Before the clock strikes midnight and this officially becomes the second day of 2010, I wanted to take a look back through 2009 to highlight a few favorite Mrs. O ensembles of the year. With my top five outlined below, I'd also love to hear your favorite picks.

#1 Orange gold Rodarte dress in Copenhagen worn with a trio of vintage brooches / October 1, 2009

While the Olympic bid for Chicago was not a success, the trip to Copenhagen did bring one of Mrs. O's most stunning style moments of the year. The first lady has improved perceptions of American culture abroad, in part, by projecting elegance and sophistication through her style. It is a powerful, smart use of fashion, purely embodied through the Rodarte dress and vintage pins below, worn as Mrs. O represented the United States on a world stage in Copenhagen.

Photos by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

#2 Peter Soronen Twilight Gown paired with a Tom Binns necklace for the National Governors' Association Dinner / February 22, 2009

The National Governors' Association Dinner happened to fall on the same night as the Oscars, and as one flicked from TV to laptop screen, it was hard to remember which was which. Mrs. O looked unlike any first lady had looked before in her sequined Peter Soronen corset gown, accessorized with ropes of crystals and pearls by Tom Binns. It was the perfect union of classic glamour and modern edge, and certainly one of the most exciting looks of the year.

Photo credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

#3 Isabel Toledo lemongrass dress and coat chosen for the inauguration / January 20, 2009

Many Americans were introduced to Cuban-American designer Isabel Toledo on January 20, enchanted by her inaugural creation for our new first lady. Amidst a sea of navy and black wool winter coats, the eye was instantly drawn to Mrs. O's bold lemongrass hue, which projected an optimistic mood on the cold winter morning.

The ensemble in its entirety is an example of classic Mrs. O style. With the Isabel Toledo dress and coat, Mrs. O wore a Nina Ricci cardigan, a vintage pin from the Carole Tanenbaum Vintage Collection at the collar, green Jimmy Choo heels and J.Crew leather gloves -- a mix of price points and aesthetics, and a fresh play on color.

Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images

#4 Alaia dress worn for American Ballet Opening Night Spring Gala in New York City / May 18, 2009

Throughout the year, we saw the first lady embrace a wide range of fashion talent -- young, up and comers; established, mainstream labels; and a handful of lesser known, semi-couturiers. Significant among those is Azzedine Alaia, who has been described as the "last true couturier." Mrs. O publicly wore Alaia for the first time during the G-20 and NATO summits overseas in April. Soon following, she chose this frock, said to have been a long-time favorite in her closet, to wear to the American Ballet Opening in New York. The touch of sparkle and structured construction made it one of the best looks of the year.

Image via a kind, anonymous friend

#5 Violet Jason Wu dress with french knot embroidery, worn for a White House kitchen event / February 23, 2009

When seen from afar, one might perceive a simple, printed cocktail dress in this Jason Wu frock. But viewed up close, we discover thousand of hand embroidered knots, clustered in florets to create the pattern on the backdrop of violet fabric. As we whiz through glossy magazine pages, it's often easy to overlook the fine craftsmanship that goes into beautiful dresses. But we see a prime example of it here, offering an entirely new, substantive dimension to following the first lady's style.

White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian

Image by Jewel Samad / Getty Images

The president and first lady are off to Oslo, Norway where the president will receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

For her overnight travel, Mrs. O has paired a cropped Alaia jacket (last seen in Prague) with black pants and boots. A red scarf adds a splash of color.

Image by Jewel Samad / Getty Images

Landing in Oslo, Mrs. O has changed ensembles, wearing a custom-made, lavender coat by Narciso Rodriguez with a coordinating lilac scarf and purple leather gloves. This combination is the same that the first lady wore during the inauguration, for a ceremony at Arlington Cemetery.

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.

Photo by Mark Wilson / Getty Images 

The president and first lady have returned home to the White House, and while the Olympic bid was perhaps not a success, the first couple is certainly looking more stylish than ever! First Lady Mrs. O wears a graphic black and white dress, cinched at the waist with her longtime favorite Alaia belt and topped by a cropped black cardigan.

Update #1: We thought Mrs. O's windowpane dress looked familiar, but couldn't quite put our finger on it. We're delighted to learn that it's a dress from the Liz Claiborne New York Summer 2009 collection.

Update #2: Thanks to Charlene in Detroit, we've discovered that this dress is still available and on sale, here.

Image by Jewel Samad / Getty Images

Image by Jewel Samad / Getty Images

First Lady Mrs. O and the president joined in ceremonies to honor the late Senator Edward Kennedy this weekend in Boston. For funeral services held at the Basillica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Mission Hill, Mrs. O wore the same Moschino bow blouse she wore to visit The Vatican earlier this summer. Arriving at Boston's Logan Airport the evening before, Mrs. O wore a Sophie Theallet shirtdress, first seen this spring, belted with her famous Alaia.