Inauguration Fashion…and Michelle Obama’s dress is…

From my other blog…

For the Inaugural balls, First Lady Michelle Obama wore white. Which is sweet, like a young bride.

And, the AP describes her gown in this way:

“…a white chiffon one-shoulder gown…

“Her full-skirted dress had a strap across her right shoulder, a ruched bodice, fluffy appliques and sparkly beading.”

The gown is by designer Jason Wu.

The Los Angeles Times says Jason Wu is an “American designer and up-and-coming talent. Wu is 26 years old, was born in Taiwan and studied at Parsons in New York.”

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I wanted to share that one of our Georgiana Circle readers partially predicted what Michelle Obama would wear. We were discussing how Michelle Obama’s choice might be affected by the economic crisis and war, and that she might want to use a vintage dress, or inexpensive off-the-rack, but Betty nailed it:

Betty commented:

Submitted on 2009/01/13 at 4:49pm
[7 days before the big event!]

I hope that Michelle Obama chooses a special gown from a young new designer. This would allow her to have something special to add to the First Ladies Collection (not one that anyone can get off the rack) and, probably, at a more reasonable cost than one from a known designer. OK, it’s not off the rack but if your husband (or YOU!!) were being inaugurated would you really not want to wear something special?

In addition…I had previously written favorably about another woman who wore white for a big political event. From my “Women and Politics and Fashion, etc.” post:

This political season, I also learned another great fashion trick for women politicians. The woman I am supporting for President of the United States is former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. At Ms. McKinney’s big event – the Green Party Presidential Convention – she wore a white pantsuit which stood out in the crowd like a bride’s dress. Combining professionalism, with one of the most common images of a woman at the center of an event, was a great maneuver. When Cynthia McKinney gave the political speech of the season and celebrated on stage after winning the nomination, the whole crowd was with her in a unique and mesmerizing way, and you couldn’t take your eyes off of her.

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Some comments on Inauguration fashion

I will try to do a longer, summary post late tonight or tomorrow about the choices all the characters in this Inauguration Day wore.

Some early impressions:

Many people are noting that while the focus today will be on Barack Obama and his speech, the focus tonight – the socializing part – will be more on Michelle Obama (and her dress.)

For Inauguration Day – which includes a church service – Michelle Obama wore “a sparkling gold sheath dress with matching coat by Cuban-born American designer Isabel Toledo” (from AP story.) People are calling the dress yellow or gold-yellow. And, the color is said to symbolize hope for our country. It had an elegant, long coat. Barack Obama is dressed like any male government official, trying to look plain and authoritative in a black coat. He has on a dark suit, white shirt, and red tie.

I hate to be catty…but…I am not sure it was proper on a day like today for Jill Biden – the wife of the new Vice President – to wear shiny, high boots. Being even more catty, I did the math, and she is pretty young, younger than me. So, maybe this is her assertion of her youth and beauty!

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Greening Michelle Obama’s wardrobe

(More is coming soon, with the series on politics and fashion. For now, seems like everyone has Inaugural Fever. So, had to share this…)

Article with great suggestions and photos of green gowns and fair trade fashion that Michelle Obama (or you) could wear…

At Inhabitat: here

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The Fashion of Politics Series, Part Two: The Curtain Club and Voluntary Simplicity

Betty Wood (r) presents Kimberly with a hand-sewn tote bag

What can one woman do to carry herself, her family, and her country safely through the current economic crisis?

Each day, more and more people are starting to feel the economic crunch. For some people, it is the loss of a job. For others, it is a home in foreclosure. For others, it is a general sense of less money, and more caution related to purchases such as food, gasoline and clothing. This holiday season brought us less shopping and less things, including less new sweaters, hats and mittens for the cold months.

In addition, there is a sense of lack brought on by the wasteful wars our country is engaged in over in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, the sense of grief and compassion for the civilians in those countries, and for the victims of the blockade and war in Gaza.

How can we respond to these events? How can we help to fix these events?

My solution is to make a partly symbolic and partly meaningful shift in the culture with a new fashion trend: applying frugality and voluntary simplicity to women’s fashion.

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First Ladies and Fashion: What Will Michelle Obama Wear?

Politically, I am a third party person. So, I won’t be hyper-focusing on the new President and his wife. Though, an inauguration ball is such an interesting example of politics intersecting with fashion, that I thought it would be important to at least mention it here. Please note that I am also preparing a series of posts on the topic of politics and fashion.

(excerpt from) The Boston Herald
All eyes will be on Michelle Obama and her choice of inaugural gown
By Maria Recio / McClatchy Newspapers
Wednesday, January 7, 2009

WASHINGTON – Inauguration Day will belong to President Barack Obama, but that night will be wife Michelle’s turn in the spotlight, as all eyes will be on her – and her choice of ball gown.

Throughout U.S. history, and especially in the post-World War II era, first ladies have made statements about themselves and the times they live in with their inaugural wardrobes.

“They are symbols of our country. They reflect around the world an image of our country,” said Carl Sferrazza Anthony, a historian who’s written extensively about first ladies.

more from the Boston Herald article…the internet/blog phenomena of the Women’s Wear Daily post with pictures of dresses famous designers think that Ms. Obama should choose. It is fun to flip through.

Women’s Wear Daily has created a buzz with its feature “Michelle Obama: What should she wear?” which showcases designers’ sketches for her inaugural gown done at the behest of the newspaper.

and, from the Boston Herald article…Who started Inauguration Fever, the series of balls and social events all packed into one night?

Inauguration fever as we now know it, with multiple balls, galas and celebrations, is a relatively new phenomenon. The tradition of the inaugural ball began in 1809 with first lady Dolley Madison, a skillful hostess who knew that social events could support her husband’s presidency.

NOTE: The possibly related link to Part Four below doesn’t work now. It is my fault for hitting “publish” and changing it to draft when I made a mistake. Please accept my apologies, and if you want to see the series, here is Part One. Many thanks. (Please comment. Input is highly valued!)

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