State Dinner Preview
Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 2:36 PM 
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!
J.Crew, Rachel Roy
Reader Comments (48)
I still believe that Rachel Roy could be the designer for the night. She identifies herself with the Indian/ethnic culture, so that is still an Indian designer IMO.
I wish I could be there. Mrs. O, I hope U have the nite of your life!
Mmmmm, I like this. Very cool and chic.
Another winner. And very appropriate for meeting with teenage girls. I can state enough how much I love the openness to the White House. I grew up in the District, and I've never seen the inside of the White House as much as I have since the Obamas have taken residence. I feel like I know every room of the White House now and what it actually looks like.
The fact that this state dinner will be livestreamed is just another example of the openness they bring. When has the public been able to look in on a White House state dinner? Love my President and First Lady to pieces :)
I liked this sweater the first time she wore it and I still like it now. But I'm wondering why she didn't just keep on the Mizrahi dress though. It was gorgeous.
AS USUAL FLOTUS HAS UPDATE AND OLDIE SHE KNOW HOW TO REWEAR CLOTHS I N A RECESSION. I WILL BE WATCHING TONIGHT ON C-SPAN
Looking good FLOTUS! Looking great, in fact!
Mrs. O has been wowwing me all day....but..... are my eyes deceiving me? I am seeing the belt as clear and not silver.
I am excitedly looking forward to tonight's dinner ....for the dress of course!!
You are right, trinisamba, the belt indeed looks clear. It showed up like silver on the video of her speech. Still like it. Also like the oodles of bangles.
That belt is sooo cool. I love the clear square buckle. There are a lot of different textures going on here with the sequins, shiny silver metallic belt, creamy floral skirt, clear belt buckle and mixed pearl and beaded stack of bracelets, but it works oh so well and I love it.
I would love to know who the designers of the last few belts she has been wearing are. Mrs.T you could do a whole post on her belts alone! LOL!
I read that this preview was a gathering of young people who are part of a mentoring program. I think Mrs. O was right to dress casually for these young people.
Seeing the green table cloth and purple tones of the flowers at this preview here, leads me to think that she may wear that purple color tonight, which is very much like that purple sheath with the black belt that first grabbed our attention early in the campaign.
Can't wait to find out!
I also have a strong feeling the dress will be a jewel tone purple and possibly by designer Rachel Roy. At first I thought green because of the table cloth and plate settings, but that would probably clash and be too matchy, matchy. I'm also guessing the dress will be one shouldered.
mrs o looked nice evean thought she wear it before she wear the same shoe agian love it. lol
Lovely! Yes, I am thinking something in the Purple/Pink family. Has she ever worn a brooch or flower in her hair?
What a wonderful opportunity for these young women.
A brooch or flower in her hair? What a wonderful idea. I think she'd look fabulous!
gorgeous. belt works this time.
Mrs. O is living my life and making me proud. LOL! Love her!
ARE YOU LISTENING!
The student seated next to Mrs. Obama checking her out, and that expression on her face is just priceless. She's trying not to look obvious but seems so smitten. Too cute
@Ari & Willow
I'm with you guys on the jewel tones, but I'm going for golden yellow/ yellow ochre or something of the sort. Very earthy even...sigh...the stakes are indeed high.
FLOTUS knows how to work a crowd and read her audience with the greatest of ease and grace. She seems to be able to put those around her at ease and is so approachable. Look at the young lady's face, as Rocky said, PRICELESS. This belt is making me nuts...I love it!
The 9th of the 10 photos at this White House site shows a large floral arrangement that continues the green with purple/lavender/pink theme.
I think Mrs. O will wear one of those hues. But, I've been so wrong before. It's fun to anticipate and guess.
HSN is implying on its Facebook fan page that Mrs. O will be wearing Naeem Khan tonight.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000469463321&ref=nf#/MyHSN?ref=search&sid=1401411644.396174816..1
The original message posted.
Rocky,
If she wore gold, she would match the place settings. That's an interesting thought. This is almost like we have a wager going here -- betting nothing but our prescience! ;-)
Hmm. I thought it would be either Rachel Roy or Naeem Khan. Should HSN be dropping hints like that, especially if she is in fact wearing his design tonignt?
You know what, gold would make perfect sense as well. Naeem Khan does have a lot of gold dresses in his collections too. I think her dress will be either purple or gold or a combination of both.
I just love how Mrs. Obama remixes pieces and makes them look brand new.
This is a classic Mrs. O look. I love it!
Ari, I was thinking the same thing. They probably shouldn't be dropping hints. But, he's selling clothing on their network, and though the items were initially selling very briskly, sales have probably slowed down due to complaints about the quality of the clothing. I had ordered one of his dresses, myself, and had to send it back because of the quality of the garment.
What better way to spark sales again than to let the consumer know they can wear clothing by the same designer who designed the First Lady's gown for tonight's event?
We'll see if, in fact, she does wear Khan...
I'm with you, Willow, I'm certain that she is going to wear purple with gold being a very close possiblity.
So much thought and details has gone into this evening. Food, place settings, menu, floral arrangements. I would give my right arm to be there or at least have access to CSPAN.
I'm also loving what Michelle is wearing here., The belt is lovely and the whole ensemble is well put together. I fell in love with the ardi when she wore it in London earlier this year.
@ Tayo2001
I had heard his HSN line was selling well, but I had no idea customers were complaining about it's quality. That's unfortunate since the preview of the clothes looked so lovely.
Politico is already running a live stream waiting for the Obama's and Prime Ministers entrance and arrival Here
You can also try cnn.com's live feed Here
This cardigan + this belt= crystalline, sparkling (demure) perfection.
She looks gorgeous!
My money is on some shade of violet - so perfect with the very strong color of the table linens.
( I can't imagine linens like this inside the White House, but they are perfect for tonight's venue. And with the gold chargers and flatware, it's all very exotic and reflective of the culture of the guests of honor. Well done, White House!
I am ridiculously excited.
O my GGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOD, STUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THATS MY FLOTUS
Who called the bangles earlier? She's wearing about 20 of them. :-)
Omg she looks gorgeous
Michelle Obama looks stunning. She's in a long, column dress in a shimmery gold fabric. She's wearing a shawl, larger gold earrings and lots of bangles.
Thanks for the link Ari. I can't beleive that I got the chance to see the first couple come through those doors. Michelle looks absolutely completely and totally stunning, I cant find words. Wow, wow, wow, wow !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Strapless embroidered gold baby! She's also wearing a light matching shawl with pretty dangly gold earrings and a stack of gold bangles. Probably Naeem Khan. The PM's wife wore a black and red sari.
flotus looks good, no actually she is stunning. President Obama is a lucky man tonight
I AM OFFICIALLY SPEECHLESS!
can i just say sexy. lol
This is a very flattering gown. The light chiffon shawl is just the right touch with the bright gold (possibly silver as well? it's so bright) gown. Sorenon? As I posted on the other thread, he does the best strapless gowns.
I wasn't in love with this sweater when Mrs. O. first wore it last spring, but as the holidays near, this sweater is perfection along with the rest of her outfit.
This presentation to the girls on the mentoring programme is on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_uoJU7UQ4w
I LOVE IT AND SHE LOOKS VERY PRETTY. HOWEVER, DON'T WE HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH AMERICAN DESIGNERS, INSTEAD OF GOING T ANOTHER COUNTRY? ITS ABOUT BOOSTING OUR ECONOMY.
HI SYLVIA. Not sure what you mean. The cardigan is from J-Crew, the skirt is from Rachel Roy and the evening dress is from Naeem Khan. J Crew is American. Rachel Roy is Indian-American. Naeem Khan is Indian-American. Could you be specific about "GOING T ANOTHER COUNTRY" and "ITS ABOUT BOOSTING OUR ECONOMY" please?
Buying clothes from three American businesses surely IS boosting the US economy?
I got a wild idea..... maybe michelle wears belts under her bosom because she doesn't wear a bra. Maybe they hold up " the girls". Just an idea. I love watching what she wears and admire her courage to wear exactly what she wants. She is young and should be expressing herself.