Michelle Takes J. Crew To Europe
From looking at the first three days of the Obamas' visit to Europe, it seems that first lady Michelle Obama is consistent in style on both sides of the Atlantic.
According to the first lady's press office, Michelle Obama took many of her old standards -- standard fashion trends, that is -- along for the trip.
She wore bright colors, such as the florescent yellow dress she had on when she left Air Force One in London, and the blue dress she wore to Royal Opera House in London, where she went with the other G20 spouses. Both dresses were by designer Jason Wu.
She mixed those with bold prints and pieces with interesting details, such as a studded belt or a beaded J. Crew cardigan. But she also mixed contemporary with the classic, like wearing a double strand of pearls with many of her ensembles of the last few days - very Jacqueline Kennedy of her.
American fashion designers provided the backbone for her wardrobe, but in an interesting twist, many of those designers were born in other countries. She
Photos: First Lady's European Style
packed pieces by Cuban-born Isabel Toledo and Thakoon Panichgul from Thailand.
She's worn many of these designers before. Taiwan-born, New York-based Jason Wu designed her inauguration ballgown, and she wore affordable clothes from the brand J. Crew throughout her husband's election campaign.
One non-American designer who was represented on the trip was Japanese designer Junya Wantanabe, who designed a cardigan with a unique use of argyle that the first lady wore (over the blue Jason Wu dress) to both the Royal Opera House and to the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School later that day.
Finally, at a G20 dinner on April 1, 2009, in an Isabel Toledo black-and-white dress she'd worn to meet Queen Elizabeth II earlier that day, she showed off one of her most talked about accessories - those toned arms. Though, it should be noted, she did cover them up with an Alaia cardigan when she met the monarch.