In the Mix
Friday, May 7, 2010 at 7:38 PM 
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
First Lady Mrs. O hosted a Mother's Day event in the East Room of the White House today, where she acknowledged her mother Marian Robinson, who was seated in the audience (and wearing a sweet, tie neck top).
On the style front, the first lady mixed things up today, quite literally. Her three-quarter length sleeve dress combines a floral top and graphic plaid skirt, brought together at the waist in a twist. The first lady is on a bold style streak as of late. My sense is that this particular look may be a bit polarizing in that it challenges convention. Does anyone recognize the designer?
Update: At last we have the answer! Mrs. O's dress is from the Moschino Cheap And Chic Fall Winter 2010 collection. Seen on the runway, paired with a fabulous pink jacket, here.
Moschino Cheap And Chic
Reader Comments (80)
On closer inspection and having viewed the event on YouTube, the dress ( is it really a dress ??) well it's growing on me. Still not a favorite of mine but like others have said, Michelle wears it well.
It does me of Rachel Roy's designs, although the two dresses that Mrs Obama wore in San Francisco last year & Mexico this year stand out as my top ten EVER Mrs Oama outfits. So I'd be curious to know who the designer is.
I'm guessing that the dress is by Rachel Roy, but I haven't yet found the exact one. She had other such mixes in her Spring collection.
I "misspoke" in my earlier comment re Rachel Roy. She had similar dresses in her Resort Collection, not Spring. What do you think, is she the creative designer of Mrs. O's intriguing dress?
Bold, brilliant, fearless. I LOVE THIS. Mrs. Obama does not dress like the yellow pencil that most would prefer for a first lady. Lord, I love this.
This almost certainly proves to me that Michelle is a bit color blind!
I have suspected it for months.
In this still picture it doesn't quite work. But after the viewing the video of the event, I actually quite like this quirky ensemble.
Moreover, she epitomizes the idea of you wearing the clothes, and not letting the clothes wear you. Its her confidence and genuine warmness that enable her to pull off such a complicated design. And I love her even more for it.
My guess is it looks like the same designer from the ensemble she wore to church the day after inauguration and that she wore on her visit to to Susan Rice at the UN.
I watched the speech and loved it. I was surprised at how many ex-President's family members were there for this tea - Mrs O is very inclusive and I like that she mixes up her mentees, family, staff, all sorts of people all in the same room. It's truly great to see such a sweet idea being brought to fruition in the White House. The dress ... meh. I like the top bit.....ish. I like the bottom bit.....ish. I almost like 'em together. A leetle too challenging for me, but I love that Mrs O has the confidence and the savoir faire to own it. Loved the speech. Very touching.
I love this look! It's so fresh and so modern. Mrs. O please continue to try new palettes, cuts and fabrics. Thank you.
When Mrs. Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama compliments her mom in her speech, saying she never takes the credit for her success, her mom smiles with such grace and at the same time so modest. A glimpse of why the First Lady is such an outstanding down-to-earth human being.
Happy Mother’s Day to Mrs. O, and to Mrs. Robinson for being an outstanding role model, living by example and giving Mrs.O and her brother a good foundation, values, direction and always played a huge role in her children’s confidence from the early years of their childhood (without money).
So here we are, A first lady who is not only an example for two beautiful children, but for the world, who by the way, loves to share her parental skills with us so we can make a difference in our children’s lives. Amen. God Bless the Obamas.
.
Now to the outfit, well……stay tuned, don’t change the channel. I’m sure the designer is very happy the the First Lady of the U.S.A. and “Mom in Chief” is wearing his/her fashion.
Another outstanding characteristic she posseses ‘the inclusion of all people, all types of styles' and this designer knows Mrs. O. embodies the confidence of her own being which many women do not own, or taught to be/do.
AND, happy Mother’s Day to all mothers and women who are mentors others with their love, guidance and encouragements. ONE LOVE
To all you ladies who are so emphatic and adamant in your dislike of this dress, maybe you would think differently if you saw it in person. I had the great opportunity to attend the WLF conference where the First Lady was the keynote speaker. She was introduced by Dr. Jill Biden, and when she came on stage it was with this great burst of color that literally lit up the room. She was so vibrant, the dress was a perfect fit, and with the skirt length just below her knee, made her seem even taller. I felt like I was a spring garden. The combination of design patterns and color really works. I must say though, and maybe that's the reason why some of you are turned off by this dress, when I look at these still photos, I don't get the same feel for the dress. First of all, these photos gives the dress a much duller hue, reason perhaps the patterns don't seem to blend together. But in person, my gosh, it was great! To further compliment the dress, her makeup and hair were on point. She was truly radiant. So ladies, I would suggest that the next time you see the First Lady in bold prints such as this, you reserve your comment or maybe dilute your comments and acknowledge that sometimes certain patterns do not translate well in still photos. So you shouldn't make such categorical comments without having all the facts.
Quote Dasie:
"Bold, brilliant, fearless. I LOVE THIS. Mrs. Obama does not dress like the yellow pencil that most would prefer for a first lady. Lord, I love this."
What is this comment supposed to mean????
@mszonian524: You know, when looking at the whole outfit head to toe in another photo I got to thinking that the dress is edgy and I can see how many posters would really like the look. It's bright and different, and Mrs. O really does have the presence, posture, and poise to carry out this look. The silver shoes really do their bit to pull the look together.
@asereht: Your IM Pei Louvre analogy was perfect. We have a convention in mind, experience a change in that convention, and then learn to incorporate the juxtaposition into our psyche.
Thanks for the education, Ladies! I always love to read your posts.
she looks great. it looks like dries van noten to me. he is a master at putting various prints together.
The Cinqo de Mayo floral print dress was a perfect 10. This dress is a flop - but it would have been nice in either print. The floral upper section looks beautiful - and it's pretty much what's visible from the podium. The plaid lower section is interesting. Both would make great dresses - just stick to one print and mix things up in other ways than your dress.
I was there and I can tell you that she was stunning. That dress looked so lovely on her and fit perfectly. Sorry I can't identify myself.
@mszonian524 there are some dresses that look better in person than in photographs. I have no doubt you liked it when you got to see it. Just looking at it in a photo, though, it strikes me as just too much. What might have helped me enjoy it more would have been a cropped black jacket, perhaps something Chanel-y. I think you can combine prints, and certainly you're seeing lots of tweeds with prints this spring. But flowered print on top of print? Yikes.
That said, I loved the occasion, loved the shoutout to "Mommy" and think it's pretty amazing that so many notable women were at one tea.
It might have worked if the colors were similar. It's a very Indonesian/Balinese look. Not a fan, I'll just be honest. But her hair and makeup are stunning.
First off, she looks good in anything. But I for one am glad for whatever she wears as long as it doesn't include a wide belt cinched around a sweater. The sheath dresses are the best but anything is better than the belted-sweater!
The top is definitely a Thakoon design, but I am not sure about the skirt.
@Hattie Carnegie,
So you didn't like the First Lady's dress, so what! In the end, it's her look and she looked fabulous in it. Maybe the reason you don't like it is because you couldn't carry off such a bold look anyway, so at least acknowledge it as such. That's what fashion is all about, trying different looks, some bold, some avant garde, some playful, some serious and conservative. In any event, it's the wearer's choice, and in the case of the First Lady, she seems to have the knack of carrying off different looks very well. So if the look she chooses doesn't work for you (and others), so be it, it works for her. That's the key, it's her choice, not yours. Maybe you would choose something different. You don't see anyone being critical of your choices, or are they?
I grew up surrounded by women (my mother, neighbors, and relatives) who loved their flower gardens and trellises. Mrs. Obama, in my opinion, has chosen a dress that captures, not only the beauty of the trellis and flowers amidst its structure, she is wearing the embodiment of a garden women enjoy attending to and observing its growth. It's sort of a whimsical, fun and artistic venue all wrapped into one. If spring has a voice, it's saying, 'I'm Mother's Spring' in this superb outfit!
This dress is not on my list of favorites.
I long for the month of March when her wardrobe was full of pleasant surprises and soothing to the eye.
But, I still love MO !
I cannot stop looking at this dress. It is simply gorgeous, IMO. I hope that we can get the details on this design. This may just be my all time favorite!
Oh Yeah right Anon......
Very convenient.......
The original Moschino Cheap & Chic design was proportioned quite differently. And had a much shorter skirt, so there was far less of the abstract plaid. It's here in the Cheap & Chic runway slideshow:
http://www.style.com/fashionshows/fullscreen/F2010RTW-CHEAPCHIC/
The Cheap & Chic minidress is #9 in the slideshow linked in my last post.
Mrs. O is the definition of the word "fashion" for 2010! That means, if she DOES it, it's right! Therefore, she pulls it off just swell! However, it is HER and not the outfit. That outfit on anybody else--no way! Any other prominent person would be rocketed to #1 on the worst-dressed list. I keep coming back to this outfit over and over, though. It's spell-binding!
I generally like contrasts, but there is too much dissonance here...to work, I think the pairing needs either one more element of continuity, or one less element of discontinuity.
I wonder if this dress might have looked more "pulled-together" with the pink jacket? Because then the pink of the floral and the pink of the plaid might have come together more.
This isn't one of my faves. But I think this is like many of Mrs O's outfits in that it probably looks tons better in person than it does in pictures.
Love the First Lady,,,,but not feeling this print. Too much going on for me. However, I do agree that you must really know who you are to wear this and there is no doubt that Michelle Robinson Obama knows who she is!