Honoring Youth Arts
Wednesday, October 20, 2010 at 1:55 PM 
Top image by J. Scott Applewhite / AP Photos; Bottom image by Mandel Ngan / Getty Images
The first lady held a White House event today to honor recipients of the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards. Robin Givhan of the Washington Post has a write-up of the event, here.
For the occasion, Mrs. O wore a carmine viscose jersey dress from Calvin Klein Collection, Pre-Spring 2010. We last saw this dress when Mrs. O welcomed the president and first lady of Mexico in May, here.
Today the dress received a punch of pink, accesorized with salmon pink heels and another gorgeous necklace. Mrs. O is certainly on a hot streak with the statement necklace!
Update: Thanks to reader 'shellecm' who reports that the first lady's necklace is Ranjana Khan (also wife of designer Naeem Khan!). Indeed, the necklace appears to originate from the jewelry designer's Spring 2010 collection, profiled in W, here.
Reader Comments (55)
Dear Mrs. T
Thank you for the effort it must cost you to keep up this blog while studying for your MBA (and you are newly married too!) I appreciate seeing what Mrs. Obama is doing and what she is wearing because she receives no coverage where I live in Republican country. I admire her and find her clothing choices very interesting. They are refreshingly a bit unpredictable, lively, down to earth, and then suddenly - dazzingly sophisticated. She remains true to herself in an environment that I would call "Intimidating".
First of all, Mszoniann54 and I are not fighting. Just because we have differing opinions does not mean that we're fighting. I believe that we are having a very civil conversation. I have not written a disrespectful word, nor has she. So, I'm not sure where the fighting is going on.
Mszonian54, I agree with everything you said, but I feel like that does not apply to Posh. We will never agree about that and like you, I am over it. So, on to the next....
Mrs. T, you know I meant no harm. I just felt like my friend was being misunderstood and I wanted to set the record straight. Form here on, I will remember that not everyone knows her like I do and they may not get her personality. I guess it goes with the territory. I hope everything is going well with your studies.
I had the privilege of seeing the first lady in this outfit in person, and I have to say, she looked lovely. The necklace, especially, was fantastic.
I represented one of the 15 youth programs receiving the award. If you're interested in learning more about the work these organizations do, visit the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award website.
I have to say, though, the very best accessories were Mrs. Obama's smile and warmth. She was especially warm to the youth.
@ mszonian: No-one appointed me arbiter of style. And I hope they never do. However, I am free to comment on Mrs Obama's clothes, just as much as you are, on this, a blog devoted to Mrs O's style. And if, once in a blue moon, I do not like Mrs O's outfit (which is pretty rare - I think we're up to maybe nine outfits out of her entire tenure) I am at least polite and positive about it, unlike our other regular negativista's, who like to come here and pull EVERY outfit to pieces for being too tight, short, bright, informal, formal, long, low cut and a whole host of other snide and sneering attacks on how Mrs O doesn't really know how to behave/dress/stand/think/speak.... And who then butter up one favourable comment a month to make it look like they're really into what Mrs Obama stands for.
People have come up to me and criticised what I wear, in my life. I've learned that these people are frightened to step outside of the "normal" box and think they are limited by tradition or habit or they worry about What Other People Think every waking moment of their lives. So I will continue to wear evening dresses to work, and beaded cardigans to walk the dog, and I won't care a hoot, as I would imagine, Mrs O doesn't.
I think, in a flash of... something, you read my post in a very negative light. I am, I can assure you, a great admirer of the lady. It's my view that she and her husband have brought something to the global stage in politics that makes us all safer, more well-informed and more thoughtful. And, on the day I posted, I still loved Mrs O, but for once (and I've never hated an outfit before) I really, really disliked this one. AND I said that she looked wonderful ANYWAY!
@Joanne Sterling: none of the things you accuse me of saying are what I have said in my post. And I have spent the last four years on this blog asking people to not say "she's too old for that" or "that's ugly" or "she shouldn't ..." or "that's horrible". Which I didn't do here. I said that I didn't find it flattering and I thought it was a ghastly colour. So maybe you need to go over my post again.... I didn't say "it's the worst dress I've ever seen" either. I said Mrs Obama looked radiant "in spite of" an outfit that I don't find flattering. Why don't I like it? Because it's a colour I don't find flattering in a length I don't find flatttering in shoes I don't consider flattering.
@Lisa H, Nyon, Bevi. Thanks for getting it.
@ Christen: Is it April 1st already?????
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Mrs T, you didn't receive any complaints from me because I was firstly away and then ill so today is the first time I've seen the blog in a while. Usually, the only people to attack me are the same old box of mad frogs who like to call the First Lady inappropriate, or fat, or ill-judged or the same old same old and then start kicking and screaming when they are called out on it. And frankly, even now I've seen this conversation, I wouldn't complain. mszonian is fully entitled to her interpretation of what I said, even though that's not what I meant at all. As my mother once said "it's not the information you get, it's what you do with it once you've got it..."
Actually, I think the only time I've got in touch with you to remove a post was one really cheeky one I put up here about another poster and then thought "NO!" and asked you to take it off, and one really dubious posting about the children which we both went "euw" about.
I love this look and the website for showcasing Mrs Obama's great style.