Women of Courage
Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at 3:05 PM 
Photos by Luis Alvarez / AP Images; Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and First Lady Mrs.O participated in the International Women of Courage Awards ceremony held at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC earlier today. The awards were given to 10 women recognized for their "courage and leadership as they fight for social justice, human rights and the advancement of women." Included was Marvi Rural Development Organization Founder and CEO Ghulam Sughra of Pakistan, pictured with the First Lady and Secretary of State above.
"These women are amazing. They are trail-blazing leaders,” Mrs Obama said. “Each in her own way decided to act. They decided to speak up, to publish an article, to file a lawsuit, to run for office, to open a school. And they have done these things at great, tremendous risk to themselves and to their families. They've received death threats. They have been beaten, kidnapped, imprisoned, tortured. So these women have accepted these risks. They have worked for change. And time and again, these women have discovered a very simple truth: that courage can actually be contagious,” the First Lady added.
On the fashion front, Mrs. O turned to an inventive dress, featuring an asymmetrical collar with zip shoulder detail. A jeweled cuff completed the look. Reader BeeGee has provided a great tip. Do you think Mrs. O wears this Lanvin Fall 2010 dress?
"First Lady, Secretary of State Clinton Present International Women of Courage Awards" [ABC News]
Lanvin
Reader Comments (57)
Lanvin?
http://coolspotters.com/clothing/lanvin-fall-2010-rtw-sleeveless-dress
I loved the pics that I was with Mrs O and Mrs Clinton. I wasn't too sure about the sleeves .. but the dress fits Mrs. O's style and body. I could never wear anything like that. I just love how she always looks so happy.
This is really unique and I like the way it looks on her. I like it alot, probably because its atypical. That's how daringly beautiful looks!
as a fashion designer, i LOVE LOVE LOVE hits. I would have to say that this is by far her most "fashiony" choice since becoming first lady. She looks great!!
Full-length shots at Huffington Post. I love Hillary's jacket, though the sleeves need shortening.
I keep wanting to brush that lock of hair out of Michelle's eye!
I have seen other photos (daylife) of this dress. She really looks very fit in it. Very unusual neckline, looking out for more details. Over all a very modern, clean line look - thumbs up.
Beautiful dress, very stylish indeed. In the photo above it looks black, but in the Huff Post pictures it appears more eggplant- colored. Love it!
MRS OBAMA LOOKED GREAT LOVE THE OFF THE SHOLDOR DRESS
Daring as always.
great fit. A+
What a wonderful dress - very innovative; very chic. At this site, we are all certainly proud of our First Lady, no matter what she wears, but may I say: this dress is gorgeous!
Mrs. O looks great! The blouson is so unique. It looks like something fresh out of a young designer's mind! The asymetrical neckline, the rouched and gathered back and the zipper are all very on-trend! Go Mrs. O! :O)
Looks hard to wear.
Both women are at their best. Love that Mrs O makes you think out of the box, wonderful dress!
WOW! This is beyond stunning and perfect. This suits Mrs. O to a T! I've never been so crazy for a First Lady....just love this woman and love that she represents us around the world. Hillary looks nice...her hair looks good....I wish she would cut it short like she had it during the campaign...it was more flattering and hip...she had a Lady Di thing going on :) Two strong, great ladies.
I love this dress on Mrs. O!! I'd love to style Hillary though - her clothes always look too big for her - she needs a good tailor - that jacket is great but if the sleeves were shorter, the length shorter and it was nipped in at the waist it would be so much more flattering on her!
I saw this on HuffPo and yelled LANVINNNN! It is classic Alber Elbaz with the beautiful draping. Reminds me so much of the other Lanvin dress she has (not the polka dot one) the charcoal one. Loves it. Hope she buys a dress or two from Lanvin S/S 2011. PLEASE wear a dress from Prada S/S 2011 Mrs. O!!
Video of Mrs O available on youtube at statevideo channel. I will try to link but am a techno dunce so bear with me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wided5-BtpI&feature=channel_video_title
Anagrom
{Heart} her bracelet. Any information? Her hairdo is perfect!
Instant classic! Thats all I need to say! You all may carry on with your comments now. LOL!
Love Mrs O's dress. But oh dear. I wish Mrs C could work w/ a good stylist!
@Mrs 2S: cosign. I love the bracelet! The dress looks good in the Daylife pics. It's very reminiscent of the grey origami Rodarte dress she wore last year. I love that the dress photographs alternately black and eggplant. An intriguing dress on an intriguing woman.
Loving this look on Mrs. O and thanx for the full length pics!!!!
TOO FRESH!!
BTW, I LOVE the side swept bangs.
I see everyones comments and call me a hater but.... I am not a huge fan of the dress. GASP! Yes, I finally broke the silence :-) In my opinion it just doesn't look flattering on her but that is not to say that I do not like it. I like it, but more so on Hillary Clinton. I also noticed that all the women are wearing colors such as reds, purples, darks. Love the color theme!
TOO FRESH!!
I LOVE the side swept bangs.
Mrs Obama is absolutely stunning! I love the Lanvin dress and she wears it so well!
I echo everything you said, Alisa. Michelle Obama represents the true meaning of 'The Power of a Woman.' I love this dress, love it. It reminds me of a similar looking grey dress that she wore last year, it may have been another Lanvin dress. The President was beside her and she told him to look at her lovingly !! This look today is a classic and the bracelet is gorgeous.
Congratulations to all the women featured.
Love this dress/look. Seems to be a great fit. Would be great for spring/summer cocktail parties/weddings. Wish Lanvin was in my budget!
Here is a peek of that canary gown that the First Lady wore to the governors ball
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/5507742801/in/set-72157626225092866/
Oh my...how stunning! This is so DIFFERENT that it is just Mrs. O to the "t"....she looks absolutely beautiful-hair, makeup, poise, etc. I am so proud of our First Lady! God bless Mrs. Obama, the First family and God bless America! Just loving the look...
My bad for the double posts last night. I was actually trying to add a pic of Mrs. O in this gold suit. I don't know if you guys have seen it yet, but here it is:
http://theobamadiary.com/2011/03/08/women-of-the-world/
Beautiful dress, but not for a daytime event. Too fussy. The unusual neckline dictates that this is a cocktail dress more appropriate for evening. Tailored works better for morning.
Mrs. O at her best. She gets the gold for fashion-forward. She's taking us to the future.
Oooh donnanoshock!!! Thank you for pointing out that pic. Though I still want to smack the photog for not producing a full length shot, this one will do for now. She's a vision of Spring in that frock.
Obama diary site has a picture 03/09 in the Green room with Bill Russell, the President and Mrs.O.
She is wearing a teal dress with a tiered. rather full skirt. Have we seen a shot from that event before? Char
Is the suit in Nyon's comment the Michael Kors from about a year ago? http://mrs-o.org/newdata/2010/1/6/a-staple-suit.html I like it better this time, although maybe it's just the lighting, and it's a great look for this occasion.
SLD writes that she loves the dress and it would be great for "spring/summer cocktail parties/weddings." Right she is. But NOT for this daytime event. Once again, Mrs. Obama is not dressed in a way appropriate for the occasion, as are all of the other pictured attendees.
This is absolutely the best. I really do admire her in this dress. A very bold choice but it works very well for her.
@donnanoshock thanks for posting the link. That is one spectacular gown and we can't see a full length picture. Utterly stunning. Would you post this pic Mrs. T.
The Lanvin dress above is growing on me.....
Did we miss this? Or was it only me?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/5508459028/in/set-72157626225092866/
@ Nyon - I remember this suit. She has two others - One in brilliant red and I can't rememebr the other colour. Lovely repeat. I liked it before and I love it again.
@donnanoshock: THAN YOU for the link! I LOVE that color she is wearing.
Nice dress. Hillary looking good too.
What is Ms Obama wearing? It looks like it is unfinished and pinned together - all the fawning over her in here is nuts. Hillary looks fat and frumpy. Puhleeesssee don't these people have handlers?
@trinisamba, the outfit you posted does not look familiar to me either....can anyone chime in on the link trinisamba posted?
Lovely in Lanvin!!!!
The dress has a weird drape, but not as graceful as the sari on the Indian woman. Ebaz for Lanvin is not Jeanne Lanvin. These latter-day generation designers cannot hope to achieve what the original houses did.
Point to ponder: Mrs. O has bare arms. How do you think the muslim women feel, all covered up as they are, to see Mrs. O uncovered? Discuss please. Is it an affront to these women, or is Mrs. O just saying, "I'm a modern woman, I dress as I please?" Should she be sensitive to these issues?
Poiret makes some good points.
The dress is interesting, but it was not right for this occasion and it didn't work as it was supposed to, as shown in this side/back view - the floating side panel that was supposed to hang gracefully over the right arm appears to be stuffed into the armhole. The dramatic line that it was intended to create is gone. The back ends up a rumpled-looking mess.
http://www.daylife.com/photo/02k8elEdgX5NX?q=michelle+obama
http://www.daylife.com/photo/08IV1fa4IX1CC?q=michelle+obama
@Poiret: Mrs. Obama is in America and can dress as she pleases. The Muslim women thus cannot take offense. Every woman in the world knows Mrs. O's preferred style anyway. When she is in a Muslim country (Indonesia) or a conservative country like India where women are expected to be covered, she dresses as they do.
I recall that there was a big stink here by posters who seemed to think she should be able to wear sleeveless in India or hijab-less in a mosque inIndonesia. When she's visiting she has to comport/pay homage to those nations' norms.
I don't like the dress in these pics that Mrs. T has provided, but there are good views of the dress in pics a very pro-President Obama blog, The Only Adult in the Room. I think this blogger worked for one of the press photo offices at one point so she always gets good pics.
Here's a link:
https://blackwaterdog.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/4920/#comments
I know that photo permissions are expensive to acquire especially since Mrs. T is doing this on a shoe-string budget.
@ poiret - Give thanks for the freedom we Western women take for granted. We are able to make decisions about what we wear and how we wear it. Michelle Obama is not a champion for Islamic causes, she's just a woman and a great one at that.
It is understandable to be mindful of other cultures when visiting other countries but I would take exception to anyone suggesting for a moment that American women should be mindful of Islamic women's dress code when they visit America. Such obsessions will end with us all wearing a burqa. If the other women, had a problem coming to The White House because of being offended by dress code then the simple solution would be for them to stay at home.