A Crown Jewel
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 12:33 PM 
Photo by Carl Court / Getty Images
After a meet and greet with the royal family, the President and First lady met with Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron and his chic wife Samantha Cameron at 10 Downing Street. The Obamas also received a special tour of Westminster Abbey. Quite a day!
For these events, Mrs. O changes ensembles, wearing a delightful mix of jewel tones on this occasion. The First Lady wore a punchy purple dress featuring a draped neckline and black chiffon trim. The dress was paired with a vibrant blue coat and jeweled belt at the waist. Navy black pumps completed the look.
Per Red Carpet Fashion Awards, Mrs. O wears a dress by Roksanda Ilincic from the designer's Pre-Fall 2011 collection. Ms. Ilincic is a Serbian-born, London-based designer with a growing presence in Mrs. O's closet! The First Lady last wore Roksanda Ilincic for a White House reception to welcome President Hu of China in early 2011. Mrs. O's blue double wool crepe coat has proven to be the fine work of Narciso Rodriguez.
For those interested in Samantha Cameron's choice, the Prime Minister's wife wears a Spring 2011 dress by Peter Pilotto, also a Mrs. O favorite!
Reader Comments (41)
YESSSSS!!!!!! WOOHOOO! *punches the air* THIS is what I was waiting for. Perfect colours, perfect shape, perfect Michelle Obama doing what she does better than anybody. Styletastic.
Thank you,
I'm done.
P.S. OK, no, I'm not done - this photo is of them leaving Westminster Abbey after their private tour.... so next up must be meeting the Camerons? It will be interesting to see if Samantha Cameron can dress decently for this visit having messed up hugely at the royal wedding.
love it!
WOW! This is a home run!
Samantha Cameron somehow managing to make a wonderful dress look boring.
She's such an incredible beauty. I'm loving his trip. It's a very different wardrobe in many ways, more relaxed and "soft" if you get my drift.
I can hardly stand to WAIT for the State Dinner!! It's coming up soon and the WH site is going to carry it at 3:30 Eastern:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/
There should also be a livestream with arrivals somewhere. I hope!!
Beautiful colour dress with a lovely neckline. But I'm not keen on the skirt or coat.
As for SamCam; I don't like the dress at all. But more importantly, I wish she would stop looking like such a scared little rabbit all the time! She's an accomplished business executive for goodness sake!
Not liking this look much. To me it looks kind of dowdy, however the colors are great.
Mrs. Cameron's dress is very cool, looks like something Michelle would wear. I'm wondering how she could have accessorized it in order to jazz it up a little. Any thoughts? Although we can't see her other arm, a stack of bangles would look good.
Bright shoes, earrings, a bright cardigan. ANYthing would have helped it. Mind you, if that had been me, I wouldn't have worn a monochrome print on dead white skin with nude heels. I'd've looked for a strong purple or red. Something vivid to show off that Snow White colouring. Even a rerun of the royal wedding outfit would have been good, that was a good green for her even if it was far too casual.
And yes fmt I too find her insipid public persona highly irritating.
I so love this. Home run. The color, the belt and the jacket to top it off. Well done.
British designers all around it seems. Sarah Burton for Alexander Mcqueen tonight possibly?? No, that would kill us all with pleasure.
By the way Posh Tater, I thought you did a great job last week :)
Beautiful color combo. And now, now, Posh Tetaer et all, no need for all that negativity about Mrs. Cameron. The same way we owe Mrs. O respect and would not disparage her character (becuase "we do not know her", remember), we owe Mrs. Cameron at least the benefit of the doubt. And remember, she is a yound mom who has survived many hardship, including the disability and death of a young child, so this might explain why fashion is the least of her concerns. It would be nice to show her a little compassion, even if you don't like the way she dresses.
This is more like it.
I love the colors on Mrs. O, but it is a lot of fabric. She is a tall woman and can carry it off, but I prefer her in clothes that skim her body a bit more.
@meta - thanks for the heads up on the start time for the dinner. I've got a crazy day, and should NOT be on my computer constantly, but I was thrilled to know I would be able to catch a glimpse of her dress before I ran out the door. Can't wait!
the BBC has some very good videos including a game of ping pong with DC and BO at a local school that was not shown as scheduled. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13518279
These colors are fabulous, but there's a bit too much fabric and not enough pizzazz. This had so much more style and "punch", IMHO:
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1899976_1889172,00.html
The banquet live
Here http://wwitv.com/tv_channels/b5791.htm and
here http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/
No, no, NO HeatherT that is one of the most ill fitting dresses Mrs. O has ever worn!
Now, THIS I love - truly an amazing blend of colours on the Commander in Chic.
In Mrs Camerons' defense she is not nor never will be a fashion horse. She never tries to make a statement with her clothes and I doubt she even cares. The media have really been trying to play off the political wives on both sides of the Atlantic (throw Carla Bruni in the mix). I'lll tell you now, that I can't recall ANY British political wife (in my lifetime) going all out with their clothes. In fact, on most occassions, you never see them at all except when a general election is coming up.
I guess this is why I admire the first lady SO MUCH. She has supported her husband from the campaigning days. Everything she does and says is constantly scrutinised and of course that means there is so much fodder for the media as Michelle Obama is out and about all the time and redefining the role of first ladies.
She can do no wrong in my eyes. I don't always love what she wears but I always respect the fact that she is a grown confident woman and lets be frank here, we all have moments when our clothes have seen better days. Can you imagine how hard is must be for Michelle Obama ? Every single move, even if she is walking Bo on the White House lawn is captured on camera for all eternity. I truly salute the woman.
Loves it! She looks so radiant and beautiful . Purple is without a doubt her colour. There's just something about it that makes her look so AMAZING, regardless of the actual style or cut of the garment she's wearing. She could wear a purple shopping bag and make it look like haute couture. Go on Mimi, we love you!
Mrs. O looks gorgeous in those vibrant colors. I love it!!!!!!!! She looks great! I love the fabric, the colors, the belt, the coat, perfect outfit. Eat your heart out SamCAm :P LOL!!!! I'm sorry, I like this lady too, but she needs a fashion assistant/consultant.
Mrs O is dazzling in WHITE!
Mrs. Obama looks like a Princess!!!!! All white becomes her.
@Meta thank you for the reminder and website. I was able to see them entering :) Nice.... I didn't see Kate Middleton... (?)
Absolutely stunning with lovely long gloves! She looks regal!
Love the dress and the coat but necessarily loving them both together.
Mrs. O's gown for the state dinner is white w/ a "crossover halter like" style in the front and she has on VERY long white gloves to match. Long diamond earrings it appears w/ her hair up. Pics soon I know :o)
Please title it "American Princess" when you find the photo Ms. T!!!! Puhlesse!!!!
WOW! Beautiful color, Beautiful look, Beautiful everything!
Chic, colors, and class........... Ms O of course !!
Beautiful!
Nora - I don't believe I was being disrespectful, a little critical and questioning maybe, but so what! Are we only allowed to pay lovely positive compliments to people in the public eye?
I may not care for some of SamCam's fashion choices but that is neither here nor there. The point I was making is that I don't get why she always comes across as being so scared and out of place in public, when from what I've heard she is not like that at all. As I said she is an accomplished business woman credited with bringing a luxury British brand back from the brink. As a new graduate she had enough confidence to walk into the shop and convince them to let her style their windows. I think it is a shame I can't see any of that oomph in her public persona these days. And I don't think it has anything to do with her living through the horrendous experience of losing a young child; from what I can remember she had that nervy appearance way back when her husband was running for party leader.
Jestina - given that SamCam has been appointed adviser-cum-ambassador for the British Fashion Council, I think it is safe to assume that she IS interested in fashion.
MO scores another hit ! The colors are lovely and perfectly editorial.
I'm not sure what Mrs. Cameron was thinking or why ? But I hope she rethinks this ensemble before wearing it again. Her husband will struggle for re-election due to his wife's fashion illness.
@ Nora - Thank you for your gentle reminder re: Mrs. C, (The Queen, The DoC, etal).
@ Posh Tater - Still luv ya baby!
Peace.
I love the colors together, the neckline of the dress, and the flow of the coat. My only "bone to pick" with this outfit are the shoes. How dazzling this look could have been with a strappy red-heeled sandal or something more delicious. I just wish that I could spend the day shoe shopping with Mrs. O, because we would definitely get rid of the abundance of flats and these dowdy pumps!!!
I'm so-so on the dress, but I'm fairly certain that the pumps are navy.
I like this outfit on Mrs O. Definitely better than the one she during the visit to the Palace.
@ river rush - I really don't agree with you. This may not be her best outfit but SamCam dresses quite well (she might have not worn a hat during the wedding but that green Burberry dress looked very good on her!). She definitely looks better than Miriam Clegg and miles better than Justine soon-to-be Milliband.
@ladywatcher - I do recall that ensemble not fitting perfectly, but I think it had a lot of style. Some of these recent outfits fit better, but lack those fun style elements. Hopefully things an evolve toward fit with that fresh style. :-)
I saw a pic on Huffington Post as well as some footage of our Michelle looking down while talking to Samantha Cameron. It looks like she said, "cute shoes!" I think both women have a style that is uniquely their own, and it works for them. I actually like Samantha's dress and grey pumps. I know that much is made about her posture when she's out in public, but it's got to be enormously difficult being "on" at all times. Nevertheless, both ladies are giving us fashion followers a treat.
Great job, ladies..........you look good!
Gorgeous, wish I had long legs like Mrs O.
Mrs. O looks so beautiful in bright colours. Such a vivid, flamboyant colored dress and the belt gives it that regal punch. In my opinion, spot on.
The belt she is wearing is vintage from House of Lavande:)