IT’S the inaugural ball, not the first couple’s second wedding vows, but that hasn’t stopped several first ladies over the years from wearing white.
And Michelle Obama followed suit last night – channeling an unlikely combination of Nancy Reagan and Jackie Kennedy in her white one-shoulder gown by New York designer Jason Wu.
It was the much-anticipated finale to her opening act of a greenish dress and coat by Isabel Toledo that she wore for the swearing-in ceremony.
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A look that started out downright matronly earlier in the day became curiously virginal later in the evening.
It was like the Curious Case of Michelle Obama.
The Isabel Toledo coat and matching dress is Swiss wool lace, with secret layers of pashmina tulle inside for warmth, according to the veteran New York designer. Mrs. Obama accessorized the ensemble with green Jimmy Choo pumps and leather gloves by J. Crew.
While most initial commentary on the Isabel Toledo outfit gravitated to “elegant,” an equal number of commentators disliked the color, “baby-puke green,” the cut, which “makes her look pregnant,” and the embellishment, an “inappropriate amount of glitz for the time of day and the occasion.” One even dubbed it “Grandma.”
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If Laura Bush had sported this 1950s June Cleaver look, it would have looked old. On a younger woman such as Mrs. Obama, it’s supposed to look retro cool. But in trying to keep it stately and palatable to the public, with the white hose that Obama has said she finds uncomfortable, with the Jimmy Choo green pumps, it ends up coming off a bit, dare I say it, Queen Mum.
She had the opposite problem for the inaugural ball gown: It was too young for her.
Like Toledo, Jason Wu is a very talented designer, who has developed a following among the Park Avenue set (Ivanka Trump, “Gossip Girl” actress Leighton Meester and Tinsley Mortimer) for impeccable dresses and gowns with a couture-ish level of craftsmanship.
But the color and the tufted knotted flower detail on the strap and all over the skirt of the dress is the sort of modernist finish that doesn’t play well in pictures. It ends up looking like a bedspread that has been through the wash too many times. But of course, in person it would play very beautifully.
A traditionalist would have said she needed some sort of updo to take her hair to an evening look. She may well not like to mess with her head, and that’s fair enough.
Not that she should wear a uniform, but it’s a shame she did not stick to her formula of minimalist cuts and jewel tones, things that she has worn so well and have become her trademark.
Michelle Obama has been giving several designers, including Toledo and Wu, repeat performances. The first lady was a hit in Toledo’s black chiffon dress and pants ensemble for a fashion-star-studded Calvin Klein/Vogue fund-raiser in New York this past June. She wore Jason Wu for an interview with Barbara Walters.
Toledo’s designs are available exclusively at Barneys, where a spring version of the dress has been estimated at around $1,500. Now that he has been worn by the first lady for such an historic occasion, Jason Wu will be popular as he kicks off New York Fashion Week on Feb. 13.