Mrs. O

A Tribute to Joan Weinstein of Ultimo

2009-11-20T17:07:39Z

Image of Joan Weinstein via Chicago Tribune

This blog began a little over a year ago, inspired by the future first lady's style and driven by a curiosity to learn and share more about what and who Mrs. O was wearing. Understanding the various fashion influences at play in Chicago was one of the first steps in discovering the full story. As names like Maria Pinto and Ikram Goldman emerged in our research last fall, so too did one that we weren't previously familiar with: Joan Weinstein, the former owner of Ultimo.

It has been reported that Ms. Weinstein passed away last weekend at the age of 74. We are sorry to have never met Ms. Weinstein - by all accounts a thoroughly glamourous woman with impeccable style and unerring taste. We would like to pay tribute to her influence and legacy here.

Ultimo opened in 1969 as a high-end men's store in Chicago, run by Jerry Weinstein, Joan Weinstein's husband. The boutique later expanded to include women's wear, with Joan Weinsten at the helm. When admirers speak of Ultimo in its prime, there is often a gasp, an almost pained appreciation for how impossibly chic both the boutique and its glamourous owner were.

Ms. Weinstein's prized pupil at Ultimo is a name that will be familiar to fans of Mrs. O's style: Ikram Goldman. When ownership of Ultimo was assumed by a private equity firm in the late 90s, Ms. Weinstein retired to Florida and Buenos Aires, while Ms. Goldman left to begin her own Chicago boutique, Ikram.

While Mrs. Weinstein may not have had a direct influence on Mrs. O's style, she has certainly played an instrumental role in furthering the careers of many designers now loved by the first lady. As we began work on "Mrs. O: The Face of Fashion Democracy" this became increasingly apparent. Karen Erickson told us that Ms. Weinstein bought the first collection of Erickson Beamon jewelry in 1983. The same applies to both Maria Pinto and Peter Soronen, among others. Mr. Soronen told us, "I still have that first order from Joan Weinstein - she has such a beautiful cursive writing."

We would love to hear thoughts and perspective from those who visited Ultimo and may have known Ms. Weinstein personally.

For further reading, please read "The Ikram Touch" written by Marcia Coburn, "Mrs. C", for Chicago magazine in 2006. The Chicago Tribune has published an article on Ms. Weinstein's passing, here.

Lovely Lilac

2009-11-18T22:41:12Z

Image by Kevin Lamarque / Getty Images

What a busy - and thoroughly lovely - day for Mrs. O! Following her school duties, the first lady hosted an afternoon tea in the East Room of the White House to celebrate women in the military. For the event, Mrs. O debuted a lilac skirt and patterned blouse, adorned with a purple satin bow at the collar. We love the pleated detail at the neck of Mrs. O's top and the delicate layers of the cap sleeves. Also note the symmetric seam detailing on the front and back of Mrs. O's pencil skirt.

Images by Samantha Appleton / White House

More coverage on Wednesday's White House event available here.

Lovely Ruffles

2009-11-18T20:44:39Z

Image by Tim Sloan / Getty Images

First Lady Mrs. O is in Alexandria, VA today visiting the vegetable garden of a Virginia elementary school. Per the AP, Mrs. O handed out bananas and tangerines during the school's lunch hour, while receiving a few gardening tips from students - all part of Mrs. O's ongoing efforts to promote healthy eating and exercise.

On the style front, we can hardly believe our eyes! Mrs. O is wearing a ruffled, olive green blouse from J.Crew. Fitting with operafanatic's new thread on O.Chat, "I Own the Same Thing", we have the same blouse in the same color - and in fact, wore it to J.Crew when interviewing Creative Director Jenna Lyons for the Mrs. O book.

Congratulations Sophie Theallet!

2009-11-17T14:07:54Z

Image by Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

Congratulations to Sophie Theallet, who won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award last night in New York. The first lady has worn two of Ms. Theallet's striped shirtdresses in recent months, here and here.

Ms. Theallet will receive $200,000 and a one-year mentorship with fashion professionals to help market, design, and produce her future collections.

Colorado Chic

2009-11-16T23:19:34Z

Image by John Moore / Getty Images

First Lady Mrs. O was in Denver, Colorado today to meet with high school students, as part of the ongoing White House leadership and mentoring initiative.

We know Mrs. O's penchant for belts has many regular readers of this blog divided. But like the trend or not, Mrs. O is most certainly having a belt moment (perhaps complemented by an updo moment too). For today's appearance, Mrs. O paired an argyle cardigan with black trousers, cinched at the waist by a neutral leather belt. A stack of beaded bracelets completed the look.

Update #1: Thanks to those who have pointed out that earlier in the day, Mrs. O paired her argyle cardigan with a coordinating skirt. See more at the Huffington Post.

Update #2: Mrs. O wears a cardigan from Moschino's Fall/Winter 2010 collection.

Mrs. O Rewears, Remixes Her J.Crew

2009-11-13T21:24:32Z

Photo by Kevin Lamarque / Reuters Images

First Lady Mrs. O is hosting a women's health care event at the White House today, and for the occasion, is rewearing the famed J.Crew ensemble she first debuted on the Tonight Show in October 2008.

The November 2009 rendition of the ensemble includes a cut-out statement belt - definitely a hot item in Mrs. O's wardrobe as of late - and a sleek updo. Though we assume it's a coincidence, we cannot help but observe the remarkable color coordination with the golden yellow drapes in the background.

Click here to read the first lady's remarks from the event (it seems Mrs. O has a cold!). And apologies to those who commented earlier. We somehow deleted our first version of this post!

French Dressing

2009-11-13T20:35:28Z

Photo by Annie Leibovitz/Released by White House Photo Office

We are bending our own policy of not blogging about the little Os just a bit! WWD reports that Malia and Sasha O wore dresses by Dino e Lucia, a Paris-based childrenswear brand, for the first family's official portrait. Perhaps the dresses were picked out on their trip to Paris this summer?

Coupled with Mrs. O's Alaia dress, the first family's portrait certainly has a French sartorial influence! We applaud the first lady for supporting both American and international designers.

A Stylish Mission to Serve

2009-11-11T23:02:19Z

Photo by Kris Connor / Getty Images

This afternoon, First Lady Mrs. O and Dr. B gathered at George Washington Univeristy for the launch of Mission Serve. Mission Serve is a network that links veterans to community service groups, as part of the first lady's broader push for public service.

Mrs. O wears a Zero + Maria Cornejo jacket debuted a few weeks ago in Copenhagen, pared with gray pants. A black cut-out belt - one we've not seen before - cinches the waist.

Marking Veterans Day

2009-11-11T17:16:49Z

Image by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

In honor of Veterans Day, First Lady Mrs. O has joined the Bidens and President O for a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. Mrs. O is wearing a blue tweed overcoat from J.Crew, last seen in January 2009, belted at the waist for this occasion. We are intrigued by the dress underneath. Might it be the teal Maria Pinto dress worn for the DNC in August 2008?

Update:

Image via PRNewsFoto/THE HISTORY CHANNEL, Pete Souza

Also today, President O and First Lady Mrs. O posed with veterans taking part in the History Channel's "Take a Veteran to School Day." Sans coat, we can see that Mrs. O was in fact wearing her teal Maria Pinto frock from the 2008 DNC.

The Mrs. O Effect

2009-11-10T15:43:38Z

A few weeks ago we mentioned a noteworthy fashion panel hosted by Cindy Lieve of Glamour magazine at the 92nd Street Y. Participating were Pultizer Prize winning journalist Robin Givhan of The Washington Post and the king of fashion democracy himself, Isaac Mizrahi. Click here to hear what they had to say about the Mrs. O effect in fashion. We love! (And check out their full Q&As in the Mrs. O book for further thoughts.)