travis Childers, pictured with Mrs. O above.

For the event Mrs. O wore a long black skirt, metallic shell, Moschino pearl cluster brooch and what appears to be a coordinating jacket -- trimmed with a ruffle of tulle and clusters of similar gold pearls. With her hair swept up, Mrs. O looks every bit the part of chic hostess. We love! Check out more photos from the event here.

Update: We have confirmed Mrs. O's jacket is indeed Moschino! The crepe jacket, trimmed with pearls, is from Moschino's Spring Summer 2009 collection, sold at Ikram in Chicago.

Happy Memorial Day!

Photo by Alexis C. Glenn-Pool/Getty Images

The Os are off to Camp David for the long weekend and looking ready for the summer season. We are loving Mrs. O's easy, chic head to toe weekend look.

Speaking of which, there's something familiar about Mrs. O's short sleeve cardigan. Might it be from Isaac Mizrahi's Spring collection for Liz Claiborne? (This print is what sparked the thought.) Update: We've confirmed that the cardigan is indeed Liz Claiborne!

And as Gail points out, Mrs. O's dress (particularly from this angle) appears to be a pleated poplin dress by Gap.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day!

Time: The Meaning of Mrs. O

Mrs. O appears on the cover of Time, accompanied by a feature article inside and a collection of photographs by Callie Shell.

"...My message to women, if anything, over the course of this, is, find your space. Find your spot. Wear what you love. Choose the careers that may have meaning to you.

Jasmin Shokrian: In Detail

Photo by Yuri Gripas / Reuters

Is it just us, or does Mrs. O's wardrobe grow more exciting by the day? The recent introduction of new names and aesthetics thoroughly delights. One such fabulous example: Jasmin Shokrian.

Last week Mrs. O wore a skirt by the L.A. based designer for her appearance in front of the Corporation for National and Community Service. 

Trained at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in film, sculpture and painting, Ms. Shokrian infuses her varied artistic background into her designs. 

Podium-pained, we were unable to get a clear view of Mrs. O's skirt, but intrigued by its description: “The fabric is primarily a vintage double silk crepe. The sheer part of the skirt is a band of handmade caught burlap thread encased in silk chiffon and navy silk charmeuse stripes juxtaposed with bands of natural cotton muslin.”

Fortunately, Ms. Shokrian had a collection photo on hand (pictured after the jump), which gives us a better sense of the wonderful detail in this piece. She was also so kind to answer a few of our questions:

Q: Mrs. O's skirt is part of your A/W 2009 collection. What was the inspiration?

JS: For me, this season was about elements of craft mixed with something futuristic. I often piece together narratives to create an imaginary story and work from that. It may be a difficult time for the world, but when we look back I think we'll find that it was a great time of evolution and creativity. This is was really got me thinking about the mix of heritage hand-crafted items and more sleek futuristic aspects. We can slow down a little and take a deeper look at what we are capable of doing and what really makes us happy. I wanted to look at all of these elements, textures I am drawn to and the feelings art can bring us.

Q: What made you mix burlap and silk chiffon, muslin and silk charmeuse?

JS: I often like to incorporate "high and low" textures, but honestly I just felt it was more symbolic at this time. I love to play with the associations that different fabrics have. Muslin and burlap are working fabrics and a bit humble, rough and architectural by association, especially in comparison to silks and delicate fabrics like chiffon.  The juxtaposition is what I'm interested in. I feel it's kind of a reflection of our everyday lives. A detailed collection photo of the Jasmin Shokrian skirt follows after the jump.

Image used with kind permission from Jasmin Shokrian