Double O
Friday, March 6, 2009 at 12:58 PM 
Photo credit: O Magazine
The April 2009 cover of O was unveiled today, and features a very spring-like First Lady Mrs. O. This marks the first time anyone other than Oprah Winfrey has appeared on the cover of the magazine since its inception in 2000. For the cover, Mrs. O wears a coral Michael Kors dress and a soft yellow Dear Cashmere cardigan. In her signature style, Mrs. O belted the look with the same clear waist cincher seen yesterday. (Update: Thanks to Mrs. C who has confirmed the belt is Sonia Rykiel.) Oprah wears a lilac shirt dress by Rachel Roy New York. Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun Times has the full scoop here, including this fabulous quote from our First Lady:
"I know that all I can do is be the best me that I can. And live life with some gusto. Giving back is a big part of that. How am I going to share this experience with the American people? I'm always thinking about that."
Oprah and Gayle are also discussing their February visit to the White House on the show today. When suggested that Mrs. O has been likened to Eleanor Roosevelt, Oprah replies:
"[Michelle Obama] is not likened to anybody. She is her own. She is so 21st century that there really isn't anyone you can compare her to."
Well spoken O!
Dear Cashmere, Michael Kors, Rachel Roy, Sonia Rykiel in Outfits
Reader Comments (114)
I love the way the belt looks on the O cover.
When you look at the photo from a distance you can't see the clear part - so the belt helps to accentuate Michelle's waist without any color detracting from color of the sweater. I also love short sleeve sweaters which I wear down here in Houston.
I don't get the comments about Mrs. O being photoshopped to look thinner. We see pictures of her every day! This is what she looks like. You can even see the shots from yesterday, wearing this very same belt, she looks more or less the same.
Speaking of that belt...yes, this is not a trend I can embrace! I don't get the clear belt thing at all. It does look very cheap, though there can be no doubt any item by Sonia Rykiel is super expensive.
Jenna remember the Vogue cover? A lot of experts said that was photoshopped to make her look thinner. It wouldn't be the first time they did that.
I love this cover! Just taking it in, it's so springy and happy! Michelle looks like she's telling a cute/funny story. Oprah is gushing. It's great.
And to whomever asked...the First Family is jetting to Camp David for the night on Saturday. The weather is going to be nice, so I'm sure it'll be a great get-away from them. Lord knows, our President needs it.
RE: is it Photoshopped?
I don't think the individual images are. However, judging from the way the two are not relating to each other in any way, I'd guess that separate images of each were placed in front of a D.C. exterior shot. (There's no way they were photographed outside, in those clothes, in a Washington winter!)
Kris, if anyone said that--again--I would be very surprised. Mrs. O did not look thin on the Vogue cover--she looked exactly like herself. And since, again, we do see her everyday, it's not exactly hard to tell if she's been modified.
In this picture, she looks like her regular curvaceous self.
PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE!!!!!
IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY AT THE SHADOW ON MICHELLE'S ARM...YOU WILL SEE OPRAH'S SHADOW. SHE WAS TALKING TO THE PEOPLE THERE AND OPRAH WAS LOOKING OFF (PROBABLY TO GALE). AS FAR AS MICHELLE'S SIZE IS CONCERNED... SHE IS STANDING AT AN ANGLE! SHE HAS ALSO BEEN WORKING OUT MORE SO... THAT SHOULD EXPLAIN THINGS. THE PICTURE IS NATURAL (I AM SURE MICHELLE WANTED IT THAT WAY), SO INSTEAD OF COMPLAINING...APPRECIATE IT!!
SOORY FOR THE OUTBURST ABOVE...IT JUST SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE IS ACTING LIKE THE CRITICS OUT THERE WHO ALWAYS TRY TO FIND SOMETHING BAD OUT OF THE GOOD (AND MY MOM TOLD ME THAT I WAS OVERREACTING JUST A LITTLE...SO...). :-)
I am almost sure the photo has been edited, look at their faces, they look unreal.
THE BELT!! Yes, it's the same as yesterday. I love it still!!
The ensemble: FRESH and lovely. A big thumbs up.
But Oprah, GIRL, you need to rethink things. That dress is very matronly, not flattering or sexy at all, and we know that O can be very very happening if she wants, no matter what the scale says.
Oh my goodness - photoshopped or not....can we focus on the outfit? Can we appreciate the colors, the energy from the two lovely ladies? The glowing comments from Oprah? The fact that Oprah shared the cover for the first time?
I guess I'm just a glass half full type of gal, but my goodness can't we just appreciate the picture on face value?
I think the belt works a lot better over simpler lines than the cardigan and frilly shirt! I can see that Mrs. O really likes the defined waist that the belt gives her, but I wonder if the same effect could be achieved with tailoring? No matter, in general I can get with the belt thing.
Oh Oprah, such a frumpy dress--that's so unlike you!
Mrs. O is very pretty in this photo; but, the picture looks a bit awkward. With all the nice areas in the WH and its private quarters to get a lovely background and setting, I do not know why a great photographer would ever select this one for the O magazine's cover.
There are very few women of any complexion who could pull off the coral/yellow combination so well. Nice.
I must say, however that what impresses me most is first, the perfect fit of the dress and second, the way the necklines of the dress and the sweater lay so perfectly together. If I tried that look I'd be a disheveled mess.
And those of you who hate the belt? First, belted dresses/suits etc. is a very, very classic look. Second, ain't many women of 45 years, who have borne two children, have the midsection to wear a belt that way. I don't. Mrs. O can and hey, if you can, do!!!
People think the photo looks Photoshopped. The cover looks kind of odd because editors have over-airbrushed both Oprah and Michelle. Not nearly as bad as Michelle's ESSENCE cover from a few months back or that US WEEKLY family photo that lightened Michelle so she was Barack's complexion, but airbrushed nonetheless.
Is Oprah's dress really that bad? I love the color of it...
Some tips here for short waisted women http://www.noubikko.com/noubikko-body/tips/camouflage/waist.htm
Belts might be classic, but most of Michelle's are not doing her any good. Rather than make her stylish they make oh so old fashioned. Look at that belt on Oprah...ewwww. This is the best belted Michelle I have seen so far, but still not good.
some more belting tips with pics http://www.youlookfab.com/2007/07/25/are-you-short-waisted/
On another note, when would Oprah realise that black is beautiful and it is not necessary to airbrush a black woman?
Airbrushed, Photoshopped - they did something to that photo. The light on Mrs. O's face and other skin has a comic book quality. Which is dumb, because she is a fantastic looking woman in real life. Also, either Oprah has lost some weight recently, or they worked on her part of the photo as well.
p.s. Mrs. T, that's Eleanor Roosevelt.
Oh dear, how embarrassing. Corrected and thank you Trudy.
I actually love the cover...compared to the crappy Vogue fake one...its natural and sweet. Love Michelle look here and Oprah looks like she met a saint or something with her hand gesture. The belt thing is what the fashion world call personal style, it works on her in this shot and not when she was visiting homeless shelter 2 days ago.
Vogue cover was Not photoshopped to make her look thinner....rather they put the wrong head shot with the body...hence why her facial expression looked weird.
First, what a great spring cover!! The colors are great!
I like that the shot is different. its not posed and its very bright... My only problem with it is I just think Oprah and Michelle should have been looking at each other... Oprah's looking off in space which looks weird...
Though I stick to mostly neutrals myself I do appreicate that Mrs O loves color and they work well on her...
I really like this outfit on her, even the belt.
I don't understand the belt situation.... Belts nip in the waist and creates an hourglass shape, This can't always be achieved through tailoring espeically when your wearing sheath dresses that aren't fitted.
The only thing that's old about wearing belts are the so-called rules for wearing belts...
This is not a slam to anyone but I truly think people need not take fashion so seriously. There shouldn't be rules for how you get dressed, if you look pulled together your fine. Let's not lose individuality because everyone has to follow some made-up fashion rules.
That's why I like Mrs O fashion choices.. She's not the most adventurous when it comes to constuction but that's ok. She makes up for it with her color choices and giving outfits on own twist, belts, flats, brooches, etc...
Comment: "The First Lady looks great! She looks like she’s lost weight?"
Laura, dear, it's called photoshopping. It's done all the time on magazine covers.
Personally I wish they had left Mrs. Obama's face the way it is. She's not a classical beauty but she is beautiful. Rap on the knuckles for Oprah's staff feeling the necessity to do this. They caved.
The irony is the title below the photoshopped Mrs. O that reads "the First Lady . . tells Oprah what's keeping her real".
I don't blame Mrs. O at all, by the way. Oprah, you got some "splaining" to do.
I will just offer again my humble opinion that Mrs. O is not photoshopped... She looks exactly the same as always. This is actually very candid shot.
Anyway, I just read that Michelle is joining the President on his trip to Europe later this month! That should provide a lot of fun fashion moments--certainly a few black tie events, and hopefully a really chic traveling outfit.
I love the dresses individually, but together - oh, no! The red dress classes with horribly with the pink dress.They should have worn outfits in more harmonious colours. Wonderful to see Michelle Obama in red though - it's my favourite colour.
Sorry, Jenna, but they definitely reworked her eyebrows and her very distinctive chin and overall it's airbrushed out.
Check it against the March issue of Vogue.
Check out this slideshow showing off some classic outfits of Jackie's http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/06/dressy-jacqueline-kennedy_n_172468.html
Talk about showing off one's waist and figure without sacrificing style...love it.
Suji thanks very much for sharing the slide show - it is rare to see so many of those Jackie fashion photos in color.
So great !
apparently i'm alone in preferring the belt with the coral cardigan yesterday, it looked less plasticky because the belt appeared to actually be the color of the cardigan and the buckle stuck out less.
this is such a lovely silhouette on her, i much prefer this as a "first lady uniform" to the boxy shapeless suits we've seen from our more recent first ladies.
This is not the first time, in fact this is one of many times, when I am wondering how could Oprah, with her money and unlimited access to all kind of experts, dress so terribly?!
As far is as Mrs. Obama goes, she can carry off almost anything!
moja31 - you are not alone. I thought the belt looked lovely with the coral cardigan yesterday. It doesn't translate as well (for me) with two differently colored tops and for some reason it looks much more "plasticky" over the yellow cardigan. Is the buckle coral colored? It looks so much darker than the rest of the belt.
Goodness gracious me!
The terribly opinionated know it all's that abound here are so off-putting and exhaustingly boring!
'High-waisted', 'photoshopped', 'airbrushed' and on and on they go!
Can't we just enjoy the first lady and the pictures Mrs T. shares, appreciate them and let it go...?
The endless arrogant pontificating is nerve-grating and seriously wearing thin!
Lily, if this site was only to look at pictures, then we could haved gone to a number of other sites like Flicker, Reuters, or the news sites. But this site is to share our opinions (good and bad) of the clothes that Mrs. O wears. We appreciate Mrs. T for providing an outlet where we can respectfully do so, but you just can't regulate people's opinion just because it gets on your nerves. IF Mrs T only wanted for us to look at pictures she would have created a site like Getty and she would not have included a comment section. Just don't read what you don't like.
I have to agree with Suji. Mrs. O. is quite short-waisted, and belts are not her friend. An empire dress that appears to be belted just under the bust would be a great choice and would make her torso look longer, as would a low-waisted dress. I love her outfits...just not the belts. As a woman of size myself, I have always felt that Oprah wears her clothing much too tight, a look which does not flatter at all. The sleeves on her dress are much too small for her upper arms, and only serve to make them appear larger than they are.
Continuing on with my research on short/long waists. Here's a definitive guide ....http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/daily/archive/2008/02/25/what-shape-are-you_3F00_.aspx
Hope this helps someone.
About the belt. It's SUPPOSED to look like plastic--and I love it. Perhaps Michelle Obama is shortwaisted--but I like her in belts. I think she looks great in them.
I do think the photo was photoshopped. They ALWAYS are in magazines. My husband and I were photographed for a magazine---and they photoshopped us. And no, we were not asked. Personally, I liked it. They made me look better--best photo I've ever had! LOL
This is a fun site. I enjoy it immensely. Thanks Mrs. T.!
To me there is no question that the faces were Photoshopped. That's par for the course in magazines. My original question was because the way their bodies look, they almost seem like a picture of Mrs. O and a picture of Oprah were put together in front of a backdrop. I'm still not sure where in Washington they found that was sunny and warm enough for that picture, but, whatever. I think seeing the pic on paper, as it was intended, will probably tell a different story.
I think the belt is cool. I like that part of Mrs. O's signature style. Even if a belt probably isn't best for me, what I'm learning is the importance of thoughtful accessorizing.
Thanks for the link to the short- and long-waisted guide, suji. It did help me. I'm shopping for a dress to wear to my son's wedding and I want to choose the most flattering style for my body type. There will be all those photos!
I'm really not that good at selecting the right thing to wear for myself, which is one of the reasons I come here (of course that is second to my main reason: my girl-crush on our First Lady).
I keep hoping one of my sisters or friends will nominate me for that show "What not to Wear." Except, I wouldn't be able to part with my comfortable shoes and I know they would make me throw them all away.
Good point Christina, I am learning about thoughtful accessorizing too!
Is there a magazine cover done without Photoshopping? Of course not. The more I look at this cover the more I like it, the spontaneous non-posed look. The three colors together (lilac, yellow, red) add some unexpected excitement. I keep going back and looking at it and see new details of objects and emotions each time.
Thanks for that Jackie Kennedy slideshow in color. It sure corrected my impression of Mrs O. trailblazing sleeveless.
Mrs. O looks fantastic! Oprah needs to get over herself. She didn't need to be on the cover with Michelle. It's Michelles' moment in the sun. And of course she got the first White House interview. The Obamas' were probably thanking her for helping to launch his campaign.
though it take noting away from the substance, considering looking at distance, lighting, and shadowing, I'd say the picture was photoshopped as many other high profile pics are. Those that say Oprah needs to get over herself...how can you say that? It's Oprah's magazine!
Wow they look wonderful! I will definitely be looking around for those clear belts for spring. Any word on where to find them?
Eva:
A: stop shouting
B: discussing whether the cover was photoshopped does not constitute "complaining" or "try[ing] to find something bad out of the good". There is nothing inherently "bad" about photoshopping.
Yes, Oprah needed to be on the magazine. She is the brand that sells the mag. If anything we should be estatic that for the first and maybe the ONLY time ever, Oprah gave Mrs. O a spot on the cover with her. And BTW, yes, the cover was Photshoped to streamline both Mrs.O and O. Photoshopping is not necessarily a bad thing; it just make things look better from a graphic and visual standpoint. It's just industry standard. Also, I would have preferred a better background for the cover pic, The White House is so beautiful. Let's hope the inside shots make up for it. This outfit on Mrs. O: Pitch Perfect. Not crazy about the belt, but it is her style and it works for her.
I really like the coral dress, and even the yellow cardigan I don't mind (even though it has short sleeves). I don't particularly like the belt on this outfit though. She wore it before, and on that outfit it was fine, but here I think it is not so great. Howver, honestly, I don;t eally like the look and feel of the photo. I feel Mrs O is very artificial, almost a doll. The eye make-up, the accentuated cheekbones, the tiny waist, it all seems a bit too much. Barbie? (Oprah is getting old by the way; that photo/dress is not very flattering for her).
Hi jojo,
I guess I see your point. However, when I heard about the cover...I just pictured Mrs. O on the White House balcony
alone, looking beautiful. You're right I guess we should be
thrilled she got to be on the cover with Oprah. Can't wait to see the inside photos'.
I want this belt. Does anyone know where to find it? I looked on the designers' website, but no luck.
PS. Who cares if the picture was photoshopped the main issue we all need to focus on is how to get that belt :)
I researched what was the temperature in Washington, D.C. on February 17, the date that this interview was said to have taken place. It was mostly sunny, with a high of 45 degrees. Thus, it is certainly possible for them to have actually taken this photo outside (however briefly, due to some chill) to get that spring look. 45 degrees during the wintertime is no biggie to Oprah or Michelle, who are used to Chicago weather.
However, the photo was, **definitely** over-airbrushed, at the very least.
@Michelle -- LOL! Thanks for keeping our priorities straight!
@Mara -- nothing is worse than that pic of Mrs. O on the cover of I think it was More magazine (purplish dress, black brooch at the neck that looked like a bow tie) They looked like they SANDPAPERED her face, i wanted to be like, hey, guys? We know how she looks. Calm down.
But again, that's the magazine world for ya.
JOJO: Nobody is suggesting that people not comment - that's the point of Mrs T's blog afterall: to respectfully and fun-ly celebrate the first lady's style-
But your (and others) high handed and over the top pontificating is taking what is supposed to be a fun site into an unnecessarily strained and hostile environment-
Some of you are taking your yet to be determined fashion tastes and opinions and forcing it down the throats of others...
It's so show-offy and arrogant in its presumptious "know-it-all ness" - Maybe you could take it elsewhere so that we who come here solely to appreciate Mrs Obama and her fashion can do so in relative peace-