Frock of the Week: The FLOTUS in Vintage

The US First Lady Michelle Obama has set vintage lover's hearts a flutter by stepping out in - shock, horror - a vintage Norman Norell for a Christmas concert in Washington. I love the flattering square neckline and the full tulle skirt and I love also that Michelle continues to support American designers, past or present.

Norman Norell worked with another great American designer Hattie Carnegie until 1940 when he stared his own label Traina Norell, which eventually became Norman Norell in 1960.

I've posted about a couple of other celebs in vintage Norell before: Marisa Tomei in Traina Norell and Kristin Davis in a Norman Norell at one of the SATC 2 functions. Kristin's golden sheath dress is one of Norell's most celebrated styles, but according to the Vintage Fashion Guild he was also known for the waist less chemise, pussy-bows, precision tailoring and the use of the finest fabrics.

I love keeping up with Michelle's style over at Mrs O and I hope that this isn't a one and only occurrence. For the fun of it, lets pick which great American designer Obama should wear next. Oleg Cassini, James Galanos, vintage Oscar de la Renta?

PS Apparently Michelle bought her dress from New York Vintage. Lots of pretty pictures over there!

Style Stayers in 2009

Of course best dressed lists are completely subjective, and one person's Alexa Chung is anothers Carla Bruni, but that hasn't stopped me having a super fun time coming up with my own top ten. I've picked those ladies whose style has consistently impressed me this year. Some celebs have had amazing red-carpet moments coupled with some serious shockers, so I've tended to eschew them (e.g. Eva Mendes, Marisa Tomei and Anne Hathaway) for those ladies who rarely put a put wrong, both day and night. I've included only photos that I haven't posted before.

Michelle Obama's look is innovative and colourful. There is a whole site devoted to chronicling this oft photographed style-meister, and a quick stroll through will confirm this online devotion is warranted. Her evening-wear is always elegant but youthful and the lady has a phenomenal collection of beautifully tailored, vibrant coats. I'd be happy to spend a day hanging out in her White House closet.

Cate Blanchett appeared on a couple of worst dressed lists again this year. Who is responsible for this madness! Cate's bold crocheted dress - which I blogged about here - seems to have blinded them to the perfection of all her other fashion choices this year. Because Cate is living in Sydney now and concentrating on theatre rather than film, she hasn't made as many red-carpet appearances as usual, but when she is snapped at events, or candidly on the street, she always looks impeccably groomed, lady-like and stylish. For my Cate, dressing is an art-form.

French actress Marion Cotillard benefits from a contract with Dior, but I'm still convinced that Marion's effortless glamour is very much her own. I couldn't find one appearance in 2009 where Marion looked anything but perfect and crazy pretty. So French, so chic.

Sarah-Jessica Parker continues to elicit fashion envy whenever she steps out her front door. She's adventurous while still remaining beautiful and her ability to accessorise is second to none. I might not want to wear everything she does, but I love her wearing it. While I'm not particularly excited about the SATC sequel, I am very excited about SJP's hitting the promo trail in 2010. Bring on more gorgeous head-wear, statement shoes and cute little party frocks please!

While I remain a little bemused by the level of fame Dita has achieved for taking off her clothes and marrying a musician of questionable morality and talent, I can't deny that the lady wears the socks off couture and vintage. Harking back to the glamorous film stars of the Golden Years of Hollywood, the lovely Dita is always 'on' and seems to love fashion body and soul. Her wardrobe is one I'd seriously be happy to inherit.

Thandie Newton loves vintage and colour so she is definitely a woman after my own heart. Feminine and fine without being too frilly, I'm always interested to see what this stunning actress is wearing.

Natalia has the advantage of being a supermodel, and one of the most naturally beautiful at that, but she eschews the usual model off duty uniform of band tees and denim for a romantic and feminine wardrobe that includes a whole lot of vintage. Gorgeous.

Everyone knows I love Diane Kruger. Muse to Karl Lagerfield, Diane styles herself, and never fails to impress whether she is wearing a statement making ball-gown, sexy cocktail frock or she is off duty in jeans and blouse. A real fashion original who just happens to have access to the best of the best ... although I'd love to see her in some vintage.

Carey Mulligan's acting chops have been seriously hyped this year, but her sartorial choices have impressed as well. Unlike other young starlets, Carey has realised that baring flesh isn't always best and has picked elegant but edgy ensembles that seriously flatter. Love her cute pixie haircut too.

And finally Ms Nicole Richie. While Nicole's style might not be my own, the way she works her luxe hippie chic consistently impresses. She was pregnant for much of this year and never looked less than glamorous. I give her big snaps for not being afraid to wear loud patterns, for working so much vintage into her wardrobe, and for having lots of fun with cute accessories too. This girl has come a seriously long way this past decade.

Thanks to Red Carpet-Fashion Awards, Just Jared and Mrs-O for some of the pics, and now feel free to shout me down in flames or tell me who your favourites where this year.

Dress of the Week and an Ode to Yellow

Another lacklustre week in the celebrity style stakes, so I'm choosing to highlight SJP who, unfortunately, isn't seen out and about on the red-carpet so much these days (she does have newborn twin daughters).

Her dress is pretty but not overly memorable, so I'm selecting this image because I'm always so impressed with how well Sarah-Jessica pulls an outfit together. I find a lot of the celebs tend to completely replicate the runway styling of a piece, but SJP always makes a dress her own with fabulous accessories that are most definitely "her." This outing is no exception; her Miu Miu sandals are simply gorgeous. her jewellery adds something to the dress without overwhelming it, and her clutch is achingly cute. I love that she isn't afraid of colour.

I think her hubbie might need to rethink his hairstyle though ...

Thanks to Red Carpet Fashion Awards for the pic!

An honourable mention must go to American First Lady Michelle Obama who, while not strictly wearing a dress, looked ravishing this week in a canary yellow Michael Kors suit. Pink makes me feel peachy and pretty but yellow, when done right, seriously rocks my fashion world. One day I will find my own perfect yellow frock. Meanwhile, here are some reminders on how awesome yellow can be.

Michelle Williams was widely considered Best Dressed at the 2006 Oscars in this bright yellow Vera Wang gown.

The effortless beauty of Kate's lemon dress, of a few years back, has been burned into my fashion memory, never to be erased.

And my Cate B looked drop dead glamorous in Valentino when she collected her much deserved, long overdue Oscar in 2005. She still needs Best Actress though ... just saying ...

Dress of this Week (and subsequent worship of Ms Obama)

I'm going to join the throng of other so presumed air-head fashionistas and babble on now about what Michelle Obama has been wearing at the G20 Summit, rather than the substance of the summit itself. This isn't a political blog after all, but what I will say is that while I know traditionally governments have had to spend their way out of recessions, doesn't it seem a bit strange that the way out of this world crisis of debt seems to be to get ourselves into even more debt? It seems like we really are on the brink of a completely new-world order where Europe and America are diminishing as world-powers and the only way is up for India and China. I'm still not convinced that K Rudd's $900 will be effective as far as my home-grown economy goes either, nor that his plan is necessarily morally sound. Will you be spending yours? I'm afraid mine is going into the bank for my spend later fund. Naughty Lou.

Anyway, back to Michelle's dress. This woman can seriously do no wrong in the style stakes. I LOVE her in this drop waist black Azzedine Alaia. This lady sure knows how to accessorise too as the jewellery and shoes all combine to create a truly elegant and chic ensemble. Michelle isn't afraid of patterns or colour, but she looks equally beautiful in a more monochrome silhouette.

Check out Michelle in this gorgeous Thakoon wriggle dress too. I'm loving the vintage 50's shape with the more contemporary looking pattern.

And Michelle seriously had fashion lovers the world over in a tizz when she wore this asymmetric Junya Watanabe cardigan which I reckon is going to really kick off a trend for similar styles.

For me the reason why she looks so fabulous (besides the figure, height and good looks, of course) is that she isn't afraid to experiment with edgy pieces or aspects of an outfit (for example colour and fabric), but she always pairs that edginess with something more classic (like wearing the Watanabe cardigan with pearls and a relatively conservative pleated skirt).

The G20 summit also meant that the world finally got to see a frock-off between Michelle and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. While Carla is undoubtedly a classic beauty and I certainly enjoy reading interviews with her because I just love her French honesty and innate sex-appeal, Carla isn't really rocking my world in the style stakes the way Michelle does. Maybe I'm underwhelmed because Carla is married to a conservative, but I just think some of her outfits tend to look a little bit like she is playing grown-ups. Maybe it is all the flats that are giving her that school-girl on excursion vibe? Is Nicholas Sarkozy short? I love her beige pussy-bow three-quarter sleeve trench, but wouldn't she look sexier with a pair of high-heeled pumps?

And Michelle manages to hit a high-note again in her floral coat. Michelle's parade of stunning coats is almost making me look forward to winter ... but not quite.

And for some Barack Obama worship, check out the news on his latest speech regarding the ban of nuclear weapons testing http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/04/05/world/AP-EU-Obama.html?_r=2&hp.

Photo of Michelle in Junya Watanabe cardigan courtesy of Getty Images.

Dress of the Week

So this week's frock of the week was an easy pick, for how could I go past the fabulous Michelle Obama and the gorgeous evening gown she wore to the inauguration ball.

The floral lace in this gown is reminiscent, for me, of 1950's Givenchy. The one-shouldered look is shaping up to be the one for 2009. I'll be interested to see how many appearances it makes on the Oscars red-carpet. The style is very flattering on her, but I guess she is lucky to be so tall and slim. She looks stunning.

Can the Obama family be anymore photogenic? I loved the cute jackets Sasha and Malia wore for the inauguration. If I was 10 years old I would have been very envious of them.

I believe the designer of this dress was American Jason Wu. Michelle has been supporting American designers with her fashion choices and thus far, in my book, she has put nary a foot wrong.