Michelle Obama

At the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards at Splashlight Studios on Monday, Nov. 17, election fashion was still on everyone's mind. "She saw that dress and she liked it," said Narcisco Rodriguez, who designed Michelle Obama's Election Night dress. "She saw it on the runway, she chose it, I guess from the runway..." He nodded slowly and mouthed "yes" when asked if he'd known in advance that she would wear it.

The young designers of Proenza Schouler approached Mr. Rodriguez. "Did you see Michelle Obama in his dress?" cried Lazaro Hernandez. "Really major!"

"They have a fabulous new bag line," deflected Mr.  read more »

When asked about the kind of dress Michelle Obama should wear at Barack Obama's inauguration on Jan. 20, designer Mario Pinto, who designed the stunning red dress the future first lady wore on her visit to the White House yesterday, said: "I see her sleek but with more froth. It’s right for the moment. I don’t see her in a big, poufy ball skirt.” [WWD] 

The earrings Ms. Obama wore on Election Night with her red and black Narciso Rodriguez dress were designed by Loree Rodkin and cost $11,000. (They were not, however, paid for with campaign funds.) [Vogue UK via The Cut]  

Blake Lively will reportedly appear on the cover of W magazine. [Fashionista]   read more »

After opting for a controversial black and red number by New York designer Narciso Rodriguez on Election Night, Michelle Obama visited the White House today in a conservative (if snug) red dress by Maria Pinto, a Chicago favorite and creator of the blue dress Ms. Obama wore at the Democratic National Convention and the purple sheath she wore the night her husband claimed the Democratic nomination.

(This after a much-publicized appearance in J. Crew on The Tonight Show in the wake of news of Sarah Palin's $150,000 department store splurge.)  read more »

Colin Firth on Tom Ford's directorial debut in A Single Man, in which he's starring: "If he turns his hand to this with the brilliance that he's turned his hand to everything else that he's ever done in his life, it'll be a masterpiece." [Vogue UK]

Anna Wintour would like to get Michelle Obama on the cover of Vogue. [WWD] 

Here's a preview of Thakoon Panichgul's resort-ready line for Target, slated to hit stores on Christmas. [Racked]   read more »

Art Info reports that the New Museum has added an Elizabeth Peyton portrait of future first lady Michelle Obama to an exhibition of the artist's work. The painting, titled "Michelle and Sasha Obama Listening to Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention August 2008," was hung yesterday on the museum's fourth floor.

This is a funny gesture from Peyton, whose brilliantly colored, limply posed portraits of Kurt Cobain, King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and other pale, etiolated dandies, are about as far removed from the political and social pressures of American democracy as possible. Try, for a moment, to imagine a Peyton working the line at a campaign rally in Indiana.  read more »

Last night, Michelle Obama wore a Narciso Rodriguez dress from the designer's spring 2009 collection. While many blogs have posted negative reviews of the dress, the Los Angeles Times deemed it a "symbolism of patriotic red bursting out of black like a firecracker out of the night sky." [LA Times] 

Alexander McQueen has confirmed that he will design a line for Target. [Vogue UK] 

Elle MacPherson's lingerie line is doing better in a volatile market than it has...ever. Perhaps Bonnie Fuller knew what she was talking about when she predicted that lingerie sales would rise because people are staying home and having more sex during recession.  read more »

Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, Will.I.Am, and Star Jones were among the celebrities who attended Barack Obama's victory rally in Chicago's Grant Park last night. Ms. Winfrey called the win "the greatest experience of [her] lifetime." [US Weekly] 

An indignant Tim Robbins spent five hours attempting to vote yesterday after a registration mix-up that eventually required the attention of two police officers and the Board of Elections. [R&M]  read more »

The red and black dress Michelle Obama wore at last night's acceptance speech was from Narciso Rodriguez's Spring 2009 ready-to-wear collection. [Mrs. O via Racked] 

CHICAGO--The preferred meeting spot for Obama staffers here is the Cosi chain restaurant at the foot of the elevator leading to Obama headquarters inside 233 North Michigan ("the most complete office environment").

On Election Day, the last day of work, essentially, economic adviser Austan Goolsbee chatted with regional finance director Jordan Kaplan and his fiancee, New York finance director Jenny Yeager, who flew into Chicago a few hours earlier.

Campaign adviser Stephanie Cutter talked with two reporters at table before running to meet Michelle Obama.

The Obama people didn't look especially nervous, though Goolsbee said the office had a weird feeling because "it was all emptied out up there.  read more »

Michelle Obama wore J. Crew for her appearance on Jay Leno last night. Regarding Sarah Palin's new wardrobe, Ms. Obama told Mr. Leno that "our policy has been whatever you wear, you buy." [People]

Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford told a reporter that his show's "racy undertone" is a "weight on [his] conscience." [US Weekly]

Model Carol Alt is suing ex-husband and former New York Ranger Ron Greschner over $1 million he allegedly owes her. [NYDN]

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Correction of the day award goes to The New York Post's Page Six, which ran this item today:

The source who told us last week about Michelle Obama getting lobster and caviar delivered to her room at the Waldorf-Astoria must have been under the influence of a mind-altering drug. She was not even staying at the Waldorf. We regret the mistake, and our former source is going to regret it, too. Bread and water would be too good for such disinformation.

The original item, which ran on October 17th, has been scrubbed from the Post's Web site, but that doesn't mean it hasn't had an impact.  read more »

MIAMI—After several long introductions here in a gym at Florida International University, the hall went dark.

Spotlights roved around the stage. Inspiring trumpet music played on the loudspeaker. The lights came back on and an announcer on the loudspeaker introduced Senator Joe Lieberman, Cindy McCain and “the next president of the United States” John McCain.

The crowd went crazy. They waved their pompoms and held up all their “Mac Is Back” and "We Heart Cindy” and “In John We Trust” signs.

Lieberman, speaking first, said the welcome meant something indescribable to the McCains. “What that says to me,” he said, is that McCain will win Florida.  read more »

Among the most useful exercises to ward off mental plaque is to imagine reversed circumstances. Now a provocative version of that exercise has popped up on various message boards, written by someone who wonders how America would receive an Obama family that was ... well, more like the McCain and Palin families. It is especially useful for those who imagine that racial prejudice has magically disappeared:  read more »

“I understand the Republicans are excited by her,” said 23-year-old Niki Castle the other day. “It’s why all my South Carolina friends have ‘I want to be Sarah Palin when I grow up’ as their Facebook status updates! She’s a mother of five and she’s making a run for the biggest house in the world.”

Ms. Castle, who grew up in Greenville, S.C., works in Manhattan as an assistant at a literary agency. “For all the faulting that Obama gets for being such a charismatic speaker, she’s got that same charismatic ability,” she said. “My conservative friends, who think abortion should be illegal, think Sarah Palin is on the forefront of standing by that policy in her own family, with her pregnancy and her daughter’s. The part where I sort of shake my head is that she doesn’t agree with birth control, but she does agree with forcing her daughter to get married?”  read more »

For Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Denver last night, Michelle Obama wore a dress by Thakoon Panichgul. [WWD]

Karl Lagerfeld will help out with two Coco Chanel films currently in the works. He will work with the costumer for Chanel et Stravinsky and supervise the re-creation of costumes for Coco Avant Chanel, starring Audrey Tautou. [Fashionologie]

Burberry is continuing its U.S. expansion by opening its first U.S. children's store on November 7 at The Westchester mall in White Plains. [Vogue UK]  read more »

A quick review of the most prominently featured speakers over the first three days of the Democratic convention – which ones helped, which ones hurt, and which ones did neither.  read more »

DENVER--Last night, Denver mayor John Hickenlooper and his wife, New Yorker writer Helen Thorpe, hosted a party in honor of Slate’s just-released ObamaMania book, but there was another more infamous member of the New Yorker family in the room. Tina Brown was wearing an electric blue suit that certainly stood out against the wood molding and green wallpaper of downtown Denver’s Tattered Cover bookstore.

She stayed close to the exit, sipping white wine and chatting with her soon-to-be sister in news aggregation, Arianna Huffington. We asked Ms. Brown about the website she has been building with InterActiveCorp’s Barry Diller, but she was, as usual, reluctant to give details.  read more »

After Michelle Obama's remarks concluded the first day of the democratic Convention, I ran into Senator Chuck Schumer of New York waiting for a car outside the Pepsi center. He was very pleased with the way things had gone so far.

"Flawless," he said. "Michelle Obama—if 25 percent of Americans were watching that, we'll go up 5 percent in the polls. It was beautiful. I had tears in my eyes with Kennedy and I had more tears in my eyes with Michelle Obama. How beautiful."

"The whole key to this convention," he added, "is that the only way McCain wins is to say Barack is not like us, and they do it in a nasty way.  read more »

It's not unusual for a presidential nominee to appear at the convention, either in person or on video, before his formal acceptance speech. Done properly, the pre-acceptance cameo can stir some extra excitement and build anticipation for the nominee's Thursday night speech.

Perhaps the finest execution of this tradition was Bill Clinton's march to Madison Square Garden when he officially clinched the nomination during the roll call of the states in July 1992. As patriotic music blared and delegates celebrated in the hall, Clinton, along with his wife and daughter, walked from his hotel room, across a street and through a department store and to the Garden, where he waded through the sea of delegated on the floor before reaching the foot of the stage.  read more »

In a creepy new ad called "Voices," from bipartisan anti-poverty group ONE, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Michelle Obama, Cindy McCain and others speak through Matt Damon's face.

Mr. Damon opens up the ad with his own voice, saying, "Thanks to everyday Americans who chose to make a difference, millions of lives have been saved in the world's poorest countries." But the rest of the message is relayed through the voices of politicians and other Americans coming out of the actor's lips, Exorcist-style.

The ad is meant to encourage people to vote for a president who promises to commit to fighting world poverty. The organization, while not endorsing any candidate, believes that more can be done for an issue that hasn't gotten much airtime yet this election cycle.

[via HuffPo]

When it comes to Barack Obama’s running-mate search, the question of “when?” is now being asked just as often as “who?”

The Politico is reporting that Obama’s decision is expected this week – but that it also might come “as late as this weekend,” or even “the beginning of next week” at the Democratic convention. Which doesn’t really narrow it down at all. Marc Ambinder, meanwhile, notes that Obama is scheduled for a down day in Chicago this Friday and that “Democratic advance folks are being called to Chicago,” suggesting an end-of-week announcement could be in the works. Or maybe not.

It’s worth noting that the last time a VP choice was announced during a convention was in 1988, when George H.  read more »

The latest issue of Harper's Bazaar features a fashion shoot featuring Tyra Banks playing dress-up as the possible future first lady, Michelle Obama. Now, we could talk about how Ms. Banks might be bit too fierce (in more ways than one) to play the Jackie O-esque role of Mrs. Obama. But we're not going to do that! We're just going to let you judge for yourselves from this behind-the-scenes video of the shoot. Watch as Ms. Banks hangs in the Oval Office and ends the video by saying, "Michelle and Barack Obama, y'all might just be going to the White House, but I'm heading to White Castle!" Bring us back a slider, Ty-Ty!

[Via The Cut]

John Kerry's reps says that he was not partying with co-eds as the pictures of the Massachussets senator surrounded by college women and holding a beer might suggest. [Us Weekly]

Kate Hudson and Lance Armstrong may be over. [P6]

Tim Gunn reportedly appeared on the first season of Project Runway free of charge, and made only $2,500 per episode during the second season. [NY Daily News]

Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, is reportedly having some trouble with his summer programming choices as ratings have dropped. Who knew Baby Borrowers and American Gladiators could fail? [P6]

Michelle Obama made Vanity Fair's best dressed list alongside Julian Schnabel and SJP. [VF]

Madonna's rep says her client, who was recently photographed looking thin and sickly pale, is a just victim of an unfortunate and possibly touched up photo. [NY Daily News]

 

 

On Monday, July 21, at the top floor of the Hearst Tower, a crowd of wealthy-looking women gathered for a reception and panel discussion sponsored by Every Woman Counts, a nonpartisan endeavor of Redbook magazine and the Lifetime Network encouraging ladyfolk to participate in the coming election. And by “participate,” we assume they mean to wave placards around, perhaps; to knock on doors, sure—but also to just plain vote!

Redbook editor in chief Stacy Morrison said the event correlated nicely with her goals for the magazine: to bring women together. “I think women are resistant to the polarizing aspect of politics,” she said, conjuring a lovely, idealistic image of Our Bodies, Ourselves-era post-hippies braiding one another’s hair and clasping hands over “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.  read more »

There has apparently been a collapse of comic literacy in the United States of America, as the magazine-reading class in this city has deteriorated to the point at which it can no longer absorb a political cartoon. Barry Blitt’s assault on the bias and profiling leveled at Mr. and Mrs. Barack Obama, “The Politics of Fear,” on the cover of the July 21, 2008, issue of The New Yorker embodies the kind of wit that was once standard issue in great cartooning from John Tenniel to Herblock.

Mocking the racial preconceptions that the yahoos have tacked onto the Chicago politician Barack Obama—whose first name isn’t much stranger to the American palate than Adlai’s or Lyndon’s once were—was Blitt’s really good idea.  read more »

Slate's Christopher Beam has something to get off his chest.

In a post last night, Mr. Beam, who writes the website's 'Trailhead' blog, confessed that he may have accidentally set off the ridiculous Barack and Michelle Obama "terrorist fist-bump" meme that found its way into this week's New Yorker's cover illustration by Observer contributor Barry Blitt. That cover has spawned more op-eds, blog posts, news segments, and articles than, frankly, Media Mob is willing to link to, making it the most talked about magazine moment in history since Miley Cyrus bared her back in Vanity Fair, lo, two months ago.

According to Mr.  read more »

Women’s bodies are revolting! I don’t mean that the way it sounds. The girls of the world have simply had enough. They are mad as hell and they are not going to take it anymore. Anarchy and change are in the air.

But what exactly is going on? Is the super-skinny trend coming to an end? Are real women—remember back when being naturally curvaceous was good thing?—about to make a giant comeback? Are Michelle Obama’s arms too thick or too thin? Will Angelina Jolie’s womb continue to burst with babies? Is the anorexic-but-busty trend—that ho look against which I inveighed in my most recent book, Eccentric Glamour (Simon and Schuster, $24), finally beating a retreat? So many questions!  read more »

Let’s start with the ho trend.

In his media column today, David Carr revisits the hubbub surrounding Barack Obama's decision to allow Access Hollywood to interview his daughters. Obama eventually told Matt Lauer that the family "won't be doing it again," but Carr suggests that the whole incident ultimately worked to the Obama campaign's advantage.

To be sure, the Obamas haven't shied away from softer media outlets, and at least one expert thinks that is a good thing for them.

In an e-mail exchange last week, I asked Jin Chon, Hillary Clinton's press secretary for specialty media, who had a fair amount of success putting Clinton in the generally friendly confines of entertainment shows, about the merits of politicians using entertainment-focused media.  read more »

Michelle Obama or Cindy McCain?

That's what Tim Gunn was asked as part of Time 's 10 Questions feature, and to which it seemed he gave a fairly benign answer:

Michelle Obama. Absolutely. She looks so comfortable and relaxed in her style, in her fashion, and she exudes that. She has a presence that gives you confidence in her.

But New York Magazine's The Cut fashion blog discovered that in the videotaped version of the Q&A, the Project Runway host gave a rather more severe answer. After giving praise to Mrs. Obama, he compares her to Mrs. McCain, whom he says "looks like someone has twisted her ponytail into a knot and tried to give her a face-lift." Zing!

Also, of note: Mr. Gunn refers to himself in third person, beginning the interview by saying: "Tim Gunn is absolutely, completely floored, and exhilarated and thrilled to be here!" O.K., wow.

In an upcoming four-part interview with Access Hollywood (click 'play' above, or here to view a preview on their Web site), the Obama family was grilled by the bubbly Maria Menounos about the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's fashion status. 

Senator Obama's 10-year-old daughter, Malia, told Ms. Menounos that she recently spotted her "papa" in People magazine, which was weird because she typically sees people like Angelina Jolie in there, "a real important person, no offense," she said, laughing with her mother.

Malia and 7-year-old Sasha also said that they give their father fashion tips, to which Senator Obama said, “Malia basically avoids me embarrassing her by giving me these tips, especially when I am around her friends.  read more »

Not everyone in the crowd at the Waldorf Astoria last night, where Michelle Obama addressed gay activists at a fund-raiser for the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council of the Democratic National Committee, was bowled over by her talk of “robust civil unions,” even as she received a generally warm response for the rest of her speech.

Obama, who followed New York first lady Michelle Paterson and took the stage to the theme song “Michelle, My Belle,” mostly spoke about how her husband would continue to hold onto his principles through the campaign. She made no explicit mention of his calculated decision to absorb a big editorial hit by opting out of the public financing system, except to say how happy she was about the large number of small donors the campaign had attracted.  read more »

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Michelle Obama did her part for Democratic unity here today, referring to Hillary Clinton as an "extraordinary woman" at a round-table event with former New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen.

"Because of Hillary Clinton's work, the issues of importance to women and working families are more at the forefront than ever before," Obama said, the day before Barack Obama will appear with Clinton for the first time since the primary ended.

Naturally enough, she sought to portray herself and her husband as closely in tune with female concerns.

One of the first rounds of applause during her brief speech came when she paid tribute to her mother for resourcefulness.  read more »

Another sign of a thaw between the Obama campaign and some of the powerful women who have long been allied with the Clintons: Michelle Obama will speak at a lunch for the National Partnership for Women & Children tomorrow.

The release from the campaign notes that Emily's List founder Ellen Malcolm and Cheryl Mills, who was deputy White House counsel under Bill Clinton, are both on the board of the organization and will be at the event.

Here's the announcement:

Chicago, IL – This Friday, June 20, Michelle Obama, wife of Senator Barack Obama, will speak at the National Partnership for Women & Families 2008 Annual Luncheon.  read more »

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Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis have both reportedly paid a visit to the doctor shortly after Sex and the City's release, opting for a breast augmentation surgery and a varicose vein removal, respectively. [P6]

Barack and Michelle Obama appear on the cover of Us Weekly this week with Mrs. Obama depicted as a "down-to-earth mom." Never mind the fact that she graduated cum laude from Princeton followed by Harvard Law. [Us Weekly]

Exes Anne Hathaway and Raffaello Follieri stayed at separate residences in New York yesterday—Ms. Hathaway at Gramercy Park Hotel and Mr. Follieri at his rental in Trump Tower—but were reportedly planning to meet up for dinner at Cipriani's.  read more »

Here's one example of how Michelle Obama is, as the New York Times said in a profile of her today, "softening her image."

A "source" at last night's Obama fundraiser hosted by Michelle Obama, Anna Wintour, Calvin Klein, and Andre Leon Talley says that Mr. Talley might have his sights set on styling Mrs. Obama. [P6]

The Trump kids found out about their parents' marital troubles when they saw covers of the Post, one of which read, "Marla Boasts to Pals about Donald: BEST SEX I EVER HAD." [P6]

Taking a cue from Katherine Heigl, Lindsay Lohan has taken herself out of the Emmy race in hopes of improving her chances next year for her appearances on Ugly Betty. [US Weekly]

Kate Moss, Daria Werbowy, and Lara Stone posed for a group "summer camp" spread in W Magazine that doesn't look like any kind of summer camp we've ever been to.  read more »

A suitcase filled with $15,000 worth of Russell Simmons jewelry was reportedly stolen when one of Mr. Simmons' employees left it in the hallway of a Bleecker Street building for about 30 minutes. [P6]

Heidi Klum says that Project Runway will get a facelift on Lifetime that will include more catch phrases and a "Hollywood flair." [Forbes via The Cut]

Jennifer Lopez stopped by Obama's offices to talk about "matters close to her heart." [People  read more »