Honoring Culture and Custom

Image by Charles Dharapak / AP Photos

Image by Jason Reed / Reuters

The president and first lady toured Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday morning. As is custom, Mrs. O wore a head scarf and stocking feet to tour the grounds, paired with a Stephen Burrows matte jersey pant suit. (The first lady wore the same sunrise yellow pantsuit by the Harlem-based designer in July 2010, here.) Mrs. O's head scarf, in animal print, with teal fringe and gold bead trim, puts a modern, fashion-forward spin on tradition -- demonstrating, once again, that no sartorial detail has been left untended!

Update: Mrs. O's scarf is the classic Prova “Sandinista” silk scarf fringed with three layers of fringe, a teal fabric fringe, a short gunmetal glass-beaded fringe and a pale lemon yellow pom-pom fringe. As many will recall, the first lady wore a Prova scarf on another trip overseas, during her trip to France in June 2009, here.

Target-ed Style

Images courtesy of Target

Fashion blogs have been abuzz with coverage of the new 136,000 square foot Target store that opened in East Harlem last week, with an opening party held Tuesday, July 20.

To celebrate the new store, exclusive designer collections for Target were revealed -- beach gear by Isabel and Ruben Toledo and colorblock knit dresses by Stephen Burrows (see above).

What's the tie to Mrs. O? Yesterday, we learned the designer of the "sunrise yellow" pantsuit the first lady wore last week -- Stephen Burrows. Now, how interesting that Mrs. O wore said pantsuit by Stephen Burrows on June 19, followed by an Isabel Toledo ensemble for the National Design Awards luncheon on June 21.

A coincidence? Or was Mrs. O, a self-proclaimed Target fan, showing support for the designers and their new collections? If the latter, what a fabulously clever use of fashion on the first lady's part. What do you think?

Opening Act

Image by Yuri Gripas / Getty Images

First Lady Mrs. O spoke to dance students from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and the Joy of Motion Dance Center, as they rehearsed a segment from the Broadway show 'Hairspray' at the White House today. For the event, the first lady wore a pale green, lightweight pant suit, paired with an Erickson Beamon techno deco belt.

Update: Mrs. O's matte jersey pant suit is designed by Stephen Burrows. And the official word on the much-debated color? Sunrise Yellow.