Inauguration Style - How To Wear Color In Winter

This photo of the First Lady and her daughters at the inauguration is fabulous.

The colors, including Michelle Obama's gloves in orchid, are just stunning.

And, on the topic of color
how amazing are these Lorraine Schwartz 80 carat emerald earrings
and 50 carat emerald ring worn by Beyonce?

Wow.

Vintage Value Venture - Michelle Obama Style

Michelle Obama's fashion choices have not just been erratic over the last couple of years, they've been downright inappropriate at times.
But for the White House Christmas party, she pulled it all together with aplomb!

Michelle Obama in a vintage Norman Norell cocktail dress...clasy, figure flattering, and first lady like.
(Has someone on her staff been reading BHB or Wendy B or Zuburbia or Couture Allure?)
Instead of the giant diamond earrings, I would have styled her with smaller vintage diamond earrings and a classic vintage diamond brooch as well, such as the one that I sent to Julia Roberts to wear at the White House a couple of weeks ago,
but overall, Mrs. Obama gets the BHB seal of approval for this look.

First Lady Fashion Faux Pas - Michelle Off The Mark

Can someone please tell me how our First Lady goes from this

to this

The Daily Mail may call it "confident off-duty chic"

but I call it a First Lady Fashion Faux Pas

both unflattering and in bad taste

Food Bank Fashion Or How To Dress In A Recession

Here's a little fashion tip from the First Lady if you are volunteering this weekend for Big Sunday
Lanvin sneakers....comfortable and chic!

Lanvin Cap Toe Trainers Available At Barneys $540

Solve World Hunger. Get Out Of My Closet.

The Obama Deficit

From the Telegraph

Michelle Obama says her husband Barack knows nothing about fashion
President Barack Obama is obsessed with his wife's clothes but knows nothing about fashion, the First Lady, Michelle Obama has revealed.


Obsessed with his wife's clothes...Oh God I hope not.


Mrs Obama, who has swiftly become an American style icon with a Vogue cover to her name, says that she orders the president to stop nosing around her wardrobe, puts up with him mocking her collection of shoes and has to wear one trendy belt when he is not around because he has no sense of style.

Describing a scene which will sound familiar to many less illustrious couples, Mrs Obama said her husband remains bemused by her interest in clothes. "He's always asking: 'Is that new? I haven't seen that before,'" she said, revealing that she replies: "Why don't you mind your own business? Solve world hunger. Get out of my closet."
She went on to mock Mr Obama's tone when dealing with that age old thorny issue: the number of shoes a woman needs. Imitating her husband, Mrs Obama said: "You didn't need any more shoes. The shoes you had on yesterday were fine. Why can't you just wear that for the rest of the presidency?"

Solving world hunger is a lofty goal, at this rate I'd just prefer the President to help stabilize the economy.

Jewelry News On The Web

Did Malia and Sasha make this in their arts & crafts class?

Can you imagine Carla Bruni Sarkozy sporting such nonsense?

Jewelry Whore has a new and improved site full of stuff about Peruvian opals...which I like and Michelle Obama's "found objects-art project" jewelry which I think is an embarrassment.

My favorite gossip girl from Gem Gossip has posted on InStyle's article on what's inside celebrity jewelry boxes

and some great vintage jewelry finds for under $250 including pieces from Beladora2.com.

Wired magazine has an in depth article on The Untold Story World's Biggest Diamond Heist full of shady diamond dealers and Italian mafiosi.

Some jewelry biz news from IDEX

Dubai Pearl Trade Increases 300% in 2008

and

RBC Downgrade Sparks Harry Winston Takeover Speculation

From the Wall Street Journal

Bulgari Posts Sharp Fall in Profit, Cuts Dividend

Light, Bright and Just Right

OK, so I wasn't impressed by Michelle Obama's choices in dresses for the Inauguration.

But...I was impressed with her jewelry.

Long, lean and brimming with briolettes!

Big, bold, and gorgeous!

Multiple bangles of bling!

Loree Rodkin - Designer to Rock Royalty and Michelle Obama

I'm not a huge fan of jewelry designer Loree Rodkin because her pieces tend to be a little too Rock & Roll for me....you know what I mean, all Maltese crosses, black diamonds, and trying too hard to be hip.

Let's put it this way...if it's the kind of thing that Madonna wears....I won't be wearing it.

But, Rodkin has toned it down with her new designs.

I love the way that Michelle Obama looked...in terms of the subtlety of her diamonds.

She sparkled without being overwhelmed by her jewelry.

Very classy indeed.

(photos snagged from Jewelrywhore blog)

First Lady Fashion For The Inauguration - Fugly

Uh Oh...I'm going to get myself in trouble for this...

Every article that I've read today has just gushed about our First Lady's Inaugural style.

Well, I'm just not drinking the Kool-Aid.

I think that Michelle Obama is a very formidable woman.
Her personal style is extremely modern and chic.

She knows how to choose the right outfit for the occasion.

She dresses up well without looking like she put too much effort into it.

She knows how to wear clothes that flatter her figure.

She looks spectacular in vibrant colors and she's not afraid to wear them.

So what I want to know is what the hell happened today?????

I'm sorry but I think that this ensemble is outright F-U-G-L-Y.

Neither the fit nor the color is flattering.


And, hate me if you must...but I think that her inaugural gown is another miss.

With all of the potential designs, colors and fabrics available for the big night

Why did the First Lady choose this outfit?

President Obama, on the other hand looked positively debonair.

Going forward...the change that I am hoping for is that she goes back to the style that suited her so well during the campaign.

First Lady Fashion - Going Glam For The Inauguration

From the very start of campaigning for 2008 election there have been countless articles about who's wearing what....well, I mean about the women of course. (God knows nobody gives a damn about what the male candidates or husbands are wearing)

We've had criticism of Hillary and her ubiquitous pants suits, Cindy McCain and her bling, Sarah Palin and her Neiman Marcus wardrobe and Michelle Obama and her unusual dress for the acceptance speech.

Well. I'm going record here and stating that I expect the First Family of the Free World to dress to the nines...at least in their public appearances. (If they wear sweats and flip flops in their private lives it's OK with me.)

Why do I care?
Designer and upscale fashion is an important business in the US retail sector and I believe that in this economy our First Family should promote it by wearing the clothes of both classic and up and coming American Designers....and preferably clothes that were manufactured in the US.

Look at the First Lady of France, Carla Bruni, she's a walking advertisement for Dior, YSL and the French Fashion Houses.

So far I think that Michelle Obama is off to a good start. I'd like to see her mix it up with some classic ladylike day dresses, suits and evening gowns from Oscar de la Renta, Tracy Reese, Carolina Herrera, Rachel Roy, Isaac Mizrahi, Vera Wang, Donna Karen, Ralph Lauren, Philip Lim, Zac Posen, Peter Som, Jason Wu, Richard Chai, Bagley Mischka and Michael Kors. I'd also like to see her in something from Korto of Project Runway, who I think is tremendously talented.

And why not a little glam for Mrs. Obama, she's got the authority to pull it off.

It's going to be freezing at the Inauguration in January so she should leave the Republican cloth coat at home and dress warmly in this patriotic blue state blue fox jacket, manufactured in the US.

Dyed Blue, Blue Fox 3/4 Jacket on sale at the Fur Outlet $999.00
Beladora Tanzanite and Diamond Dangle Earrings ...a little more than $999

And...how about some promotion of the American Jewelry Industry with a little more blue for the inaugural ball with these elegant diamond and tanzanite dangle earrings from Beladora.com, the tanzanite and diamonds reflecting her African heritage.

Granted, they are a little more expensive than the fur jacket but with the increase in her husbands book sales, I think she she can easily afford them.

First Lady Fashion - Regal Red

So here we go, within mere days after the election we already have the fashion press reporting nit picking on Michelle Obama's Red and Black Dress.
From the Globe and Mail

Ms. Obama typically chooses clothes that flatter her
feminine yet athletic physique - which may explain why the election-night dress
came across as a blip on an otherwise faux-pas-free fashion record. The panels
made her hips look wide, and there was unusual bunching around the waist. At
times, she seemed to be fussing with the black cardigan.

I thought that she looked totally appropriate in a dress with a focus on red
which after all is the power color of choice for First Ladies.

Michelle Obama - BattleAx to Bombshell

I'm staying out of politics this election season but I do want to comment on the transformation of Michelle Obama. Early on we had the Battle Ax look, then the Jackie O phase. Now she's gone straight to Bombshell and she looks gorgeous.

Here's the Wall Street Journal on Michelle's Fashion Campaign.