Image by Mandel Ngan / Getty Images

Image by Mandel Ngan / Getty Images

First Lady Mrs. O is wearing a gorgeous wintery plum ensemble by Isaac Mizrahi for the president's State of the Union address this evening. What a fantastic moment for the great American designer, and the perfect style note for the State of the Union. In the course of his address, the president referenced two initiatives that Mrs. O will lead this year: the fight against childhood obesity and a new program to support military families (the latter co-led with Jill Biden). It's an inspiration to see such an example of style and substance in our first lady.

Purple was certainly the color of the evening, also reflected in Vice President Joe Biden's choice of tie and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's lavender suit. Several of you have observed that purple is the coming together of red and blue. One can't help but wonder if indeed the choice of purple was a deliberate effort to symbolize political unity and bipartisanship. Are we reading too far into the clothes? Or might this be another occasion that Mrs. O and company have used fashion to convey a powerful message?

Update: You must watch Isaac Mizrahi's video blog about his reaction to seeing the first lady in his design last evening. Love this!

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

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 wear 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 combo 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

Now that New York Fashion Week has come and gone, we wanted to share the latest work from Mrs. O's favorite designers. We're almost certain to see at least a few of these looks in the coming months. Any favorites?