Poetry, Music and Spoken Word (Update)
Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at 8:19 PM 
Photo by Jason Reed / Reuters
First Lady Mrs. O is dazzling this evening, as she and President Mr. O host a poetry jam in the East Room of the White House to celebrate poetry, music and the spoken word. Mrs. O wears an off-the-shoulder top, paired with cropped white pants and silver heels.
Per the White House blog:
"This event is designed around the theme of dialogue, showing how dialogue is important in every aspect of who we are as Americans and as human beings, and demonstrating how communication is a constant throughout the ages."
The evening will include performances by Joshua Bennett, James Earl Jones, Eric Lewis, Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, Mayda Del Valle and Esperanza Spalding.
Students from American, Galludet, Georgetown and Howard universities also have the privilege of attending.
Update: Per NYMag, Mrs. O wears a top by Basso & Brooke, from the design duo's Fall Spring 2009 (thanks mlaiuppa!) collection. A similar dress can be seen here
.
Basso & Brooke in Outfits
Reader Comments (162)
Aww you put it up, great Mrs. T. This is wonderful
omg she looks so pretty
i love the hairstyle
WOW. Glamour Girl! The outfit is so appropriate and yet edgy, and I love the way her lipstick matches the bit of coral color on the sleeve.
Everything about FL's demeanor fits the event. Bravo!
Our First Lady is the bomb! Just beautiful!
Hair, her shirt and makeup is on point! The pants- I'll pass on. Did I just log on to hear Good night? Guess I was late. Was preoccupied trying to figure out dinner. Maybe that's a good thing for a change. Like my husband always complains, you get more excited about Mrs. O's life than your own.
OMG...SHE LOOKED OMAZING. MRS. O LOOKED VERY CHIC. I WANT TO SEE A FULL LENGTH SHOT THOUGH
Nicole, Yahoo has full length shots.
OMG - This is the best her eye brows have EVER looked.
I actually like the pants. Very parisian
My mistake. It's not a dress. It's a top with white crop pants. Here's a full length photo.
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Michelle-Obama/ss/events/pl/050108michelleobama/im:/090513/480/a2e3c458c6974918a4926fa900b2c5ab#photoViewer=/090513/480/ee38c819cb484173a13e1e8c7a25c0ae
I think longer pants would have worked better with this gorgeous top, however she still looked SLAMMIN'
The President said something about Mrs.O bringing a lot of poetry to his life....lol
Her hair and makeup look great! Good to see she put on a good-sized heel. The shirt is alright. Not feeling the pants though.
It's alright with me, but Mrs. Obama may take some hits for that off-the-shoulder look. Has a First Lady done off-the-shoulder? (I've seen strapless and one-shoulder on other First Ladies)
Just saw Mrs. O on CNN. STUNNING. even the cnn people was in awe. Beautiful!!!!!
She wore strapless before, why would anyone oppose to her wearing off the shoulder? She's the first lady not a nun.
I think she looked great.
Esperanza Spalding played! Awesome! Girl is amazing.
Loved Michelle's top, hated the pants.
Stunning. Absolutely stunning.
LOVE IT! This outfit is so cool on many levels. Hair and make-up perfect. She is getting her stride now...coming into her own.
Perfect! The pants - perfect! The look - Perfect! This is exactly the look you need to have when you walk into a nice cool dark room to listen to the spoken word!
Mrs. O. looks like Nia Long in "Love Jones" - our FLOTUS got it right tonight. My sisters who are familiar with the movie, can't you just hear the POTUS doing a Larenz Tate and hitting a "Blues for Michelle" or even better, what about "Brother To The Night"?
A winner tonight!
Mrs. O looked stunning! Hair, makeup (Ingrid threw down!), and clothes--very nice. Now I see what the President wrote about years ago saying that she is always surprising him and quite mysterious. This is not a dull woman!
I have to say it again.....Ingrid threw down on the makeup!!
Janelle, I was thinking the same thing! The eyes are unreal.
Janelle - you are so right. I am not married yet, but I'm taking notes and already applying it to my current relationship. Switching up my look...that seems to be one secret to a happy marriage.
GROOVY MRS.O! She is rocking that hairstyle with those long bangs, cropped wide leg pants and awesome heels. H.O.T.T! I hope there is a wide brown belt that just loosely hangs, to offset that one shoulder look. Is there? In the pics she gets cut off at the waist by the podium, and I missed the entire show! Oh well...YOUTUBE!
I love this look - mature and sassy!!!
The Obama girls are just too cuuuuuuuuuuute!
i love the pants.and her make-up.perfect.
This was an amazing event at the White House. For the first time I feel as if I am apart of the White House. Michelle looked amazing.
WoW, she is Dusted for The Balcony, once again her face is beat. I LLLLLOVE that top, the hair every thing. BRAVO! lol
Helloooooo, WHO THAT?? that is some serious hotness going on. I'm loving it.
Mrs. O is amazing. Her ability to adapt her look for different events is incredible! This outfit is perfect for the event. The blouse and earrings have an ethnic flair and the 3/4 palazzo pants have a younger edge to them. We've never had a 1st Lady this versatile and fashion-forward. You go Mrs.O.
@YOLA---I was thinking of 'Love Jones' too. I need to dust off my DVD in my closet. It's been awhile since I've watched Larenz do his poem 'Brother to the Night'. If anyone wants to watch a love story (not for children please) that shows a great backdrop of the intellectual literary club scene of Chicago, rent 'Love Jones' with Nia Long.
Wow, she is so young, fresh and fabulous.
Lol@ Mrs A, I totally relate about your comment about getting more excitement about MrsO live than mine.....lol.
Hope I dont get fired, but I spend my coffee breaks on this site.
So Pretty!
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//090513/480/94c6ca43988348968f4254c7bf57b759/#photoViewer=/090513/480/94c6ca43988348968f4254c7bf57b759
Love, Love, Love Michelle's very artsy top, her hair, make-up and earrings. Absolutely hip and smashing. I think the pants were too short and the leg was too full, maybe.
For me the live feed was very dark and the sound was bad. I came in just as James Earl Jones began to speak. Hearing this powerful, magnificent man dramatically recite Shakespeare sent a chill down my spine. What power to move! He's a national treasure.
I could also hear the young woman whose poem pleaded for feeling and remembering. Can someone tell me who she was? Is she Native American? Hawaiian? Very moving. Esperanza Spalding was fabulous.
Those were the only three I could hear. Youtube doesn't have anything up yet. Whitehouse(dot) gov will have a good quality video in a couple days. I'm really looking forward to enjoying the enriching evening.
Our Lady Michelle is sooo glamorous. Whew!
I'm not sure if this has been shared here before, but here is a great piece on Desiree and Valerie Jarrett (much better than that ostentatious piece Desiree did with the WSJ).
Oops, forgot the link: http://www.capitolfile-magazine.com/CF_SM09_052_RUL.html
Apology for the bad spelling, blame it on my excitement!!!
Perfect look for the occasion! young hip and artsy!
@ Willow - I think that may have been Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio
I noticed that Mrs. O's eyebrows looked less severely arched today. I think it's an improvement. This is visible in the photo above. I hope she keeps them this way.
Lollapalooza, Mrs. O really blew me away. Perfect hair and make-up, beautiful clothing, remarkably lovely speech. When the camera panned in on her face, WOW! Her make-up artist is really a pro. GORGEOUS evening all the way around. So inspirational to have this kind of class and dignity in the White House.
I thought of "Love Jones" too. It was the first "black film" I ever saw and I loved it. I bought the DVD and have watched it several times. Time to dust it off and watch it again.
I think this is a lovely and appropriate ensemble for this event. It's a little edgy--and very pretty on Mrs. Obama. I LIKE the pants---they are just perfect for the top. Her makeup looks great too--EXCEPT for her eyebrows. They just don't look real, and, for me--that is a problem. They have that painted on look which I have never found attractive. Other than this--I think this whole look is fabulous!
I wish the first lady would read some of my poetry I published on Poetry.com. I also wish she or someone would give me some recognition to my work. I am a woman on a fixed income and it is the one talent I have developed over the years. I hope I can fit into something. there.
Just enter Doris mendlovitz in the poet search segment.
love doris. mendlovitz
@ YOLA, thank you for her name: Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio
What a gifted, passionate young woman!
I found some more of her at this sight:
http://www.hbo.com/bravenewvoices/poets/hawaii_jamaicaosorio.html
A nice write-up for the event from the NYTimes:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/jammin-in-the-east-room/
Michelle's fit is so apropriate for this event! Its so refreshing. Additionally, I must agree with what's already been said, her make-up is flawless! *BRAVO*
Mrs O is absolutley beautiful. The outfit is edgy and oh so artsy. The hair and makeup are just fabulous. What an exciting time we are witnessing. The term "camelot" did not come about until the Kennedys were out of the White House. I just wonder what history will label these times.
I am a from Chicago and poetry slams/spoken word is part of chi-town culture, seeing the first couple host this event warms my heart. Mrs Obama looks really young and vibrant. A 10 in my book. Kudos Michelle!
I also liked the young man's (don't know his name) poem that talked about establishing a relationship with his deaf sister. I actually teared up (geek). It was just an awesome night. I read that the event was taped and will be telecast on HBO,date unknown as of yet.Hope they do this again and again.
I love Mrs. O's pants...gettyimages has a great full length shot of them and they are actually white, cropped TUXEDO pants...smooth...and edgy...me like!!