Wednesday
May052010
Wow-Worthy Watercolor
Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 7:39 PM 
Image by Jason Reed / Reuters
The president and first lady celebrated Cinco de Mayo today in the Rose Garden of the White House. For the occasion, Mrs. O debuted a fabulous new watercolor print dress by Thakoon. The silk sleeveless dress features a bold print and drawstrings at the hip and shoulder, which create a bloused effect. Hoop earrings and yellow sandals completed the fantastic, festive look.
tagged Thakoon
Thakoon
Reader Comments (96)
Wow. She looks awesome!
Me likey! Very summery! I would wear this out on the town with my guy. Very cute!
So pretty. So chic. I haveb't loved all of her Thakoon dresses but this one with deep jewel tones is beautiful.
her legs are looking pretty as well. Love the shoes.
Thakoon, Erdem, Basso & Brooke know how to work print and graphic. you guys should check their work. here are some additional pics. you can see her earrings got some blue details. what i love most about her besides her outfits is her knack for accessories. she really knows how to spice up an outfit and gives it the final panache.
http://www.daylife.com/search/photos/1/grid?q=Michelle-Obama
MRS OBAMA DRESS IS NICE LOVE HER YELLOW SANDELS I WAS GETTING TRIED OF HER WEARRING BLACK SHOES ALL THE TIME. NICE SPCEECH THE OUR PRESIDENT SAID I SAW IT IN THE WHITE HOUSE WEBSITE. SHE TALKED TO BUT IT WAS IN THE AFTERNOON SHE WAS WEARRING THE SAME DRESS THAT SHE WEAR FOR THE SUMIT 20 BUT SHE HAD A OPEN TOE SHOES AND HER BELT WAS DREFFRENT AND HER EARRINGS TO I SAW IT IN GETTY IMAGE.
TO DYE FOR
This print actually reminds me of "tie dying" which has it's roots in both Latin and Asian culture. In this link you can see how closely Mrs.O's dress mimics the colours of these traditional dancers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cinco_de_mayo_bush.jpg
As always she does her home work and comes prepared. Bold & beautiful, and I am diggin those yellow kitten heel sling backs - so summery & cute!
I love this dress...
The Three C's: Colorful and Cool Chic.
The Prez looks great, as well!
Those pictures on: http://www.daylife.com/search/photos/1/grid?q=Michelle-Obama appear to be purposely distorted.
I love the dress. Not sure the print is right for Mrs. O though. Perhaps the top half of the dress in the print and the lower half in a navy silk? However, the accessories (the hoop earrings and the yellow golden sandals) are spot on!
I am really loving this dress. It is absolutely beautifully and a great selection for Cinco de Mayo, very vibrant and festive!
I love this dress!!! Michelle looks absolutely gorgeous and so does the Pres.!
Beautiful couple!!
SoccerNana: You're right, even the pictures from the earlier event today appear wierdly distorted. It's like someone is determined to take the shots from the craziest angles including shooting from below. The pictures on DayLife look wierd and yet some show up normal and very beautiful, especially the headshots.
Loves it!!!
I agree with the 2 posts above. It looks ill-fitting. Even the side seam does not seem to fall where it should. I don't know about this one.
I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT, I LOVE EVERYTHING
I think she has lost weight. She looks slimmer.
OK you guys are going to have to help me here. On one hand it looks like a wrap dress with the strings on the side and then I am totally confused by what is going on on her shoulder. Don't get me wrong, I like this look and the print is awesome but I just a little off center by the details.
Somebody please tell me I'm just imagining this, but in some of the closeups it looks like the first lady has two peircing holes in her ear. I had never noticed this before. Kinda cool.
PSYCHEDELIC, DAZZLING, ART ON FABRIC. It’s a happen…ing. Lots of colour and drama. Love the flowingness of the fabric across the front creating a wrap look. Pretty little tie on the shoulder.
SANDALS ROCK. Very very feminine and sexy. Mrs. O you rock. How to look more and more beautiful every day?...just click on following Mrs. O. Hope those history books will elaborate on the COUPLE OF THE CENTURY (smile).
Yummy watercolor fabric in those saturated jewel tones -- beautiful. Also I like the sandals. She doesn't wear open-toe shoes & sandals very often but these are lovely.
However, the fit of the dress is not quite right. It is gathered at shoulder and hip and seems to have a panel across stomach that doesn't quite work on her in this dress. I have seen some pics that look strangely full around stomach and hips. I think the dress falls that way. I also think it's a bit small. I also think she's gained a few pounds recently.
All in all I think she looks lovely.
I just don't understand the "distorted" images you are seeing on the daylight website. Sorry, I just don't see it on my monitor.
As for the Cinco de Mayo dress, I think she should have hauled out the blue dress she wore to deplane in Mexico. It was festive enough. That dress probably saw about an hour off the hanger on the Michellester, before she changed into another frock, before she changed into yet another in about a 4 hour period in Mexico. I was getting a superman thing going on in Mexico......quick change in a phone booth. I just don't think 4 to 5 changes of clothes was necessary that first day in Mexico. What message was she sending?????
I think she looks absolutely great in this dress.
Mrs. O, I love, love, love this look. Fantabulous!!!
On the contrary i think she looks slimmer.Very nice legs.As for the dress ......
I don't care for this dress on any level. The print is very hard on the eyes, and the dress is just too darn short.
I saw the video of the president's remarks and got to see the dress live and in motion. It looks really great and beautiful on Mrs. O. Like many have said, still photos can capture awkward moments and don't always do justice to the complete look. Love the festive, colorful nature of this outfit and, as always, Mrs. O's enthusiasm and warmth!
I'm loving this look. The ruched design at the front reminds me of another Thakoon dress that she wore to the G20 dinner in Pittsburgh last year. But the beautiful prints reminds me of the Rachel Roy dress that she wore in Mexico last month. Mrs O always keeps us guessing with her choice of designs hence why many of you fellow bloggers are confused with how the dress fits. Remember the Junya Wanatabe cardigan in London ??? Blog pages on many sites ran for miles with people up in arms about how she had buttoned it wrong !!!!!!!!!
This is why I visit this site regularly. This is why I have all the coffee table books and magazines dedicated to this great First Lady. Her wardrobe wouldn't be half as interesting to me if she wore boring, safe couture by designers that many of us could never afford. I like the way that she expresses her INDIVIDUALITY and her OWN personal sense of style. And on top of admiring her clothes, I am in utter awe of this magnificent lady who has not stopped working since she stepped into the White House. I don't think a week has gone by when I haven't seen her out and about trying to make a difference. Maybe our Prime Minister's wife could learn a thing or two from Michelle Obama. For YEARS few of us have never even glanced Sarah Brown. I can't imagine her going to schools and reading to children or serving food in a soup kitchen.
BTW chrystelle, I loved that Basso & Burke blouse that Mrs O wore to poetry night, it remains one of my all time favourites. I can't wait for her to wear it again. AND her ability to perk up an outfit with belts and accessories has caused me to invest in some lovely bracelets and funky belts. I love the woman.
Love the dress but
stop saying she has lost weight!
http://www.daylife.com/photo/04jE7G03QzdkY?q=Michelle-Obama
The dress is fit for Cinco De Mayo and I like her shoes. I
A color-field artist couldn't top this strikingly, bejeweled palette! Mrs. Obama looks like a Monet master-piece in this softly cinched on the right, colorful arrayed dress. Her large hoop earrings add just the right touch to seal the (fashion) deal! Oh-h-h! Her mustard yellow shoes are calling my name! LOL!
I would like to see her shoe collection!
wanda if you can't write the name of the first lady correctly you don't belong on this site. her name is michelle obama. it was given to her by her parents.
Jaja is that picture suppose to show something? she has what many women her age have.it called middle age pouch and you can see that it is just an angle.they are many pics of the same event. i really wish stupidity was painful.
@Jaja big deal?? She has a mom belly so what? None of the other first ladies look perfect so get off your high horse..
She looks fine, she is not your doll and she is not a stick. She has a shape.. Some of you women are the worst honestly. Its not men, its women the most horrible and nitpicking people on earth. You can ridicule and hurt other women's self esteem, men my hon was right. Its women.
She wore it, she looks good get over you high horse, its her money.
And if she changed four 4 times in Mexico, its her choice not yours. She will re-wear her clothes when she wants to and not when you tell her to. She is not sending any message but its her choice. Heck Laura changed on various trips and you guys did not go on your paternalistic high horse. The paternalism is just beyond ridiculous on this couple.
Its harsh but some of you in here are just silly.
I love this dress - what a surprise (not).
Jestina, don't you think Sarah Brown's style has developed hugely the last year or so? She is such a different shape and build from Mrs O, too. As to her absence from reading to children and serving in soup kitchens - well she does have Mr Brown to manage, a little different from the President, I imagine!
one of my favorites. love it.
to jaja- maybe there's a baby in that tummy pouch pic from Daylife. The First Lady herself has admitted she has put on weight, all those wonderful meals and desserts from the White House staff. Both she and Mr. Obama oves the desserts they boast about them.
Hi Jestina, I follow Sarah Brown on twitter and she is always posting about social issues and prenatal health for mothers. I'm impressed with her.
I love the watercolor effect of the dress. The shoes are also great for the occasion.
Must say the thinly veiled subrosa criticism of Mrs. Obama is over the top. She is who she is; wears what she wants; changes often - so what? really would like for all of us on this Mother's day week end to take a deep breath and think of our motives before we chat.
Thakoon used this vivid print fabric in several designs in his Resort 2010 runway collection - but nowhere do I see this dress. Custom?
As for the photo page at daylife.com, some of the photos are overexposed. Thus the fabric looks very faded in some shots.
Mrs. O looks lovely, festive and appropriately dressed. Great colours on her.
Maureen
English Observer, I'm sure if Sarah went out and about it wouldn't look very sincere. I often wonder how little our politicians and their families do for the community. The only time we ever see them is when an election is looming and they want our votes.
Oh BTW, so what if Michelle has put on a few pounds. It could have been the way she was sitting, time of the month or she could have just finished lunch. She lives a good life and has lovely meals cooked for her every day including pies. She has said on numerous occassions that the White House chef's make amazing pies. What a life, huh ?? Must be nice, must be nice indeed. So, if she has put on a few pounds (and I'm neither agreeing or disputing this statement) then she has put on weight by enjoying herself.
I've been trying to lose 10lbs for the past 5 years, I lose a few pounds only to put it back it back on. I actually used to deny myself cocktails and "nights out" with my friends so as not to ruin my diet only to find that I hadn't lost anything for my hard work anyway. Life is too short. So I try to control my eating as much as possible during the week and leave splurges for the weekend. I no longer let irrevelant things like weight stop me from living my life to the full and I'm sure Michelle Obama feels the same way.
On a serious note, for a woman who is older than me and has had two children, I think she has an amazing figure.
A party dress! So sexy. So fly. So much fun!
@chrystelle
Every picture is 'just an angle'. You sure know something about stupidity ...
@briana
There was no disrespect in my comment, so why are you so hateful? The issue isn't about Michelle Obama beeing perfect or not. She seems confortable enough in her body and her 'mom belly' doesn't bother her. Great! The dress makes her look slimmer? Fine, good choice! But some people need constantly to make up things. Can't we love her just like she is??
But then, don't you EVER disagree with the worshippers on this site!
Oh, I love this print! While there are some shots out there of FLOTUS that make this dress seem a bit "wonky" I think it's camera angles. Maybe we're not used to seeing candid shots that much these days. We have to remember the vast majority of pics of her are not posed for, hand-picked for the ideal shot after being photo shopped, cropped, cut, pasted then airbrushed within an inch of it's life. We get to see what real life is and looks like. Having said that, this dress has a lot going on which may be a bit busy for some. I like the detail of the waist, the ruching with the tie that is repeated on the opposite shoulder. It's those details that's probably best appreciated when up close when you have such a print. Very Cinco de Mayo!
She looks great and I love those sandals....Give me those Jimmy Choo's Shoes!
@ B riana - I'm with you girl.
MO looks lovely.
@ Christen - What do you mean by "short"? Her knees are showing . SO WHAT!!! This is 2010 not 1610.
Gorgeous legs.
Don't even bother, trinisamba because the next time Mrs. O wears a dress or skirt that is 3/4 length, she'll say it's too long and that she wishes it was 1/2 an inch shorter or some other nit-picky nonsense. The usual suspects are a sad bunch, and jaja takes the cake with her digging out a photo of an event from over a week ago that is unflattering in order to prove a point about weight. I bet you are just the pillar of hotness.
@ briana - you are completely correct about women doing it to ourselves. I have brothers, but many close female friends and it is the women that are dogging other women, picking little problems with each other's face, weight, height, hair, sleeve length, pant length, and so on. Men are like - fits nice, nice smile, cute woman.
Maybe I'm too easy on Mrs. O, but I just can't look at a random picture from getty or wherever and break it down like she's posing for Glamour Mag. I think this is a lovely dress, the shoes are fun, and she continues to look younger and younger, and more fit and healthy every day. No one can deny that she's in her prime and she's doing her very best to help her husband and represent our country during a very difficult time.