Desiree Dares in Comme des Garcons

Image by Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

While we don't often cover Ms. Desiree Rogers on this blog, we do greatly admire the Social Secretary and her style. For the first state dinner, Ms. Rogers made a particularly daring choice, wearing an avant garde dress by Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons. The dress, featuring layers of sheer pink and creme fabric and loops of pearls, is from the house's Fall 2009 collection, as seen here. When speaking with Style.com about the collection last March, Ms. Kawakubo described it as "Wonderland," continuing, "where nothing is as it seems."

State Dinner Preview

Image by Mandel Ngan / Getty Images

For the State Dinner preview this afternoon, Mrs. O changed ensembles, rewearing her J.Crew Crystal constellation cardigan, first seen in London last April, paired with a Rachel Roy "Marble" pencil skirt. The ensemble is cinched at the waist by a wide silver belt, featuring a clear square buckle.

To note, Rachel Roy is an Indian-American designer - a thoughtful sartorial choice by Mrs. O, likely in reference to the cultural heritage of the guests of honor. Mrs. O has worn one of Rachel Roy's dresses before, choosing the Reid dress, seen here, for a California conference earlier this year. Might Ms. Roy be a contender for this evening?

For those who love Mrs. O's sparkle, J.Crew recently introduced a cardigan similar to the one Mrs. O wears above. The Shimmering constellation cardigan is available here.

Update: A full transcript of Mrs. O's speech from the event was released later in the day and can be read here. Of note, 50 area school children, who take part in the White House Leadership and Mentoring Program, were invited to the White House to attend the state dinner preview. Lucky young women!

More Details on Tonight's Fete

Venue: Heated pavilion on the South Lawn of the White House

Guest Count: 320 - 400

Guest List: Click here

Decor: Round tables seating ten will be draped with apple green linens. Deep purple flower arrangements, made of purple, plum and fuchsia hydrangea, garden roses and sweet peas, will honor of the state bird of India, the Indian Peacock. A video of the state dinner tables can be seen here.

Place setting: Click here

Menu: Click here

Guest Chef: Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit

Featured Performers: Oscar-winners Jennifer Hudson and A. R. Rahman (the latter composed the soundtrack for "Slumdog Millionaire")

P.S. Thanks to maraabout40 for several of the links above!

Tangerine Twist

Image by Saul Loeb / Getty Images

First Lady Mrs. O stands alongside Indian First Lady Gursharan Kaur as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives in the East Room of the White House.

Mrs. O wears a tangerine-hued brocade dress and coat by Isaac Mizrahi, from the designer's Pre-Fall 2009 collection. Click here to see a shorter jacket in the same fabric. Many will recall that Mrs. O wore another dress and coat combination from the same collection to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Metropolitan Museum of Art American Wing back in May. To see that ensemble, click here.

We love the fresh pop of color on both women. Simply radiant!

For more context of the color choice, reader mjohnso2 writes: "it appears to me that the First Ladies chose to dress in green and tangerine in reference to the colors in the Indian Flag:  saffron, white and green.  According to Wikipedia, Saffron means courage and sacrifice; white means purity and truth; and green means faith and fertility." Fascinating! Mrs. O has been known to use her wardrobe to convey meaning, and this may be the best example yet. What do others think?

More photos of the first ladies follow below:

Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton

Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton

Fabulous Frock

Image by Susan Walsh / AP Images

First Lady Mrs. O debuted a new knee-length sheath dress to attend the presentation of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award at the White House this evening. Wide panels of coordinating grey fabric run diagonally across the length of the dress and bodice, meeting at the right shoulder, under a coordinating flower-like adornment. The dress features a coordinating belt in a tonal grey-purple, which sits at the natural waistline. Silver pumps and a polished updo complete the look - one of our favorties of recent months. And sadly, we can't find a photo worthy of how fabulous Mrs. O looks in this ensemble (at least not from AP or Reuters)! For now, you can have a peek here.

Perhaps this look signals exciting things to come for tomorrow night?

Update #1: Mrs. O wear a grey sheath dress, from the Moschino Pre-Spring 2010 collection.

Update #2: We were able to secure an image. Hooray!