Mrs. O Sparkles at Downing Street

Photo by Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

While yesterday we saw not one, but two grown-up dress and coat combinations, Mrs. O has brought out her youthful charm today, dressed in a J.Crew ensemble that has the promise of Spring. Here she arrives at the Prime Minister's residence, 10 Downing Street, dressed in J.Crew's Crystal constellation cardigan embellished with beads, rhinestones and sequins, paired with J.Crew's Dazzling-dots pencil skirt in mint green jacquard.

Beautiful Even in Rubber Gloves (Updated)

 Image used with permission from Miriam's Kitchen

First Lady Mrs. O visited Miriam's Kitchen today, a non-profit organization that provides meals to the homeless in Washington, DC. But not only did Mrs. O visit, she helped to serve lunch. Per the New York Times:

“My purpose here is to listen, learn and scoop some risotto,’’ Mrs. Obama told the group of about 50 homeless men and women.

“There is a moment in time when each and every one of us needs a helping hand,’’ Mrs. Obama said. She described Miriam’s Kitchen as “an example of what we can do as a country and a community to help folks when they’re down.”

We are downright inspired. Mrs. O is using her new role as First Lady to do so much good - and doing it all so stylishly. Today she paired a white ruffle front blouse with a salmon pink cardigan (we believe the same J.Crew cardigan featured in Vogue) and black slacks. A clear vinyl, red buckle belt cinched her waist.  

Update: Mrs. O's ruffle front blouse is from Isaac Mizrahi's new collection for Liz Claiborne New York! We have been waiting for Mrs. O to wear Isaac Mizrahi and are absolutely delighted. More here. Miriam's Kitchen was Twittering about the First Lady's visit all morning. Our favorite tweet? "She is beautiful even in rubber gloves". Image used with permission from Miriam's Kitchen / Photo credit: Rodney Choice

A Cappella at the White House

Photo Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

As The Washington Post's The Reliable Source blog first revealed, First Lady Mrs. O hosted a group of local Washington, D.C. 6th and 7th grade students at the White House today. Nearly 180 students in total were gathered to meet the First Lady and hear Sweet Honey in the Rock, a Grammy-winning a cappella ensemble of African-American women that specializes in songs about history, civil liberties and freedom. As has been pledged by Mrs. O and the White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers, the concert is part of an effort to make the White House more open and welcoming to the public. First Lady Mrs. O echoed these sentiments in her words for the young students: 

"As the people's house, we believe the White House should be a place for learning and for sharing new and different ideas, sharing new forms of art and culture, and history and different perspectives.  We want you to visit and we want you to take advantage of these opportunities and maybe see something for yourselves that maybe you never thought you could do or be. So I'm happy to welcome you here for our little Black History Month celebration.  I'm glad you guys are here."

On a style note, Mrs. O was smartly dressed in a classic white shirt and sage green v-neck sweater, paired with the same pinkish tweed (with hints of green, thanks Yola) J.Crew skirt seen in the March Vogue feature. A patent leather royal blue belt (worn throughout the campaign) and red kitten heels added polished touches to the look. For a short video of Mrs. O's remarks:

Mrs. O to Grace Cover of Vogue

Portrait by Annie Leibovitz / Vogue

So widely rumored that one had to assume it was true, The Washington Post has confirmed that First Lady Mrs. O will grace the March cover of Vogue. Revealing details about Mrs. O's self-chosen wardrobe for the shoot - a magenta dress by Jason Wu for the cover and a black dress by Narciso Rodriguez for an interior photo - the Washington Post article also shares perfectly expressed sentiments from Anna Wintour that will be included in the issue:

"Change was the clarion call of Barack Obama's election campaign," writes Vogue's editor Anna Wintour, "though I don't think any of us at Vogue initially realized that would include the difference that was going to be made by First Lady Michelle Obama's wardrobe."

"It wasn't just that her choices projected a simpler, streamlined, more modern attitude, rejecting the ridiculous idea that the only way for a First Lady to dress is in the dreaded White House standard-issue uniform -- the boxy, anonymous suit that always managed to look as appealing, and as comfortable, as armor. Instead, we have a woman who is happy in newer, less obvious designer choices like Wu and Toledo....It's inspiring to see our First Lady so serene and secure in her personal style."

Further coverage from the AP provides insight into Mrs. O's feelings about the "controversial" Narciso Rodriguez election night dress:

"Mrs. Obama said she is aware of how her wardrobe is being scrutinized, but she makes no apologies for her choices — even the Election Night combination of ripped-from-the-runway, fashion-forward dress and plain-Jane cardigan."

"I'm not going to pretend that I don't care about it," [Mrs. O] said. "But I also have to be very practical. In the end, someone will always not like what you wear — people just have different tastes."

We've also heard that in addition to dresses from Jason Wu and Narciso Rodriguez, Mrs. O will wear a head-to-toe J.Crew ensemble featured in a two-page spread in the issue. We love that no matter what the venue, Mrs. O stays true to her personal style and favorite designers.  Will this be the best selling Vogue ever? We'll certainly be buying in multiples!

Update: MSNBC has revealed the Vogue cover here (though, based on other reports, we don't think we were supposed to see). We also hear that Andre Leon Talley will appear on the Today Show tomorrow morning to give us a first glimpse of the issue, so either way, we'll get the full scoop then. Stay tuned!

Update: Style.com now has an abridged version of the feature article, "Leading Lady", posted, here. Click on the slideshow to see additional photgraphs of Mrs. O from the issue. A video clip of Andre Leon Talley's interview on CNN today can be seen here. He says the Vogue staff, in partnership with photographer Annie Leibovitz, "wanted the cover to evoke the real Michelle Obama ... to show her warmth from within."

Update: Mrs.O's Blue Coat is J.Crew

Though we previously reported that the blue tweed (possibly herringbone) coat that Mrs. O wore for her lunch date with Washington D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty was from Maria Pinto, we now have confirmation that it's in fact from J.Crew! We're told the coat is one of J.Crew's fall styles.