Stunning in Peter Soronen
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 7:04 PM 
Image by Paul J. Richards / Getty Images
The first lady is a vision in blue this evening, wearing a stunning one-shoulder gown by the great American designer Peter Soronen. There is a quality about this look that is pure perfection -- at once timeless and timely, embodying a thoroughly American brand of glamour. From the classic, handcrafted gown, to the impeccably chosen accessories, our first lady has never looked better. What a moment!
The azure blue gown was created using three layers of fabric -- chiffon over lame chiffon and silk. As is Peter Soronen's signature, the gown features a corset top with a lace-up back. The concept of the gown, one-shoulder aside, recalls the lavender Peter Soronen dress Mrs. O wore for the Kennedy Center Honors in December.
Update: A new detail to report! Mrs. O's shoes last evening were Jimmy Choo "Jasper" Rhinestone sandals. The first lady also wore a pair of Sutra Jewels blue sapphire and diamond earrings. Click here to hear Peter Soronen talking about the gown on Access Hollywood!
Top two images Getty Images / Bottom image Reuters
Jimmy Choo, Peter Soronen, Sutra Jewels
Reader Comments (223)
Three points:
1) a juris doctor is not the equivalent of a doctorate. It is a professional degree, like an MBA. So, while Mrs. O. has certainly completed graduate studies, she did not earn a doctorate. Any doctoral degrees that she has received are honorary.
2) the top of the dress does not fit properly. It should have been eased a tad across the chest, raised, and then had a small dart put in under the armpit so everything is tucked in and nothing spills over. Simple alteration but it needed to be done during a fitting.
3) Iike the style and the color is fantastic. Likewise, her hair and shoes are exquisite. But that fabric is not my favorite. It's metallic chiffon which a) is difficult to sew and b) has an odd texture to it, like those frosted bar glasses people used to drink from. In lighter colors, like beiges and lavenders, it looks light and airy. Here, it isn't as flattering as a lighter color would have been.
Breathtaking! Simply, Breathtaking!! I believe it was "gotten RIGHT", from head to toe. And the accesory of her "flawless enriched skin" only enhances everything else. This FLOTUS shows such class......scholarly, as well as fashionably.!!!
A slightly different photo shows the wonderful fit of this stunningly beautiful gown.
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Michelle-Obama/ss/events/pl/050108michelleobama#photoViewer=/100520/ids_photos_ts/r2017575286.jpg
And another
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Michelle-Obama/ss/events/pl/050108michelleobama/im:/100520/ids_photos_ts/r2017575286.jpg/#photoViewer=/100520/ids_photos_ts/r2906607097.jpg
If you were to flip through many of the photos of Mrs O on this night, IMHO, I think one would find their criticisms of the fit of the bodice is more a criticism of the appearance of the bodice in a specific photo rather than a view of the gown from many photos.
And in case you miss it here
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Michelle-Obama/ss/events/pl/050108michelleobama/im:/100520/ids_photos_ts/r2017575286.jpg/#photoViewer=/100519/480/urn_publicid_ap_org722d67aa952a47e282e9d8fad0c306b0
DOCTOR OBAMA!! looks STUNNING!
Greetings everyone,
I have commented once already but like the old gospel hymn goes "I can't keep it to myself" I love this dress and her hair do not even let me get started on thoes shoes. I love Choo when I graduate I am going to treat myself to a pair. I spend the majority of my money now on tuition and text books. I cannot get over her skin, man I wish I had skin like that so soft and holds so much moisture, I go swimming like almost everyday its a good workout but my skin is extremely dry because of it. So I envy Mrs. O for her glow I want it so bad.
Sorry everyone. I did not mean to type "Dr.Tsetse Johnson." Pardon my mistake.
I agree with Diev. The bodice doesn't fit right under her arm. However, the hair, makeup, shoes, style and color of the dress is a homerun.
I think Mrs. O looked quite lovely for her second State Dinner. I give the whole look -- dress, shoes, accessories, hair and make-up -- two thumbs up. I do not have a problem with the fabric -- I neither find it too shiny nor not shiny enough; nor do I think it has too many pleats and nor do I think said pleats make her look wide; I don't think her eyebrows are arched too high -- as I said on another post, Mrs. O has a naturally high arch. I'm not sure I understand why someone thinks Mrs. O's hairstyle is more suitable for a Hollywood event. She's wearing her hair in a curly style. A curly style is just that -- a style. Who doesn't change their hair style from time to time? And what about those who have naturally curly hair? I do respect that everyone has an opinion and has the right to express that opinion, but for the life of me I can't understand the criticism of this particular hair style, and then saying the First Lady has no class. C'mon on now, that's just a stretch. Mrs. O has not done or said anything or looked in a way that should ever give someone cause to say she has no class. The discussion about degrees and honors was very over the top. When I read the poster's line that said something like "I mean Dr. O" I took that to be a loving nickname and a nod to the fact that she was just awarded an honorary doctorate -- nothing more and nothing less. We all know, or I assume we all know, Mrs. O's bio and, therefore, we know she is quite accomplished. I do not believe for a minute that the poster was in any way suggesting that Mrs. Obama would or should now be referred to as Dr. Obama in the same way that Jill Biden is referred to as Dr. Biden. Therefore, I found it unecessary, Wanda, that you would seize upon that and blow it up into a big ordeal. Seriously, it just wasn't warranted -- in my opinion! :-)
Nyon, that picture is so so cute. Thanks for sharing it.
Someone else said too, this dress is good. But Hollywood good.
I really don't see people label critiques as hater. It brings down the first lady more than anything if you make her equivalent of what she wears. If we judge the dress doesn't mean we are juding her.
She is inspiring indeed.
I love this dress and the color. The belt is especially flattering.The First Lady is beautiful However, I must agree thet the bodice is not well fitted. This one flaw can be very distracting at such a special occaision. Th e First Ladu of Mexico's dress is consevative and does not leave any room for error. I must ad mit Lady Di and Jackie O were always stunning because they paid very special attention to the fit of their outfits. This meanshaving them tailored.to fit. This is by no means a meant to be critical. I come from a family where my sister sews.
I will be first in line for Jimmy Choo Jasper "knock offs" (which I will be able to afford) and as for those incredible earrings - I'm already scouting around online!
The dress bodice doesn't look right and comfortable under her right arm. It looks stiff, tight and hard. The gown she wore at t dinner with the Indian prime minister and wife was much nicer.
I am dismayed at Margarita Zavala's appearance. She looks mousy, like from the bottom of the Goodwill bag. Her hair is a flop, her heel height is unflattering, her makeup is flat, the color of her gown is grating, the bodice belongs on a different dress, and her shawl is frumpy.
This is a gorgous gown, perfectly chosen for the occason. It has the bold color and dramatic styling that the event demands. I love the understated accessories -- sapphire & diamond earrings, slender metallic silver belt and the to die for studded Jimmy choos. Anybody else would have played it safe and gone for silver or dyed to match shoes, MO goes for the edgy studded sandals.
She totally blows away the First Lady of Mehico, much to my sturprise -- I thought she would come up with something. Instead we get the dingy, folkloric, shapeless shmatta (like something a faculty wife would wear -- that's not a compliment) with a dark, drab shawl wrapped around her -- she looks like a refugee. Someone needs a makeover -- ever hear of makeup?? A hairstyle? this woman has a lovely figure, skin and hair, but you would never guess it from this appearance . Ugh.
Having said that -- you know there is something seriously wrong with the fit of this lovely dress on MO. The Peter Soronen dresses are great on her because of the corset shaping, the draping, the detail and structure (ie boning) on the top. She is tall and stately with great shoulders and collarbone. However, she does not have anything like an hourglass figure--that would be Beyonce, or Eva Longoria. Hence, the top has to be filled out, and herein lies the problem. Somebody posted that she is a normal woman with a full-breasted figure. No.
In fact, it's obvious that in addition to the boning and shaping in the dress, she's wearing some kind of foundation dealie which is pushing up her breasts, meeting the boning & corseting and squashing some unsightly armpit flab and backfat up above the dress. It would have been better to modify the dress so it is strapless and forego the bra(or whatever), or have a strap on the right side. Then she could have had some padding to fill out the top as she did wearing the gorgeous Naeem Khan dress. To sum up, over 35 it's a rare woman who can wear this kind of dress, she is not one of them, but it's very close to being a hit, with a bit of adjustment.
@ Wanda,
Let's cut to the chase, since you present yourself as the arbiter of who is and isn't a holder of a "true doctorate', would you be so inclined to let the rest of us uninformed posters know what level of degrees are attached to your name and from what prestigious institution(s) of higher learning did you "earned" such an honor(s). Let the choir say Amen! You should be willing to put your boatload of "earned" degrees on the table to compare and contrast with the First Lady's scant accomplishments (based on your condescending remarks). And finally, since you find this woman so lacking in your estimation, what the HECK are you doing on this blog? You must realize by now that this blog is VERY pro-Michelle Obama, so you must either be a sucker for punishment or you're one of those anti-Obama trolls who occasionally surf this site to drop your occasional stink bombs here and there. So I suggest you take a flying leap off this blog and land where you truly belong, amid the slime and sludge of the Obama haters. Oh, what am I thinking, you are just stating "your humble opinion" and you truly "admire and like" the First Lady, and finally, you "voted for the President". Sounds familiar?
It is intriguing to read the vast number of commentaries on MLRO and BHO at the State dinner on various websites. All the commentary on MLRO's dress, appearance and demeanor could fill pages, pages, pages. The commentary on BHO standing beside her was "Barack Obama wore a classic black tuxedo." Whew....what does that say about women? I think I'd rather not go there.
Bye Bye!!!!!
OK "the Cincinnati Kid", denisegirl asked you to educate us on the AA designers you believe that MO should be wearing. I am waiting or are you going to be predictable and only seize another opportunity to just whine about her designer choices.
From Wanda's "bye bye" post it is obvious that she relishes dropping her stink bombs and then slithering away. Since trolling is protected by the 1st amendment we will simply have to endure. She will eventually move on or change her pseudonym and allow another of her many personalities to emerge. Actually I find it rather entertaining watching as the many faces of eve pop up on this blog. Actually there are several multiple personalities on this blog.
Generations won't remember them though but our descendants will be reading about First Lady Michelle Obama
You go Mrs. O. Gorgeous
Well, I guess the haters are out in full force, coming to a blog about a woman they simply can't stand yet for some reason can't stop thinking about. HAHA!! I love seeing teabaggers go berserk at the sight of this beautiful brilliant black family in the White House!
They make me so proud. We don't deserve these people leading us. They are just too good and so many Americans are just too ungrateful.
To those posters who find Wanda to be divisive, rude, snarky, and condescending, might I suggest that you contact Mrs. T directly by using the "Contact" link on this site? It's clear that Wanda thrives on riling people up, and I agree with those who feel she is better suited to another site.
Non-passerat, your post comes off as being extremely rude and hurtful regarding your assessment of the first Lady of Mexico's outfit. To characterize her as a refuge is IMO over the top and quite frankly politically insensitive. It is clear that you also thrive on negativity.
There must be a blog somewhere for Misanthropes - why don't you two find it?
Cudn't resist the beauty and style of first lady of America and that's what made me to scroll all 119 pages of your site in one go. I know it sounds crazy but this is the truth...:)
Thanks for sharing all this.And for sure you have a new reader following your posts...
For the record nonparasset, I believe Beyonce to be the classic pear shape like Alicia Keys. The test is that hourglasses tend to be as voluptuos in the bust area as they are in the hips. Pear shapes tend to have small waists, larger butts and flatter chested.
Eva Longoria and Kim Kardashian like Marilyn Monroe are classic hour glasses, their busts are in proprtion to their hips.
Michelle Obama is a very busy woman and doesn't have time for the precise in-person fittings that these dresses require. I think that may be the issue. The designers are doing the best they can under the circumstances.
Mrs. Obama is ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! Everything is on point (hair, make-up). She has this beautiful glow that is just radiating. Another home run. She has definitely raised the bar for future First Ladies.
Mrs O looks stunning. I love everything from the hair, earrings and shoes.
For the anti Dr brigade, you really need to do your research. Mrs Obama may refer to herself as Doctor, so long as (in writing) she adds the postnominal "h.d." which specifies that it is an honorary degree.
In conversation, she could refer to herself as doctor so long as she isn't misleading anyone. Which would be a tad tricky, do not you think? Seeing as a few people know who she is? * weak laugh drained by ennui *
And why are you all bitching about it anyway? We don't know yet whether she'll use it so it's jumping the gun a bit. Wait six months. If she suddenly starts flouncing about insisting that everyone call her Dr Obama and pretending she's actually completed an academic degree then I'm right there to say "um, excuse me?" Till then leave the woman alone. Find something interesting and worthwhile to do.
Nonpasserat or whatever the F you call yourself, i know you use refugee as a derogatory term but let me tell you that you aren't fit enough to even shine their bare feet let alone Mrs.Zavala' shoes that you consider as such.
Refugees are the most resilient, kind, loving, giving, generous and nice people you could ever met and it is a privilege to come across one.
you can voice your disagreement of Mrs.Zavala clothing's choice in a respectful manner and to think you are the person who gets her panties in a twist when someone dares to say something about your Sarah Palin.Let's hope that it is the anonymity of the internet that makes you so rude.because i wouldn't want to meet someone this rude and condescending like you in real life. Mrs.Zavala is someone's mother and i bet that you would be outraged if someone writes such rude things about your mother or your love ones.
i hate myself for breaking my own rules which is to never read or respond to your posts.
chrystelle, well said.
Boazwife I've been through all those photos and there is a misplaced lump at the front in all of them. Jestina suggests that when Mrs Obama isn't moving the dress fits perfectly but it's at it's worst when she is standing still on the steps of the White House! The corset appears to be centred correctly so it's a question of breasts and fit. Hattie Carnegie suggested that a dart would have sorted it out but that would have made the line of the bodice cut in even more and that would have been extremely painful. She also says that the dress is made of metallic chiffon and it isn't. It's lame overlaid with chiffon. What's really interesting to me is that the one shoulder detail should have lifted the dress on one side and released the pressure on the other side - but it doesn't. And that's why I contend that the fit wasn't great. I doubt very much whether the excellent Mr Soronen got to fit the dress on Mrs Obama. In the past Ikram and the White House have been clear about the fact that no designers get a fitting with Mrs O. So unless that's changed...
chimene - what historical period do you do?
The first impression is WOW. But then I'm distracted by the bare shoulder -- too tight under the arm? The color is perfect but the glitter, the shimmer, detracts from the elegance. The belt is wrong, again. Ban the belts! And while you're at it, ban blue eyeshadow!!! She is so beautiful that I actually get angry when the choices are wrong.
Gosh, all credit to MO for looking stunning. But the fit of the top of the dress is so bad, it looks painful. At the back, her skin hangs over the dress - ugh! Plus the hem looks uneven. Very disappointed with the finish and structure quality.
I thought the dress was very beautiful on Michelle, and I really liked the different hairstyle. She looked stunning. However I did think, as I did for what she wore at the state dinner for the PM of India, that she went a little over the top - - more suitable for the Academy Awards than a state dinner.
The snarling going on here is very reminiscent of what people said of the then 19 year old Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 when she stepped out of a limo in a black corseted dress....the media comments were quite unkind (referring to her "puppy fat" under her arms)......yet most people were secretly admiring the fact that Lady Di was not all skin and bones, as I think is something most people in America also like about Mrs. Obama. Again, Lady Di was tall (5'10") and statuesque, like the FLOTUS. I wish they could have met. Now that would have been something! Diana garnered a lot of criticism for some of her fashion choices but will be remembered forever as a fashion icon because she wore what she wanted to, with flair. The same will be said of Michelle Obama. She has broken the mold for all First Ladies.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/03/16/article-1258314-0833954D000005DC-960_634x375.jpg
I can't believe I've actually read all the comments; here are my thoughts.
The dress is ill fitting at the top - as a matter of fact it looks quite painful. It has nothing to do with her being a real woman - it just doesn't fit right. Mrs.O has said that she likes fashion, but she's not a slave to fashion - which IMO is why these clothing mishaps happen. But she is definitely more than her clothes and carries herself well, regardless.
On a different note - I dislike the word haters and find it quite juvenile. Can we come up with another word...this is a fashion blog - we neither love or hate Mrs. O as we don't know her well enough to do so. It is quite powerful when someone throws an inflammatory comment out there and it is ignored by everyone - it dies a quick death.
Again, my suggestion is people voice their concerns about nonpasserat and Wanda to Mrs. T. I have written her, and hope others will as well.
My overall impression of Mrs. O's appearance, regardless of fitting issues, is she looks like a goddess. She is so very beautiful inside and out. Mrs. Zavala is a gorgeous woman, and she too has a great figure.
I just want to address those comments about the fit. First of all, any of you who think that these gowns aren't custom made for Mrs. O, live on another planet.
Secondly, Peter Soronen's corsets are true corsets. As in how they are originally made, not this modern girdle type of corsets you are seeing these days. You can pull up a picture of Beyonce in a corset, and it fits the exact same way as Mrs. Os. You can pull up a picture from 1850 of a woman in a corset, and this is exactly how the fit.
Matter of fact, pull up the official portrait of Lincoln's wife, and you will see the exact same fit.
@ Trinisamba:
Again, I say "sorry" for my opinion on the First Lady of Mexico's look. I had a visceral reaction to how much I disliked her hair, makeup, dress and shoes and did not hold that back in my brief comment on her. But next time I will censor myself accordingly.
I, in no way, wish to be linked with "haters", as, I really do feel this is a forum to celebrate, not denigrate.
My sincere apologies.
Love, just LOVE, the hair! And, I hate blue eyeshawdow, but she pulls it off!
Sigh. She is just so beyond awesome.
Posh -- mostly 11/12C; not much corsetting that early, 8-)
Re the gown's being custom fitted to her by the designer, this is at odds with what Soronen himself said after-the-fact. Ikram contacted him to make a dress for a customer, gave him some specifications (of two color choices,, he chose blue; she specified single shoulder strap). The gown is adapted from a short gown in his Spring or Summer 2010 collection (it's in the top row if you go to his website, three views). Ikram supposedly did not tell him who was to wear the dress (I have problems with this, but this is what he said in an interview).
Looking at the dress on the model, who was built quite differently from Mrs. Obama, you can see that the corset bodice does not ride as high as the Obama adaptation does. There may have been modesty issues?
Like others here, I have worked with designer clothes, including their fabrication. The tolerances in a garment like this corset bodice are very small - the tiniest fraction of an inch can throw the fit off. So can any change in the wearer's body (and all women experience those, up and down, from day to day.) So can putting the corset part on just a bit off-center, causing that pointed boned part to be slightly more to the front than it should be.
Too many eyes have noticed that this gown did not fit right in that upper right area. Not haters - just good eyes.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck!! That's how I know CERTAIN posters are truly HATERS and there is NO other word for them.
This is a link to a cool slide show of President Calderon's visit to the White House:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/photogallery/president-felipe-calderon-mexico-official-state-visit
They have great pics of Mrs. O and Mr. O and you get to see Jill Biden's dress.
EVERYBODY IS TALKING ABOUT HOW OUR FRIST LADY LOOKED AT THE STATE DINNER NOW I CANT WEIT TO SEE WHAT SHE WILL WEAR IN RENO ON JUNE 1.
Truly breathtaking! And love the festive 'do for the special occasion.
Thanks Nyon, that montage is priceless. Really nice!
FLOTUS KNOWS she is doing something right when ALL her haters come out in ONE thread to talk smack!! The woman is truly the stuff!
@ AttyGirl
Your apology is accepted. If you had been a registered commenter I would e-mail this to you but I can't. Please take this for what it is and no more. I mean the best.
I can probably be your mom even though I do not know how old you are. It's just that I have reached a stage in my life where I wish we were truly at peace in the world and I recognise that we can't all be the same or like the same things. That would indeed be boring. Not everyone has the inclination or the means to be fashion forward. I try to look my best at all times and wish I could buy more stuff but in the end I realise that stuff is not important. Only what's in your heart. I am a very proud Mom of one 24 year old son who is the best and most loving son that a mother can ask for. I wish that I can fix the world for his sake and all the youth of the world
All the best. I feel very proud of you because despite the anonymity the apology was indeed big of you.
@ Nyon - You are indeed the best. So sweet.
Have agreat weekend all.
They really look very nice together. How many times can I say wow?
Shelly
While she does look stunning I am wondering about the dress's fit under her bare shoulder....I'm curious as to whether or not that's just what a corset does and so I shouldn't find it as distracting as I do.
For gawd's sake! All of this commotion over a little flap of skin ....
Frankly, I would be *thrilled* to look as good in ANYTHING as MO did in that blue gown. She looked gorgeous. The amount of focus on what is really a teeny tiny INSIGNIFICANT issue in regards to the fit of the dress ... it's unbelievable. She wasn't a contestant in a beauty pageant. She's not on the runways of Milan or Paris. It was a fancy dinner party with her husband ....
I can't imagine how anyone of us would stand up to the kind of scrutiny she is subject to on this blog!!! If Michelle scrutinized herself as meticulously as we do, I daresay she wouldn't leave the (White) House.
Additionally ... there is something to be said for "letting the little things go ..."
She's looking lovely with the make-up, shoes....but really the dress is a bit ill-fitting on top. That's the first thing you notice-one side is lopsided. Otherwise love the color.