President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama Danced at the Inaugural Ball

Moments before the first dance at the first inaugural ball, President Obama emerged onstage Tuesday hand in hand with his wife, Michelle, who glittered in a floor-length ivory one-shoulder gown.The latest on the inauguration of Barack Obama and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion.“How good-looking is my wife?” Mr. Obama asked the crowd at the Neighborhood Ball. During the Beyoncé rendition of “At Last,” Mr. Obama accidentally stepped on Mrs. Obama’s hem, revealing that the new president might be better on the basketball court than on the dance floor.

So began a marathon of ball-going for the first couple that went on into the early morning hours on Wednesday.The balls capped off a seemingly endless day of photographs, speeches, parades and handshakes for the new president and first lady.Both the Obamas and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his wife, Jill, vowed to attend all 10 official balls, and they began just after 8:30 on a frigid Washington evening. The parties were scattered across the city, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center downtown, the Washington Hilton in Dupont Circle, the National Building Museum, the National Guard Armory and Union Station. The Obamas’ daughters, Malia and Sasha, did not show up at any of the balls, but their mother told ABC News that they would not go back to school until Thursday.

After the Neighborhood Ball, a $25-a-head party that was meant to make the evening accessible to just about anyone, the Obamas walked upstairs at the convention center to the Obama Home States Ball, a party for residents of Illinois and Hawaii.

Read more...

Michelle Obama Sizzles In Jason Wu Gown for Inaugural Balls

First Lady Michelle Obama stuck with her penchant for going off the beaten fashion path by picking emerging designer Jason Wu for her inaugural ballgown.The cream-colored one-shouldered dress, which had a fitted bodice and flared skirt, was a surprising pick for the First Lady, who has typically worn striking shades such as crimson or plum during key political appearances. Mr. Wu, a 26-year-old designer who was born in Taipei, has been designing for just a few years and only recently got picked up by major stores like Nordstrom.

Although only 26, the Taipei native has already achieved many accomplishments. His family moved to Vancouver when Wu was 9 where he began learning how to sew, draft patterns, and sketch in fashion proportions by using dolls as mannequins. At the age of 14, he went to study sculpture in Tokyo and then spent his senior year of high school in Paris, where he decided to become a fashion designer. Wu then enrolled in the prestigious Parsons School of Design and interned with Narciso Rodriguez.

In February 2006 he debuted his collection, emerging as one of the leading new American talents. The Jason Wu collection is carried at Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Ikram, Nordstrom, Susan of Burlingame and Louis Boston. The fashion star is a favorite among press, stylists and celebrities including Amber Valetta, Leighton Meester, Joy Bryant, Gretchen Mol and Kerry Washington.By contrast, Jill Biden seemed to have chosen something — a red Fleurette coat and a belted glen plaid dress by Milly — that she might have worn any day.

Read more...

Michelle Obama Shines in Isabel Toledo Outfit During Swearing-in Ceremony

First lady Michelle Obama wore a sparkling yellow-gold sheath dress with matching coat by Cuban-born American designer Isabel Toledo for the inauguration of her husband, a choice many applauded as a cheerful message of hope and a vote for the American fashion industry.She paired the embellished ensemble with green gloves from J. Crew and green shoes.President Barack Obama wore a red tie and white shirt with his suit, topped with an overcoat adorned with an American flag pin.

Their daughters were style icons in their own right, with 10-year-old Malia in a double-breasted periwinkle-blue coat with a blue-ribbon bow at the waist, and Sasha, 7, in a pink coat with orange scarf and satin belt, a coral-colored dress peeking out at the hem. Their coats were from Crewcuts by J. Crew.

The fashion industry has anxiously looked to the election of Obama for months, embracing his wife as an emblem and ambassador of modern American style. She has won praise for her penchant for lesser-known designers and bold fashion choices, mixed with her unabashed love for mass fashion from mainstream American retailers."She is single-handedly breathing new life into designers like Narciso Rodriguez and Isabel Toledo, who have had a rocky past," said red-carpet and editorial stylist Mary Alice Stephenson.

"What's so powerful about Michelle Obama is we all see ourselves in her. She's a modern woman who is fashionable and even flamboyant in her style and she is still taken seriously," she said. "She's wearing that dress today for all of us. We're all wearing that dress with her. The dress is elegant, appropriate and has the individual style stamp of Michelle Obama and is timely for a woman in her 40s � and she wears embellishment during the day. Hallelujah!"

Read more...

Michelle Obama For En Vogue!

Vogue is after Michelle Obama for a cover story. She is in high demand, not surprisingly. If she accepts the interview, Michelle will be the second first lady to ever be on the cover of Vogue. Hillary Clinton was the first.A vogue spokesman said that “Starting with Eleanor Roosevelt, it’s been a long-standing tradition to photograph the new first lady. So needless to say, we are very interested in working with Mrs. Obama. Precisely how is still being discussed”.

Here is a photo of the oil painting of Michelle and her daughter Sasha which was unveiled on Wednesday as part of an exhibition by artist Elizabeth Peyton. Michelle and Sasha are listening to Barack Obamo at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Read more...