Bold Black and White

Photo by Mark Wilson / Getty Images 

The president and first lady have returned home to the White House, and while the Olympic bid was perhaps not a success, the first couple is certainly looking more stylish than ever! First Lady Mrs. O wears a graphic black and white dress, cinched at the waist with her longtime favorite Alaia belt and topped by a cropped black cardigan.

Update #1: We thought Mrs. O's windowpane dress looked familiar, but couldn't quite put our finger on it. We're delighted to learn that it's a dress from the Liz Claiborne New York Summer 2009 collection.

Update #2: Thanks to Charlene in Detroit, we've discovered that this dress is still available and on sale, here.

Sunny Delight

 Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images

First lady Mrs. O visited Palazzo del Governo in L'Aquila, Italy this morning with other G8 spouses. The medieval city was hit by a powerful earthquake in April 2009. As Mrs. O surveyed the damage, she said, ''I'm very moved. I and my husband have been very struck by what we're seeing and we'll try to do everything possible to support you."

Dressed in a yellow floral Liz Claiborne cardigan and chartreuse pleated skirt, Mrs. O brought a ray of sunshine. Fittingly chosen, Mrs. O wore a beaded brooch from Italian fashion house Moschino at her collar. Update: We've confirmed that Mrs. O's skirt is indeed J.Crew's cotton sateen Gateau skirt in chartreuse.

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!

From Isaac Mizrahi's Studio

A few weeks ago our friends at Isaac Mizrahi shared a video of the designer's most recent round table chat. The topic of conversation? The First Lady's style of course. This group, led by the king of fashion democracy himself, touched on several insightful points often breezed over by mainstream media coverage. We were particularly impressed by the commentary from Kirsten Naiman, a stylist on Isaac's team. She describes Mrs. O as an "incredibly intelligent, strong businesswoman that is also quite clearly and evidently into fashion,"  continuing that Mrs. O brings "a marriage of intelligence and fashion-mindedness ... that will be a good thing for fashion." Isaac briefly comments on Mrs. O's physique, sharing with his usual spark and enthusiasm, "[Mrs. O] is very body loving. The lady has hips. And you don't see her try to mask them or treat them as a detriment. She works her hips, which is so fantastic." We love everything about Isaac Mizrahi and have to think Mrs. O does too. After all, they're both champions of high-low fashion. We wait with bated breath for Isaac's new collection for Liz Claiborne; early signs leave us with a great deal to be excited about. [flv:http://www.mrs-o.org/wp-content/uploads/webisode_2009_0120_rt_obamas.flv 480 360] For more video segments from Isaac Mizrahi & Co. click here.