Memphis Soul

As part of the "In Performance at the White House" series, Mrs. O hosted musicians and performers for a Memphis Soul workshop yesterday. Middle and high school students also took part in the interactive, daytime event.

For the evening portion of the program, there were performances by Alabama Shakes, William Bell, Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd, Ben Harper, Queen Latifah, Cyndi Lauper, Joshua Ledet, Sam Moore, Charlie Musselwhite, Mavis Staples and Justin Timberlake, with musical direction by Booker T. Jones.

Plus, there was quite a fashion crowd! Designers Jenna Lyons, Prabal Gurung, Rachel Roy, Bibhu Mohapatra were all in attendance, as was Tracy Smith, owner of House of Lavande, and Mary Alice Stephenson, stylist and beauty expert. What message is in the mix?

On the style front: For the daytime event, Mrs. O embraced bold color, wearing a yellow pantsuit with a pink blouse and gold necklace. For evening, the First Lady opted for a one shoulder black gown, seen here (thank a MI Mom!).

Update: Thanks to Charlene in Detroit, who identified Mrs. O's suit as Preen from Spring 2012, seen here. The First Lady previously wore the jacket with a Preen dress in June 2012, here.

42

The First Lady hosted a workshop for the film "42" at the White House this week. The movie is a biographical film about the life of baseball legend Jackie Robinson. Harrison Ford, an actor in the movie, and Rachel Robinson, the wife of the late Jackie Robinson, joined Mrs. O for the event.

On the fashion front, the First Lady wore a navy blue dress and jacket, accessorized with an Alexis Bittar flower pin.

Spring Planting

The First Lady hosted the spring planting of the White House kitchen garden on Thursday. Mrs. O had help from students from Sarah Moore Greene Magnet Technology Academy in Tennessee, Arthur D. Healey School in Massachusetts, Benjamin David Gullett Elementary School in Florida, Bancroft Elementary School in Washington, D.C. and Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Washington, D.C.

For her garden work, Mrs. O wore printed jeans with a yellow draped neck top and striped anorak jacket. Green Boss "Dirt Digger" gardening gloves, available here, completed the casual look.

On a Roll

Today marked the 135th annual White House Easter Egg Roll. For the event, Mrs. O paired white pants with a J.Crew Floral-stripe tee under a Talbots Grace Fit Piped Seersucker Jacket, worn in London for the Oympics last July, here. With stipes and seersucker, Mrs. O is adding a dash of prep to her spring style!

Easter Sunday in Prabal Gurung

The Obamas walked through Lafayette Park to St. John's Episcopal Church for Easter service in Washington, DC today. For the occasion, Mrs. O wore a Prabal Gurung charcoal brush painted rose silk twill gazar dress and coat from the designer's Spring 2010 collection. The first lady has previously worn the dress here and here, but this was a debut appearance for the stunning coat to match!