The Etceterist | 01/20/2009 7:37 pm

Michelle Obama Chooses a Jason Wu Design for Inauguration Night Gown

A young Manhattan designer gets the shock of his life when the new First Lady appeared on television wearing one of his gowns

By Billy Norwich

Michelle Obama in Jason Wu Inauguration Gown

Young Manhattan-based designer Jason Wu got the shock of his life around 8 pm EST while watching television. On the screen, Michelle Obama was wearing his one-shoulder, flowing, ivory-colored evening dress, looking very Ginger Rogers. Wu is saying he did not know Mrs. Obama was planning to wear his dress. Ikram Goldman, owner of Chicago’s top boutique Ikram, sells Wu’s clothes and is Mrs. O’s fashion consultant.

No word on what kind of scandal this is in Chicago, where local designer Maria Pinto, who makes so many of Michelle Obama’s clothes, was favored to design the inaugural gown that will make history.

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95 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Georgeous, comfortable, but I thought it was a little too long, especially the front… kind of restricted her movement, walking and dancing. I was afraid she was going to trip or Barack would step on it during the dance. It was all beautiful watching them, though. Barack opened up with “How good looking is my wife?” Loved it!

By Dee T on 01/20/2009 8:53 pm

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Sorry she is an attractive woman but that dress does her no justice! It looks like a bed spread??? What was the consultant thinking? A strapless balck, egg plant , gold , chocolate or scarlet ball gown would have been gorgous!!

By S.J. Morgan on 01/20/2009 9:01 pm

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I have to agree, SJ, only noticed it because it seemed to bother her, and it did look like chenille but someone watching noticed that, not me, can’t see that well. Let’s be fair to Michelle, I’m betting she loved the color and purchased the gown because she did, some time ago, and didn’t really have time to spend having one designed for her. That designer certainly wasn’t “wooing” our First Lady. Bless her heart, she was exhausted coping with that thing, and perhaps she has lost weight, too. Is that any wonder? I’d have made her a creamy gold or deep champagne-colored French peau de soie strapless (or halter), floor-length sheath, with an enormous, long and wide matching wrap reversed for her entrances, tied in the upper back in an enormous bow to be removed for her dances (so she could wear tennies for shoes).

By C jay on 01/21/2009 5:39 am

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Yep, exactly my thoughts, SJ. She looked like she had no waist. Tall women don’t wear frou frou so well, either.

By Susan B on 01/21/2009 1:51 pm

"Sorry she is an attractive woman but that dress does her no justice!

It looks like a bed spread??? What was the consultant thinking?

A strapless balck, egg plant , gold , chocolate or scarlet ball gown would have been gorgous!!"

You took the words right out of my mouth. She’s such a lovely woman. That dress was awful on her. I agree that scarlet would have been breathtaking. This dress was horrible, no matter who made it.

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By Colleen Slater on 02/24/2009 10:25 pm

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I also noticed when she danced with her hand on his back ..she was not wearing a wedding ring..only the large ring on her middle finger..is that normal?

By S.J. Morgan on 01/20/2009 9:02 pm

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I suspect it was her b’day gift from her husband that I read he was giving her.

By Diana T on 01/20/2009 10:03 pm

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I think it’s so cool that this young guy had this happen. amazing. way to go Michelle… giving another kid another leg up. that’s great. and she is definitely gorgeous. she can wear a bedspread and look good!

By Chrome Toe on 01/20/2009 9:08 pm

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CT, Two great articles from LA Times and CNN where they loved it: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-inaug-fashion21-200… http://edition.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/01/20/michelle.obama.dress/ This is definitely going to be fun….always waiting to see what Michelle has on.

By %$#@* !@&*^!! on 01/21/2009 3:04 am

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Sheesh, Carmel, what does CNN know? The Inaugural was all about “CNN” — and Brown was on yelling every time we switched channels, or his nibs, Anderson - the favored boy. They were exhausting, and need to be put in storage. Brown would not let up on criticizing everything she could think of with her “guest-teams.” Someone said she went on like that into the night, with “360” scooping more in for her. BASTA. Luci Baines Johnson was perfect as a commentator, by the way. On with our gratitude for this wonderful family for daring to be our president and first lady - merely seeing and hearing the joy, happiness, and hope coming from our people for a change was enough to tide me over for a long time. I, for one, am grateful to be able to feel that America has come home.

By C jay on 01/21/2009 5:48 am

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MSNBC was just as bad. Chris Matthews all but gave his network full credit for the Obama win. He said it once. Then he said it again. Tacky.

By Susan B on 01/21/2009 1:53 pm

CHRIS MATTHEWS DID? How extraordinary. CNN’s entire puppets searched for every thread of discourse they could find throughout the entire 2 years of campaigning. I found out during the conventions that PBS was the only sane, objective reporting available, and far less deafening. Again, on election night, PBS was the only station to watch. Why these talking heads have to yell at us is beyond me. Brown has increased her timbre to an uncomfortable decibel range, like those on The View, that they are not worth spending my time on anything like that any more.

By C jay on 01/21/2009 7:52 pm

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Yeah. People complain about Olbermann, but Matthews is the one that gets under my skin with his shameless chest-beating. I heard it with my own ears, and Olbermann even attempted to neutralize the comment, but Matthews kept coming back to it and underscoring. The hubris.

By Susan B on 01/21/2009 8:05 pm

oh my. 0 for 2. what happened to the smart, striking clothes she wore during the campaign??? she has a great, very athletic body, is a great looking woman,,,a strong woman both in body and mind,,,but so far, these choices do not do her justice….

By l drake on 01/20/2009 9:13 pm

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S.J., you have been so critical of all things, not Republican. Please give it a rest… and don’t start with the other Democrats being just as critical. Two wrongs don’t make a right.

By Ava J on 01/20/2009 9:15 pm