Everyone is talking about the dress Michelle Obama wore last night at the victory celebration in Chicago's Grant Park. The designer of the red and black dress is Narciso Rodriguez - it was part of his Spring 2009 runway collection. We think Michelle could have made a better choice: she has a great figure but the ensemble was not flattering. Originally meant as a short, sleeveless cocktail number, the dress featured intense color blocks of red and black in a geometric pattern that did not translate well to the big screen HD screen we were watching. She got some bad advice on this one. But we did love her black, kitten heeled pumps. Here's a roundup of what bloggers, critics and journalists are saying about Michelle's victory dress.
New York Magazine's In Cut blog says Michelle Obama knows fashion: "We have a feeling she'll continue to mix affordable pieces with designer pieces as First Lady (squeals!), but this wardrobe choice proves this woman knows fashion and we have an exciting four years of political fashion ahead of us."
L.A. Times Fashion Critic Booth Moore writes, "The blogs are burning up with opinions about it (most of them negative), but I liked it -- the symbolism of patriotic red bursting out of black like a firecracker out of the night sky."
Debra Bass for the St. Louis Dispatchwrites, "Two words about Michelle's dress: No likey. Yes, yes, I'm a horrible fashion editor type person who is tooh ooked on superficiality. But this dress was not flattering. It actually made her look bulky in areas where one does not want to look bulky. And might I add that Michelle is not bulky."
The L.A. Times blog The Dish rag didn't like Michelle's dress: "Blame it on Narciso Rodriquez, a New York fashion designer, who made the bizarre dress that looked more like a Halloween costume than an election night frock."
Black Book Magazine writes: "Whether you loved it or hated it, Mrs. Obama's frock choice -- a red-and-black sleeveless sheath with a criss-crossed black satin cummerbund off Narciso Rodriguez's SS09 runway -- definitely made a statement."
Wendy Donahue at the Chicago Tribune said two tweaks to the dress made it less impressive: "Unfortunately, two key tweaks to the runway version of the dress, presumably made to take it from cocktail-sexy to first-ladylike, disrupted its intentions and architecture. (Check out the sleeveless original at style.com.) First, the lengthened bodice. Second, the cardigan that Obama layered on top."
The WSJ's Heard on the Runway says the dress should give a boost to designer Narciso Rodriguez.
A post on The Caucus blog at nytimes.com has a quote from Julie Gilhart, the fashion director of Barneys New York. She says, "That dress was unpretentious. It said, 'Be who you are - don't let someone else tell you how to be.'"
Style.com writes "We're not sure this is what her husband meant by 'change,' but for style watchers-not to mention anxious retailers-it will be refreshing to have a First Lady with a progressive sense of fashion."
Susan Langenhennig, fashion writer, The Times-Picayunesays, "I think her election-night dress was an odd choice. The cut didn't flatter her figure or work well on camera. The addition of a bolero-like sweater only added to the shapeless silhouette."
Lisa Armstrong, the fashion editor for Times Online, comments about how quickly the critics pounce: "They could have given her an hour or two to enjoy her husband's historic victory before raining on her parade. But why break a habit of the internet's lifetime? And so, moments after Tuesday's victory rally in Chicago, the poisoned arrows hailed down on Michelle Obama's crimson and black Narciso Rodriguez dress."
Mario Seveilla at The Mercury News A+E Interactive blog says, "I suppose this was an effort to tone down a very sexy dress but this altered version that Mrs. Obama fashioned at Barrack's victory speech was more 'trick-or-treat' than fashion chic."
Shefinds has some ideas for making Michelle Obama's Tuesday night style your own. They also write that, "We at SheFinds have always admired soon-to-be First Lady Obama's style, so we think she's still on track."
Verena Von Pfetten at the Huffington Post defends the dress against the "Debbie Downers out there."
Fashiontribes calls it a misstep for the "normally impeccable Michelle O."
There's also another roundup here from the Associated Press. This article includes a comment from designer Zac Posen: "I love how Barack and Michelle's beautiful daughters matched - a perfect complement."
Of course the big question now is: who will get to designer her inaugural ball gown? It will be an American designer, of that much we can be sure. We bet the faxes with pitches from designers are already rolling in to Obama HQ.
