Heat Wave

Photos by Jason Hirschfeld, Gerry Broome / AP Images; Elaine Sanchez / DOD Photo

The First Lady had a full Thursday, taping an appearance for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in Fayetteville, North Carolina (where, speaking of extreme, Mrs. O had to endure stifling East Coast heat), followed by a visit to Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The Extreme Makeover: Home Edition episode focuses on a North Carolina community resource center for homeless female veterans, which will be redesigned and expanded with a new greenhouse and children’s playhouse. The episode is scheduled to air in October. The First Lady's TV appearance, as well as her stop in Virginia Beach, are part of her Joining Forces initiative with Jill Biden to support military service members and their families. 

Style wise, Mrs. O stayed cool with a pair of summer dresses belted at the waist. For her TV appearance, the First Lady chose a vibrant blue and green Chris Benz Nelda dress from Resort 201, seen here, accessorized with a jeweled bee belt from House of Lavande. For the stop at Oceana Naval Air Station, Mrs. O turned to a trustworthy staple, a Merona for Target dress, paired with a Sacai belt, first seen in August 2009, here. 

Some will remember that Malia Obama wore a Chris Benz dress this January, seen here. To my knowledge, this is the first occasion that the First Lady has done the same. Chris Benz is a young Parsons alum, who cut his teeth as a designer of dresses and special occasion for J.Crew before venturing out with his own eponymous label in 2007.

Lovely in Liz Claiborne

Image by K.C. Alfred / Reuters 

Mrs. O visited U.S. Marine Base Camp Pendleton in California today, wearing a black and white print Liz Claiborne New York dress, paired with a Sacai belt and black flats. The dress was first seen in October 2009, here.

As part of the trip, the first lady visited with wounded Marines, and then later spoke to thousands of troops and their families. 

A Healthy Harvest

  

Photo by Tim Sloan / Getty Images

Photo by Mark Wilson / Getty Images 

Oh how we love the White House garden ... The first lady's purple Converse aren't bad either!

Update: Actually a question. Is Mrs. O's belt purple? We can't tell, though other blogs seem certain. We're almost postive this is the Sacai belt that Mrs. O wore on the cover of Essence, here. But perhaps in a new color?

Jump, Skip, Hula

Photo by Win McNamee / Getty Images

First Lady Mrs. O is taking part in the Healthy Kids Fair on the South Lawn of the White House today. The event promotes exercise and healthy eating for children, and Mrs. O is getting right in the action - jumping rope, hula hooping and running barefoot through an obstacle course. Click here to read Mrs. O's remarks from the event (including Mrs. O's confession that she has a "good relationship with french fries" - in moderation, of course!).

On the style front, Mrs. O is wearing a black dot twist front tank with eyelash trim by Jason Wu, paired with a blue cardigan belted at the waist. Slim black pants complete the look, accessorized with a set of bangle bracelets.

In Geometric Fashion

Image by Jewel Samad / Getty Images

First Lady Mrs. O is again hosting G20 spouses at the Pittsburgh Summit today. For this morning's group photo, Mrs. O chose a dress by Zero + Maria Cornejo, cinched at the waist with a Sacai belt.

The dress features Maria Cornejo's signature Shapes print in silk charmeuse fabric, in hues of amethyst, charcoal and cream. The print is inspired by the three basic shapes that Maria Cornejo's designs are derived from – the circle, square and triangle. 

Click here to see the dress in a different cut. More to follow.