Since we only have a handful of months left with the Obamas, let’s enjoy them while we can. Wait, I spoke too soon, because I am not enjoying Michelle Obama’s dress AT ALL. Maybe it’s the way everything is styled though. Last night, the Obamas welcomed Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and his wife, Ho Ching, to the White House for a fancy state dinner. I saw Pres. Obama and the prime minister’s press conference earlier in the day on Tuesday, and I came away really liking the prime minister. Just as a sidenote or whatever, he seems like a cool guy.
Anyway, Michelle wore an American designer, which she usually does for big events. She wore Brandon Maxwell, who is closely associated with Lady Gaga. Maxwell often personally styles Gaga for big events and creates custom looks for Gaga with some regularity. I like the idea of this Maxwell dress on Michelle more than I like the execution of the dress. The bodice just looks too stiff and slightly oversized. The way Michelle’s hair is visually mimicking the bust of the dress is no bueno either. Maxwell told WWD: “She is the embodiment of the woman that inspires me to create, and a role model for women all over the world.” He also said it was a thrill and honor to dress “a woman that represents the good of this nation, and who has done so much for the young women that inhabit it.” Which is really nice and sweet. Too bad this was really not MObama’s best look.
.@FLOTUS chose custom @BrandonMaxwell for this evening's state dinner: https://t.co/BApJ53HAp0 pic.twitter.com/zLdBYAMiOH
— Pret-a-Reporter (@pretareporter) August 3, 2016
Michelle Obama is looking good. She knows it, and Barack Obama definitely knows it. https://t.co/XNMZg37rlo pic.twitter.com/k9vJktRryd
— E! News (@enews) August 3, 2016
Photos courtesy of social media.
I can’t help thinking if the sash around the waist had been black, or red/dark pink, it would have really made the dress pop. Otherwise I like it.
It looks horrible.
Sad, but true.
Yep. She has amazing shoulders, nice silhouette, very athletic.. it takes a lot of work to make her look like that.
On the other side Singapore’s first lady is beautiful!
maybe this is payback because she’s plagiarizing Melania’s RNC white mess of a dress.
I’m looking at the E! News tweet picture, with just the bodice, and I can’t help but think “Spa Towel.” She can do better!
I wonder, if like Clinton, the white color is a nod to the National Women’s Party and the suffragist movement.
It should work, but, it doesn’t.
It’s okay from the side; hideous from the front. It looks like a uniform or long apron. The belt is wrong. The neckline (top) should be concave, rather than convex— makes her look like a linebacker.
agree, and the hair is horrible. Michelle rules, but she can’t do strapless dresses very well. her neck is too short and she’s got defined trapezius muscles. but what’s ruining this is the awful hair. it looks like cafeteria worker in a hair net. What is going ON!?
I agree. I covet her arm/back muscles, but this does not do those guns any justice.
There are just some styles that people with certain body styles cannot wear. I’m 5 foot nothing…I can’t wear maxi dresses…I love them, but I look terrible in them. If you have not seen the picture of the sleeveless yellow dress that she wore earlier in the day, google that one…she looks amazing!
I actually love the dress but yes her (trapezoid?) muscles don’t suit it. She needs to stand up ramrod straight with perfect posture for strapless gowns and also the hair would have been better with a high chignon/bun.
yeah, my biggest issue with it is that it makes FLOTUS look BIG. she’s tall, but she’s not brawny.
don’t like white as a color for ANY article of clothing, and that applies to this, too. would look much better in a jewel tone.
Thanks, doofus. Brawny was the word I was searching for to describe this look. Mrs. Obama is a lovely woman but this dress and hair make her look a bit too fierce.
yeah the neckline is wrong and the color is weird. It’s not really white, it’s like a dirty grey white. She usually looks great, this is disappointing.
I think the dress is lovely. Her hair could have been better, but I think she looks pretty!
It’s definitely the hair for me. The structure of the dress shows off her amazingly sculpted upper body, but the hair is a no. I think a softer look with the hair would have complemented the dress more.
Yes softer that’s what I couldn’t pin point!
Yes, the hair is FAR too severe. She should have definitely gone for a softer look. I faux bob with soft waves would have looked really nice.
The dress in video looks lovely – it looks not as great in stills. But I thought she looked stunning walking out for photos.
Same here I actually have NO problems with the Dress, The Hair Tho?!?!? No
I’m with you, ladies. Love the dress, but hate the hair.
I don’t hate the dress, the bodice to me is a little off but otherwise she pulls it off. The hair is NOT flattering.
I love Mrs. Ho Ching’s outfit tho.
The dress is not the issue for me, the makeup and hair is throwing the look off for me. It looks too subtle for this type of dress. She looks tall and regal and awesome from the neck down. Maybe a dramatic eye or darker lip would have worked better. The hair is too severe as well.
There’s some really strong contouring going on, and I think that’s the weak spot in an otherwise fine makeup job. Love the earrings. The dress is merely ok. Overall, not terrible, but not great.
Michelle Obama is by all accounts an amazing woman, but her sense of style is bad. She has way more misses than hits.
Wow, really?!
I know very little about fashion, but I’ve never heard this criticism before. I can only think of one other time that I didn’t LOVE how she looked. Shows how much I know.
I know. I kind of thought she had pretty good style. She always seems to know who she is when she dresses. I haven’t ever felt like her clothes were wearing her.
I think she has great fashion sense. She takes risks, which is bound to give a few misses. IMO, she hits the marks so much, that when she takes a bad risk, that’s what people remember.
@Locke Lamora
I agree. IMO.
Often, she just misses… something slightly off….when she gets it right, however, she’s stunning.
Michelle has incredible style and is unbelievable fashionable. She is an icon that changed the industry. I like the dress the hair last night was not great and hurt the overall look.
Icon that changed the industry? Says what credible source? Haha.
I agree, although her style has improved over the years. I don’t recall seeing any belted cardigans recently.
She was absolutely gorgeous at the Democratic Convention. This one not so much
“The way Michelle’s hair is visually mimicking the bust of the dress is no bueno either.”
You nailed it. Kate and Aiobhan too. It’s the hair that’s ruining this look for me.
Yes, I’m in this camp, too.
I really like what the designer said, very sweet and gracious.
The dress looks stunning in the video, much less so in the still photographs for some reason. I loved it, and the moment where BO pointed at her then gave the thumbs up to indicate he thought she looked gorgeous. The only thing is that she looked a little uncomfortable in the dress.
Ha! Just said almost exactly the same up thread. And totally agree… she was striking in the video on the news this morning.
The dress is lovely. The hair is a tragedy. Had it been styled differently, (I’m thinking updo) this would have been Mucho Bueno.
Yeah, I agree. Maybe if she wore her hair down?
She looks a little bit uncomfortable in it, too, which also may influence the look.
Or a soft updo? The dress is so severe it needs soft hair IMO.
I am not a fan of this styling for our beautiful FLOTUS. It’s just not flattering, and the hair and the dress seem to exacerbate the poor styling of each other.
I think I like when hair hair is softly styled down the best.
she looks like shes popping out of a white cake or something.
the dress is too stiff, to high up on her chest, the hair is doing her no favors.
I agree that softer hair and a less-rigid fabric on the dress would have made this a tad better.
Yes about the color – I think this might have been stunning in a deep tangerine or deep lime green.
I love it! And that’s not because I’m looking through teary eyes and thinking of how to remove term limits…
Sorry it’s a miss for me from the pictures. But I still love her! She’s more than a dress and more than her looks…brilliant woman.
I love the aesthetic and cut of the dress.
But it does not flatter her IMO.
I don’t like this look on her at all. It makes her look much wider than she actually is.
I thought the yellow dress she wore the other day was even worse for making her appear wider than she is. It was a gorgeous color on her, but the cut didn’t flatter her body.
I am in true denial that they have to leave.
THANKS FDR!!!!
Lol. I hear you, believe me, but I gotta imagine that 8 years was more than enough for them.
Eight years in such a stressful and thankless job is probably enough for any family. They have some really fun years with their children ahead and I hope they get to enjoy the heck out of them!
If she’d worn her hair high, like Nefertiti, I think this would have slayed. She looks like a goddess but her facial expressions convey a little discomfort.
Loved the dress not the hair. But I love how much Prez Obama is never shy about showing his love for his wife in public. He always looks at her with love and respect after years of marriage. Swoon.
I like the dress in profile but straight on it’s not very flattering. Had it been in emerald or sapphire it would probably have been stunning on her.
YIKES! NOT good. Makes her look like a linebacker. Or a gold medal swimmer, with those shoulders.
Love her but this look is not flattering at all. She’s very statuesque; the dress emphasizes this; not in a good way.
The dress is wearing her. She’s a beautiful woman but this dress does nothing for her.
Michelle Obama is truly beautiful inside and out. 98 percent of the time she looks fantastic. Just my personal opinion on this dress…the top of the dress is not complimentary. She is very fit too. I do not think anyone would benefit from that roll of fabric that is at the top of the dress. Think about if that were gone…I think it would be very beautiful on her. It would also help if it were in a jewel tone and not white.
Yeah, it’s the color. This looks very bridal.
Horrible dress. It does her no favors. Such a shame.
Not a fan of this dress. It does nothing for her and makes her look huge. She usually has great style, just not this time.
Not a fashion person at all, I either like something or not. Flotus is usually lovely IMO but not this time. She even seemed uncomfortable and stiff in this particular dress.
Tragic. The top of the dress looks like icing on a Tastykake, and her hair…no.
That dress is one of her worst choices ever, and she’s had some bad ones, like the first inauguration dress that looked like it had toilet paper all over it. This dress makes her look like a football player and does nothing to flatter her arms, shoulders, or neck. And that hairstyle is appallingly bad. A jewel-toned column dress would have looked much better.
The dress is not too bad in isolation. It’s her hair and makeup that are really appalling here (and I love Michelle so it pains me to say it). Not to mention that there is something off about her posture in these photos too that makes the dress look even stiffer.
She doesn’t like it, you can tell. Probably because the bodice looks like one of the slip covered chairs at the state dinner! Is this the only fabric/color this guy works in?
The POTUS and FLOTUS are the best of us. I like the others of you will never forget when he won the election. I was with my three sons and the love, hope and excitement was palpable. So happy to have been alive and share that moment with them.
May we all survive this mess we’re in now. I want a better future for those three sons of mine and now two grandchildren and while Hillary is not perfect (who is?) . I’M WITH HER for hope.
She is a beautiful woman but I don’t think any FLOTUS should go strapless. Something about it is so pedestrian to me, but I know that’s a controversial opinion! I will miss seeing what MO wears though. I am voting for HRC (begrudgingly), and I would love it if she got a stylist and started bringing it. Just a pipe dream….