michelleobama

Table Fifity-Two: The President's Valentine's Day Dinner Destination

Like many other couples, the President and First Lady went out to dinner on Valentine's Day. The pair dined at a Chicago restaurant which is owned by Oprah's former personal chef, Art Smith. Table Fifty-Two specializes in high-end versions of classic southern food like shrimp and grits, crab cakes, pan-seared catfish, jambalaya with sides of macaroni and cheese and collard greens. According to the Chicago Tribune, Smith, who was Oprah Winfrey's chef for ten years, greeted the couple and whisked them away to a private dining room. The dinner destination apparently surprised some local foodies who were guessing that the Obamas might end up at Spiaggia for Italian food or at Topolobampo for Rick Bayless's Mexican/Southwestern fare.Table Fifity-Two is known for its generous portions, is Mrs. Obama toting home the leftovers in the picture above?

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Tags: art smith, ArtSmith, barack obama, BarackObama, chicago, michelle obama, MichelleObama, restaurant, table fifty-two, TableFifty-two

Michelle Obama's Jason Wu Gown

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Celebrity Shopping

At the start of December, Jason Wu called it a "long shot" when asked if he would be designing for the inauguration. Looks like the long shot came through. Young designer Jason Wu was the designer of Michelle Obama's white inaugural gown. Like Isabel Toledo who designed inauguration outfit Michelle Obama wore earlier, Jason Wu is an American designer born elsewhere (Isabel Toledo was born in Cuba, Wu was born in Taiwan). Both also attended Parsons in New York. President Obama wore a white bow tie with his tuxedo. Mrs. Obama also wore diamond drop earrings and a diamond cuff bracelet from Loree Rodkin to match the sparkle of the beaded gown. Wu's gowns generally cost between $3,000-$6,000.

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Tags: inaugural ball, inaugural gown, InauguralBall, InauguralGown, jason wu, JasonWu, michelle obama, MichelleObama

The History of Inaugural Gowns

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

Why is what the new first lady wears at the Inaugural Ball so important? Is it just a fashion moment or is it something more. The gown is donated to the Smithsonian (following tradition Mrs. Obama will be donating hers after the ball) which does make it a part of history. But it isn't just that, it's the idea that the image of the first lady in her gown is a symbol of what the next four years will bring. At this critical moment in history, Michelle Obama's fashion choices seem to carry particular weight. The piece from Forbes above gives a little history on inaugural gowns and why we should care so much about what one woman wears on one day.

Tags: fashion, inauguration, michelle obama, MichelleObama

Cooper's Hawk Winery Toasts Michelle Obama

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Another Illinois-based business getting a boost from the Obamas is the Cooper's Hawk Winery. The Cooper's Hawk Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine will be served for the official toast to the new first lady at the Illinois State Society's Illinois Inaugural Gala in Washington D.C. on Monday. The winery, which has restaurants in Orland Park, Burr Ridge, Wheeling and South Barrington, will also be serving red and white wines throughout the event. The Blanc de Blanc sells for $13.99 a bottle and most of the Cooper's Hawk wines are in the under $25 range. The winery purchases grapes from across the United States including Washington, California, Illinois and Michigan and produces over 125,000 gallons of wine a year.

[via Chicago Tribune]

Tags: coopers hawk, CoopersHawk, inauguration toast, InaugurationToast, michelle obama, MichelleObama, sparkling wine, SparklingWine

Michelle Obama Wears Jason Wu

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Celebrity Shopping

Hot young designer Jason Wu, who we mentioned recently on this blog, got a big boost into the national spotlight last week when Michelle Obama wore his #17 from his Spring 2009 collection for her interview with Barbara Walters. The $3,510 raw silk dress with hand-embroidered rosettes is part of a line of elegant evening gowns and ladylike dresses selling in the $1,000 to $6,000 range. The dress features hand-embroidered florets with French knots that took 100 hours of labor in a New York studio. Wu told the Wall Street Journal's Heard on the Runway that Mrs. Obama paid for the dress. It bears noting that Wu's fashionable and feminine Spring 2009 line features more than a couple of ball gowns which could be perfect for an Inauguration gala but apparently Wu isn't focusing on that, telling the WSJ that it's "a long shot."

Gallery: Michelle Obama - First Lady of Fashion?

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Tags: jason wu, JasonWu, michelle obama, MichelleObama

Michelle Obama to receive $30,000 thank you from the President-Elect

by Meg Massie (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

She loves her inexpensive outfits from the mall, but Michelle Obama will soon be sporting something much fancier than anything you'll find at J. Crew.

A spokesman for top Italian designer Giovanni Bosco has confirmed that President-Elect Barack Obama is looking to purchase a $30,000 Harmony ring made of rhodium and encrusted with diamonds as a thank you gift to his wife Michelle. We expect the future First Lady to receive the ring in time for her husband's January inauguration ceremony. The gift is a thank you for her support throughout the last two years of campaigning.

One of the world's rarest and most precious metals, only about 25 tons of rhodium are mined each year, setting the price at over $7,660 per ounce -- or about ten times the cost of gold. The ring may be uncharacteristically extravagant for Mrs. Obama, but we're sure she'll find a way to wear it with all her usual grace and confidence.

UPDATE: Apparently, the veracity of the story is in limbo. Obama's team is flatly denying the existence of the gift, and the purported jeweler has clammed up, refusing to comment at all. Is this just an attempt to paint the soon-to-be First Couple as out-of-touch with the "common American"? Or is it just a silly rumor?

Gallery: Michelle Obama - First Lady of Fashion?

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Tags: barack obama, BarackObama, Giovanni Bosco, GiovanniBosco, harmony-ring, jewlery, michelle obama, MichelleObama, rhodium

Michelle Obama's Diamond Earrings

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Celebrity Shopping

(Is Michelle Obama a First Lady of Fashion? Click the photo and decide for yourself!)

Much has been made of the black and red Narcisco Rodriguez dress Michelle Obama wore when Barack Obama made his victory speech on election night but what about those sparklers in her ears? Vogue UK reports that the big dangling earrings are 18K white gold triple dangle earrings in pear, oval and marquee shapes covered with small diamonds. Fashion reporter Hitha Prabhakar prices them out at $10,275. Since Michelle Obama has said that the soon-to-be First Family buy everything they wear, we can only assume these were a special occasion splurge.

Gallery: Michelle Obama - First Lady of Fashion?

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Tags: diamond earrings, DiamondEarrings, loree rodkin, michelle obama, MichelleObama

Elizabeth Peyton Exhibit Draws Crowds, Crosses its Fingers

by Tracy Chait (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

The New Museum has enjoyed a terrific response to its Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton exhibit, the first American retrospective of the artist's work, and two teeming floors of Peyton's Hockney-style portraits of cultural icons like Marc Jacobs, Kurt Cobain and Georgia O'Keefe.

And though the show has drawn huge crowds and notable press, the Museum is still hanging onto what could be its curatorial ace in the hole: a portrait of Michelle Obama (at right, via W) that will only join the exhibit if Obama wins tomorrow.

If that happens, Peyton's rendering of the brand new First Lady and her daughter Sasha would hang in good company -- featured works include a tender portrait of Jackie Onassis and John F. Kennedy, Jr.

See the gallery for more of what's currently on show. The exhibit will run through January 11. The New Museum is at 235 Bowery, New York, NY.

Gallery: Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton

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Tags: elizabeth peyton, ElizabethPeyton, kurt cobain, KurtCobain, michelle obama, MichelleObama, new museum, NewMuseum, portraits

Cheap Chic: Thakoon to Design for Target

by Tracy Chait (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

Thakoon Panichgul is the latest designer to collaborate with Target, according to WWD, in what is promised to be a print-heavy collection that will debut at Christmas. Favored by fashion insiders since his debut in 2004, Thakoon has reached a much broader audience after Michelle Obama donned his design at her husband's acceptance of the Democratic nomination for President.

It becomes one of those chicken-before-the-egg conundrums: much wider audience, then the collaboration with Target or vice versa?

[via WWD]

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Tags: michelle obama, MichelleObama, target, thakoon

Cindy McCain's $300,000 Outfit for the RNC

by Tracy Chait (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Events, Celebrity Shopping

Thanks to the calculator-savvy fashion dept. over at Vanity Fair, we've got an estimated grand total for Cindy McCain's outfit from Tuesday evening's Republican National Convention festivities. The final cha-ching? $300,000. Highlights include her Oscar de la Renta fierce-collared shirtdress, a pair of $280,000 diamond sparklers and Chanel's J12 white ceramic watch. The shoes have yet to be identified -- any guesses readers? (I'm betting Manolo.)

At least in the realm of fashion, Cindy is the elitist in this race. Remember Michelle Obama's pick for her appearance on The View? A $148 number from mass chain White and Black.

[via Vanity Fair]

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Tags: chanel, cindy mccain, CindyMccain, diamonds, elitist, michelle obama, MichelleObama, oscar de la renta, OscarDeLaRenta, repubican national convention, RepubicanNationalConvention, the view, TheView, white and black, WhiteAndBlack