A Penchant for Flat Footwear

Photo used with kind permission from photographer Hemen H. Mehta

Ever the style pragmatist, Mrs. O has been open about her preference for flats, citing her 5’11” height and the pressures of the campaign trail, not to mention keeping up with her two girls.  We’d go further and say she often uses flats as a deliberate choice to bring her overall look – quite literally – down to earth.  For the DNC finale in late August, we saw Mrs. O use a classic pair of black patent flats to set off a stunning Thakoon print cocktail dress (note the family’s shared rose colored palette and penchant for black patent flats).  Had the dress been paired with, say, black patent heels instead, the effect would have been different: perhaps more high glamour than her usual, pared-down yet personalized style.

Flats – once the exclusive preserve of the very young or the very elderly – broke back into the mainstream in 2005, where they now seem set to stay.  For those of us who love shoes and are fans of the flat, they can uniquely combine a happy practicality (walk, don’t totter) with real feminine flair: embellishments which can look tacky on a pair of heels look quirky and interesting on flats. A view Mrs. O seems to share when we see her here again in a favorite pair of silver flats given standout and texture via the layering around the toe. High end brands like Miu Miu, Sigerson Morrison and Jimmy Choo have taken ornamentation to the extreme over the past few seasons, while cult brands like Repetto take their inspiration from their definitive dance roots.

The question for now is will Mrs. O stick or twist in the style stakes as election day draws closer?

If it’s the former, we wonder whether she might take her taste for a well-placed bow or floral brooch to her flats:

Who's behind this mystery frock? (Updated)

Photo used with kind permission from Flickr photographer The Adventures of Arnie & Marjorie

A few of you have written in to inquire about this floral shirt dress worn by Mrs. O in August, on the day Joe Biden's Vice Presidential candidacy was announced. The cut of the dress feels vintage inspired, similar in style to the feminine day dresses of the 1940s. And in deep purple, moss green and blue gray, the printed fabric resembles irises painted in watercolor. For a closer look at the fabric, have a peek at these photos from the same day. Given the prominence of floral patterns for Spring '08, we didn't think it would be a tall order to track down the designer - but we've had absolutely no luck thus far. Now we want to open it up to the group. Help us solve it. Who's the designer behind this gorgeous floral frock?

UPDATE: A huge thanks to Jen for helping us solve this. As Jen writes, the dress does appear to be Moschino. A similar dress from the Spring '08 Moschino collection, seen here, is clearly in the same fabric.

Date: August 23, 2008

Venue: Campaign rally following announcement of Joe Biden's Vice Presidential candidacy, Springfield, IL

The Face of Fashion Democracy

We've written an article about Mrs. O over at The Huffington Post, and would love you to have a read. A short excerpt from "The Face of Fashion Democracy":

The "high-low fashion" movement for mixing high and low end designs is gaining momentum and giving us a viable option to still look chic. The trend has quickly become a necessity for the cash-strapped this season. The greatest surprise ambassador of all? Michelle Obama. Some have called her an elitist, but nothing says Main Street like the clothes you choose to wear.

For the full article, click here.

Runway to Realway

Photo used with kind permission from photographer Zoe Deol, right of Mrs. O

In May 2008 Mrs. O. made romantic ruffles quite edgy and surprising in a white blouse from Maria Pinto’s Spring '08 collection. She was subsequently spotted campaigning in Puerto Rico just a few days later wearing a similar blouse in a thin-striped gray. This is what a “runway to realway” should look like. Here Mrs. O offers us a hybrid of two key Spring 2008 trends: whimsical ruffles and origami shaping. The elaborate folds of delicate fabric look very polished when paired sleek tailored trousers and cinched belts. Think Lanvin meets Yohji Yamamoto. We love how Mrs. elegantly observes the trends du jour without sacrificing her signature classic style. Jackie O. would surely approve. To complete the look, Zoe Deol tells us that Mrs. O paired the white blouse with "beautiful, wide-legged, camel colored pants."

Going Tweed for Thakoon

Photo credit: Flickr user Barack Obama // Creative Commons

We thought we were short on Mrs. O fashion news today until we stumbled across this stunner. Watching the Vice Presidential Debate last Friday night in Detroit, Mrs. O wore Thakoon's Tweed Loop jacket with woven rope print blouse underneath. The jacket and blouse mix both pattern and texture, which could pose a style challenge, but work well here due to the consistent color palette. The light softness of the tie-neck blouse also has a nice balance with the more structured, weighty jacket. We're happy to see that Mrs. O has brought her DNC brooches back into rotation. The taupe colored brooch at the top right, while a departure from the palette, keeps the look from becoming too matchy-matchy. This is the first we've seen Mrs. O in Thakoon after she wore two of his dresses for the final night of the DNC and then to first Presidential Debate. With this ensemble, Thakoon has officially propelled himself to go-to designer status for Mrs. O, joining the ranks of Maria Pinto and Narciso Rodriguez. We hope he and this look make encore performances soon.

Date: October 2, 2008

Venue: Vice Presidential Debate watch party, Detroit, MI Get the look: