Memphis Soul
Wednesday, April 10, 2013 at 8:45 PM 
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.
Preen
Reader Comments (17)
I missed the show, but the videos show Mrs. O in a one-shoulder black stunner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mhpqujfNQTg#! Mrs. T, I was hoping you could do your magic and find an image for us.
I don't care for the colorful pantsuit look at all, it doesn't look current or flattering but the black gown is exactly the opposite; a great design that looks great on Mrs. O. I also like how she accessorized with the layered necklaces, very nicely done.
@BB:
This picture doesn't begin to do the outfit justice. I felt the same way when I first saw them on Getty images. I've since seen so many better captures including this one:
http://obamadiary.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/soul-michelle-obama-1.jpg?w=655
The close-up shows the very modern take. Gorg!
It looks to me that she was wearing a black jumpsuit and not a long dress for the evening event. She looked really dreamy - and sizzling in a really cool way!
The songs really got to her you could tell from her beautifully expressive eyes. They words to most of the songs were deep.
I agree Audrey; other pictures of this suit are very striking . . . I like it a lot. Especially the pink blouse with the lemon yellow suit. She is making it feel like Spring for me here in the cold, wet and rainy Michigan weather we're having this month!
@Audrey
Thanks for the link, that is a much better picture! I like the jacket and top much better now, I'm still not a fan of yellow pants but I can see how they would work here.
If the black outfit was a jumpsuit I like it even more! So edgy...
I just love our very own in-house detectives......thanks MI MOM! I did not see that and I hope PBS re-runs the broadcast soon. If anyone knows of a date, please let us know.
This outfit looks like spring has sprung for sure! I love the colors together on FLOTUS.
I am looking at that eclectic group of musicians on stage behind our Michelle. I tell you, that Ben Harper is as fine as he is talented! I love his music!
Hello Charlene . . . PBS will run the show on April 16. Hurry Spring weather to Michigan! : )
Liked the suit OK, but liked the black dress better, and the necklaces were great. Bangs (sorry, folks) -- they do make her look younger, mostly, but I wish she'd watch the length a little more closely; when they get past half-way down her eyes, they're too long, IMHO (in my humble opinion). That long and they begin to look either like she isn't paying attention, or she's actually going for a middle-school look.
Spring inspired. Love love soft yellow and very elegant for her height and figure. I'd love to see her wearing more of this fashion. She brightens the room like a new spring flower. Perfect evening gown and accessories.
At first look at the suit she wore, I was not impressed. But looking at it again it kind of grew on me. It wasn't to dressy and not too casual. It was just right for the occassion . But the dress she wore that night was very nice. Loved the long necklace to complete the outfit.
@Auntie Mom, thanks for the date of that show. I'm looking forward to that. I think we can all agree that we need more spring in Michigan.
@CiD, good to have you back.
The lovely Mrs. O!
The lovely Mrs. O!
The yellow suit is nice; but she "wearing" that one-shoulder black dress :0)
I happened across this news item about an Indianapolis teen who recently interviewed First Lady Mrs Obama for Sports Illustrated (Kids).
Watching the included video it looks like the interview was on the same day as this "In Performance at the White House" event. Or maybe not.
@ 0:55 and @1:00:
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/indianapolis-teen-interviews-first-lady-michelle-obama
It looks like Mrs Obama is wearing a coral top similar to the one she has on under the yellow Preen suit, except she doesn't have the blazer on and accessorizes the coral sleeveless silk knit top simply with her wedding/eternity rings, her trusty double strand pearl necklace - and her beautiful, sweet smile.
The kid was obviously thrilled.
I have been searching the internet everywhere for this black jumpsuit at Memphis Soul. She looks stunning!!!!!! Head to toe hair and makeup AMAAZINGG. Help me buy this lol. Loveee the 1st family and her hair!
Actually it's Bibhu Mohapatra, not Bubhu Mohapatra. Loved your blog for a long long time. I have always been a lurker, this is my first post. Love Mrs.O. She totally rocks!
Thanks Tingatipto - please excuse my typo! Correction made. xx