Mrs. O's Easter Sunday Best
Sunday, April 12, 2009 at 3:40 PM 
Photo by Martin H. Simon / Getty Images
The President and First Lady attended Easter service at St. John's Episcopal Church on this sunny Sunday morning. Mrs. O wears a floral v-neck dress, fitted through the bodice with a straight skirt that hits at the knee. She paired the dress with an ivory cardigan and double strand of pearls. In a fresh pastel palette, Mrs. O is perfectly dressed for Easter and a vision of Spring. We recognize the fabric from Peter Soronen's Spring / Summer 2009 collection -- the dress perhaps customized in design for Mrs. O.
Update: The dress, originally presented as a one shoulder design in Peter Soronen's Spring Summer 2009 collection, was customized with two shoulders for the first lady. The fabric is a painted cotton lace, the beauty of which can be better seen here.
Peter Soronen in Outfits
Reader Comments (76)
Very nice and springy. I just saw a pic of Sasha and Malia to, and OMG, Malia is going to be such a little supermodel, working it in her trench, LOL.
Gorgeous as usual. Is there a mobile version of this site so I can view it on my phone?
Willa, where did you see the pictures of the girls?
I think Michelle's dress is lovely. It reminds me of the lilacs I grew up with in Illinois and the wisteria have I have here in Texas.
--
To all the people that mention articles and/or photos from time to time here on the MrsO website:
Please try to remember to tell us where you have seen them when you post your comments so that we can find them easily. Thanks and Happy Easter.
Here it is, edwina
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0ek41Qsfn9718/610x.jpg
My goodness, what a beautiful couple. I love Michelle's dress and this must be the first time I see PO in pinstripes! he is so debonair.
I love it
Thanks Willa. They are so pretty
She looks Easter-y; he looks fantastic!! Whoooo.
I'm with Willa - Mrs. O looks great and I think Mr. O gets a mention for his really, really elegant suit and perfect tie.
Oh, sorry! That was seine's comment. I read the comments wrong.
Mrs. T,
I wonder if I could make a request about the blog? The comments show up as very pale grey (pale blue?) type on a white background. That is not the easiest thing to read for those of us over 50. Perhaps black type? Thank you.
p.s. The type used for the date of the comments would be perfect.
The whole family looks so beautiful (though I already expressed in the other thread that I am not a fan of Mr. O's pinstripes) and I absolutely LOVE that cream cardigan. Not even the cardigan haters could possibly fault something so sheer and light and perfect for that dress.
Agree. This dress is a hit. Very pretty print fabric. Good cut and fit. Like the simplicity too.
Hi Trudy, I will absolutely look into this. It won't be an instant fix, but as we make our next round of site updates, I'll try to address this.
No hat?
The one time a year I would wear a hat anywhere is to church on Easter Sunday.
Sometimes gloves too.
I do like the flowery print. I think she picked out this dress when the White House garden was still on her mind.
thanks willa, for the picture of the girls. I love, love the president's pinstripes, it's fun to see him mix it up a bit, since he rarely deviates. Michelle's look is springtime perfection, very fresh and pretty.
Hi mlaiuppa,
I don't think that Mrs. O does hats, but she may surprise us one day. However, to date I have not seen her in a hat....
I love the dress. And of course there's the lovely cardigan, to make an outfit a bit more conservative for church but not stuffy. The girls look great too. I hope that the Obamas had a nice Easter service. I know I did in Rome.....
mlaiuppa...maybe wearing a hat and gloves is not Mrs. O's thing? I just tried to picture her all decked out in a hat and gloves and couldn't quite imagine it. This is her modern interpretation of the Easter outfit. If you follow Mrs. T's link to the Soronen website, and click on the tab for the Spring/09 collection, you can see some close-ups of this fabric. It's really beautiful and intricate. She was really going for a sophisticated floral and it really works.
I'm not feeling that floral print, but it's not totally horrible. A ho-hum outfit. Had Mrs. Obama gone to a black Baptist or Methodist church, she's have had to step her game up big time, because this is REAL REGULAR for an Easter outfit. No hat at least?
Nice pin-striped suit on President Obama though.
Mrs. O looks lovely as always of course, a beautiful spring Sunday outfit
I must say, the president is looking especially dashing today in the pinstripe, I love it on him....mind you, I usually hate pinstripe suits, but he carrys it VERY well
the entire family looks beautiful! thanks for the link edwina....I love it!
they all look gorgeous, the girls looked adorable (malia is going to be a stunner when she's older) and the president looked especially handsome today (it's a little odd to see him in something other than his standard blue suit). michelle's dress is classic and pretty.
I've seen several photos of Mrs. O in church throughout the campaign. She does not wear gloves or hats to church the way most AA women do on Sundays. In fact, she didn't even wear pearls like you see today. She usually is in a blouse/skirt/cardigan with flats with a nice bag. That isn't Mrs. O church style to do it up. So no matter what church they attend, she is always more subdued there. From what I read, POTUS even prefers her dressed down with no makeup at all!! I think the Prez likes Michelle more natural looking and not too dolled up.
So the way we see her today is how Mrs. O normally dresses for church. She shouldn't change her style, and I think that gives her a sense of normalcy like when they were in Chicago. I think she looks wonderful.
Oh...and I love the Soronen fabrics from the above link and his general collection probably better than Wu and Toledo. I saw at least 10 dresses that I personally loved. His clothing looks very wearable.
Nice, soft, appropriate and beautiful dress!
Thank you so much for your job Mrs O. I appreciate it.
Pretty dress . . . and again, I am envious of her trim waist.
Mrs. O never met a cardigan she didn't like, did she! LOL I suspect she has one in every possible colour.
Mara - you're full of it. I worship at a black Baptist Church and went today, and while there were women in hats, etc. (most were older women - not in the 40s), there were many more in nice dresses, cardigans, slacks, etc.
Anyone who's got a problem with what she's wearing today, is revealing themselves as pure haters.
Good eye for recognizing the fabric, Mrs. T!
And IVA, I know how you feel, and I know it's hard -- it's hard for me too -- but we're going to have to learn to ignore some stuff. There are folks who believe that they're just "keeping it real" with their comments and that they are obliged to say something negative at every turn. It's best to just leave them to it, I think.
I think that some may have an old-fashioned and inaccurate perspective of what African-American people wear to church. "Church fashion" has changed over the years, despite what you may see on TV, and the hats-and-gloves thing is perhaps more regional (southern) or common among older women. I would never say that "most" AA women wear hats and gloves to church regularly; I have never worn a hat and gloves on Easter and I never felt out of place, and particularly not among women of my own age. (I'm now 37)
Sometimes I've even worn pants to church! Gasp! And it's been okay. (smile) Church isn't really the place (in my opinion) to try and out-do your fellow worshippers with your clothing, even though some may think it is.
The whole family looks absolutely stunning as usual.
I love Malia's trench, so chic.
I agree with Mrs.T that its custom made Peter Soronen. His collection is carried at the Ikram boutique, and Ikram probably saw the dress in the showroom and ordered some modified versions for her store. She has such an amazing eye.
You're right, Christina, it's hard, and I will rededicate myself to ignoring the nonsense.
:)
Mrs O has singularly revitalized the cardigan. Any woman over 50 remembers they were de rigeur over a dress to ward off a chill,and for modesty to cover one's shoulders ( for women). The president looks like a model for GQ. There is nothing that does not look fabulous on him.the LA times Image section has some fabulous 'church' hats. I thought Mrs. O might wear a hat. I loved the picture of their Seder!
another hit...love Pres O's pinstrips.
nope, not her best....too grandmotherly!!!
IVA, you took the words right off my 'fingers'!
What an absolutely stunning family!
How impeccable The president and the first lady on their personal take on things...the pinstripe suit was perfect-
Breathtakingly gorgeous family!
The First Family look stunning. Love the pinstriped suit on the President as well.
Regarding POTUS's snazzy grey tie -- is it silly for me to think they might have done a bit of coordination ahead of time? (Somewhat like on election night, when everyone was wearing red and black.) It's quite cute!
Dear Mrs. T, re Trudy's comment above, I am well over 50 and haven't found your grey print a problem. But I wear prescription glasses at the computer. On my monitor, the time code looks to be in 100% black and the comment text in about 75%. Perhaps you have room to increase it to about 85 or 90% and maintain the integrity of the design? I think the site is so beautiful now.
My own concern is that the site may grow exponentially. It is still the happiest place I've found on the internet to discuss Michelle Obama. I wouldn't want to see that change. But I often wonder if there might be a way to combine the blog concept (daily report and comments on style) with a message board that would enable discussions of more aspects of Mrs. O's work, as well as personal interaction among the commenters/members via PM's, etc.?
I'm wondering if there could be a way to have a space where your wonderful voice and the discussions it enables could be maintained, while at the same time opening up something that would function more like a fansite. One fansite that I like a lot is that for the tennis player Rafael Nadal, at vamosbrigade(dot)com. Its homepage is not in blog format, but I wonder if a blog could be put in that space, with an option to join and have access to a message board?
I would like to "co-sign" a comment made on the blog a while back, by rickydee on 21 January, 2009 at 3:57 pm in "Showing a Little Feith" (haven't noticed rickydee posting much since the inauguration, but I thought this comment was spot on):
"A comment from a process perspective. Living from outfit to outfit over four years could be tedious. It is, in the end, the body of work that establishes a first lady. Now that the long run has begun, it seems important to consider Mrs O as the complete First Lady she will become. I would like to see fashion and substance evolve together on one blog. Not sure how to suggest this happen, but not to do so would be out of synch with the Obama’s personal agenda. Fashion, role as wife,mother, and First Lady, social and political events - all are excellent topics to help one understand the experience of our Mrs. O!”
I quite agree. And though I know that fashion is safe. . . if people only discuss fashion, the comments will never get too heated (the disagreements here are fairly mild). . . for me, limiting the discussion sometimes feels like just that -- limiting the discussion.
And I do agree with rickydee that expansion might be difficult, particularly in terms of its demands on moderation (perhaps volunteers?). Still, though I don't know all the issues that would be involved, I wonder if expanding the possibilities of dialogue might not be worth it?
Just wanted to clarify. When I said "function more like a fansite" above, I didn't mean that in terms of content and attitude. Just the way Mrs-O.org works as a website structuralally.
I hestiated at first to comment today, but I today seeing our President and Michelle made me feel so warm and happy. I think they both look absolutely stunning and as long as they continue to hold hands I really don't care what they wear as long as they are comfortable and not stuffy, traditional and just keeping it real, honest and being themslelves. Meanin, not let Fashion Mags, HATERS and jealous high class designers dictated what they should or should not wear. Thank you Mr. President and Michelle for a breath of fresh air. You are always in my prayers.
Both pitch-perfect for a spring time Easter service - I love how the neutral tones of Mr O's pinstripe suit and tie combo so perfectly complement Mrs O's joyful blooming florals.
www.frockaholics.com
The print is stunning.
The First Lady looks great, but today the President is putting off his own sparks.
So true LDS!
I too love seeing them holding hands...and as long as the keep loving each other through this experience, I'm good...
Is nothing sacred anymore? It's just so weird having the press and the whole world watching you going to church and then commenting on it. I mean where do we draw the line? Really?
Cute dress. LOVE the kids. And JEEZ LOUISE, I knew the POTUS was grand, but in that suit, I just think he is the Bees knees!
I saw the Obamas up close today in church, and I have to say that Mrs. O's dress looks prettier in the photo than I thought it did in person. The colors looked too drab to me, especially next to the girls' bright tunics. I think she looks best in strong colors. President O was looking mighty fine, as well, and it was a blessing to welcome them to our parish once again.
So pretty!
Maybe that was the point...
A dress so ordinary folks hardly have anything to fuss over or talk about...What a relief!
Smart woman if you ask me...