A Stand-out in This Season's "It" Color

Photo used with kind permission from photographer Criz

Skinny, purple pants are not the easiest to pull off, but here, paired with a striped purple fitted tee and deep purple cardigan, Mrs. O works them with confidence. In general, skinny pants tend to be polarizing. Some find them unflattering no matter what your figure. Others love the slim lines and ankle cropped length. As Mrs. O wears them, paired with ballet flats, the effect can be very Audrey Hepburn. Add purple to the equation, and there's bound to be an even greater difference of opinion.

Anyone who's shopped this fall is familiar with the rows of brightly-colored denim and cords that fill retail stores like J. Crew, Madewell and Uniqlo. Too much for some perhaps, but they add vibrancy to Mrs. O's ensemble above. Here, Mrs. O wears the "it" color of the season: purple. Even Mrs. O's petite floral earrings match the palette.

Date: November 1, 2008

Venue: Campaign rally, Union Avenue Historic District, Pueblo, CO

J. Crew x Two

Photo credit: Flickr user Barack Obama // Creative Commons

One J. Crew ensemble certainly has elicited much excitement. Following Mrs. O's Tonight Show appearance, the media is having a heyday, J. Crew sales are soaring and jcrew.com even has a page dedicated to the full ensemble. We love it! Who can forget the frenzy around the now famous Donna Ricco dress from White House Black Market that Mrs. O wore to co-host The View? As such, it shouldn't come as a complete surprise that this ensemble has garnered so much attention.

As if this wasn't enough good news for J. Crew, what did Mrs. O wear the day following her Tonight Show appearance? More J. Crew. Seen above at a New Mexico rally, Mrs. O wears J. Crew's Sketchbook roses Belle skirt paired with a purple cotton cardigan and violet shell. In fact, we've seen this skirt once before. Mrs. O wore it on October 7 while campaigning in North Carolina.

Date: October 28, 2008

Venue: Campaign rally, Las Vegas, NM and Sante Fe, NM 

Ruffles in Sin City

Photo credit: Flickr user Barack Obama // Creative Commons

After dazzling us in yellow for her Tonight Show appearance on Monday (presumably taped earlier in the day) Mrs. O jetted east to Las Vegas for an evening rally. Mrs. O kept things casual for this appearance, wearing a grey split placket top with purple ribbon and ruffle detail, paired with a three quarter sleeve black cardigan, slim black pants and her signature charm necklaces. We don't believe Mrs. O's second look of the day is J. Crew; does anyone recognize the ruffled tee?

Date: October 27, 2008

Venue: Campaign rally at Doolittle Park, Las Vegas, NV

Perfectly Suited

Photo used with kind permission from Sumi-e Artist Drue Kataoka at blog ValleyZen.com

We recently tracked down a Mrs. O ensemble from a private campaign event in Chicago earlier this month, which we felt merited comment even after the fact. The pantsuit hasn’t always had great press in this campaign, which seems a little unfair. As every professional woman knows, it can be a godsend in the office, bypassing tricky issues around hemlines and hosiery. Cut badly, of course, it can get overly masculine and severe. The rare, perfectly cut suit however is a thing of beauty and it’s no surprise at all that Mrs. O has uncovered one such gem. At a recent Women for Obama event in Chicago Mrs. O wore a black wool suit that beautifully combined professional poise and feminine flair.

In the past Mrs. O has favored 1960s-inspired three-quarter sleeve jackets, often cinched with a belt at the waist. This 1940s-inspired cut however was curved in all the right places, nipped in the waist and flaring softly at the hips. The softly curved collar and slightly puffed sleeves added further feminine touches while the sober color palette and slim black pants kept things sleek. Against this neutral background, Mrs. O’s companion added a fabulous splash of patriotic color in a Catherine Malandrino designed flag-print dress. Mrs. O accessorized with a string of black pearls that perfectly married elegance and edge - a master class in strong femininity.

Date: October 10, 2008

Venue: Women for Obama, DNC Women's Leadership Forum

Designer: Sonia Rykiel

Mrs. O on J. Crew: "We ladies know"

Mrs. O made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night wearing yet another J. Crew ensemble. Mrs. O was at her most stylish in this look. A bold yellow, classic lines, all put together with personal flair. Mrs. O was dressed head to toe (or knee that is) in J. Crew. She wore the Italian Deco tank, Crystal-button colorblock cardigan in Silver Honey and Metallic cloque pencil skirt (Update: the skirt appears to be the Pembridge-dot pencil skirt in Yellow Gold. The color is available exclusively through the J. Crew Collection store.) Mrs. O added a bit of sparkle with a multi-colored jeweled brooch to close her cardigan.

When Mr. Leno brought up the subject of Mrs. O's style, "I want to ask you about your wardrobe. I'm guessing about $60-grand? $60-, $70,000 for that outfit?" Mrs. O replied, "Actually this is a J. Crew ensemble. We ladies, we know with J. Crew. You can get some good stuff online." Mr. Leno, perhaps surprised to hear about Mrs. O's online shopping habits then asked, "Do you order it online? Doesn't that take the fun out of it?" to which Mrs. O replied, "When you don't have time, you've got to click." Mrs. O has been spotted in J. Crew at least three times in the past few weeks. Seen here, here and here.

Last night's ensemble, however, was by far our favorite. The best part? The tank and cardigan are now on sale. As a side note, there was a great retrospective on J. Crew as part of a profile on Creative Director Jenna Lyons in this month's Domino Magazine - worth a quick peruse.

Date: October 27, 2008

Venue: Appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno