apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have some of this yellow-green in my home already. I have always liked it. But at the risk of going off-topic, I was annoyed that our very practical first lady wore such an inappropriately spring-like outfit on that freezing day. A fly-away coat in a sub-zero windchill? The sight of her tugging at the edges of the coat and shivering as she cuddled into her husband just disappointed me. I thought she was smarter than that. And visually, that color seemed to clash with all of the winter colors around it, and even with the bright outfits of her children.

So I guess the answer is no -- her outfit didn't inspire me.

I actually loved her color against the girls'--especially Malia's blue.

DC is not nearly as cold as Chicago, and I don't think the wind chills were so bad by the time she went out in that outfit. She's used to a lot worse weather than what she got on Inauguration Day. And anyway, if she loved that outfit and wanted to wear it, so what? It annoys me when my kids go out improperly dressed (which is pretty much every day--teenagers!), but I am so used to seeing adults "brave" the cold in what I would consider less-than-weather-appropriate garb that I have stopped caring whether they are cold or not.

Love yellow-greens. Love Michelle Obama. It's a win-win for me.

I read that the coat—very wisely—was lined with pashmina, so she may have been warmer than you'd think.

I figure that they were both swathed in long underwear, since he was wearing a pretty thin coat too.

I didn't love the outfit, which seemed a little conservative for her, but I did think the colour worked as a pop, and I loved the green shoes and gloves...

Gorgeous dress & color, a ray of spring after this long winter in our souls ;)

I'm not a fan of yellow at all, but this shade is fabulous. I think the occasion required something formal, so I get this feeling that the designer chose the color & texture to balance the conservative, elegant cut. The gloves & shoes were another bold complement, very nice.

come on. that was possibly the grandest day of her life. if you can't step out in the outfit of your choosing to hold the Bible Lincoln was sworn in on while your husband is being sworn in, when can you?

Her dress was the least of what was happening on Inauguration Day. She has the rest of the winter to bundle up.

Yellow ribbons are worn by hopeful family members waiting for their loved ones to return from war. Yellow is the color of hope and happiness. So yes, it was very fitting for the occasion.

Did anyone else have the funny feeling that they had seen Michelle Obama with that colour before?

http://www.daylife.com/photo/0f7y7X368ha4N

That's the image that came popping into my head when I saw the outfit! (on my screen, the outfit definitely did not read yellow -- more of a chartreuse or dirty greenish gold, as in the wall colour above).

I had actually been hoping for Isabel Toledo because I loved the black dress by Toledo Michelle wore back in December.

However, I am afraid the only thing I really liked about this outfit was the bold way Michelle accessorized it, with the bottle green shoes and frog green gloves.

The outfit itself I thought didn't work out well. The rhinestone neckpiece was distracting and inappropriate, the colour did not work well on tv and it contrasted uncomfortably with her husband and children, all the embroidery seemed fussy, but worst of all, it seemed silly to wear a coat that does not even close on a cold windy day in January. Pashmina can't keep you warm if it is being blown away. And the outfit wasn't figure-flattering -- Michelle has a very athletic way of moving, and it didn't seem to accommodate that, getting bunched and not hanging nicely when she moved.

Sorry, but I think it was a definite "miss".

Really loved her Narciso Rodriguez camel and black outfit from the day before though.

Please can you stop trying to tie everything to Obama and the inauguration? I am fed the fuck up with posts about what Obama eats for breakfast, what kind of dog he should have, the colour of his wife's dress, etc etc etc.

I read this blog for design, not for slavish adoration of a politician and every single little thing about his life.

If it was a one-off, it wouldn't bother me, but we had to have posts about election signs, Sarah Palin's office, Obama's bedroom, the breed of his potential dog, the inaugural breakfast etc.

You could skip them, ex-pat.

"i am fed the f@%k up..."

whoa

The fact is, the style and color choices of the first lady ARE relevant to home design. All those pink bathrooms from the 1950s? You can thank Mamie Eisenhower and her love of pink for those. Some of us reading these posts are still trying to decorate around them today!

martigny,

Please don't read this comment.

Lady J,

I was in DC for the inauguration and let me tell you that it was quite possibly one of the coldest days of my life and I was wearing a giant down-filled coat from head to ankle and I was raised in Canada. I can't express how cold it was that day.

That said, I think Michelle looked enchanting. Her outfit was stunning. I've never seen her look more beautiful. I love this color.

I was told that the dress had several specially designed underlayers for warmth (wool, silk, etc) and she had handwarmers stuffed inside her jacket.

martigny,
You can begin reading once again.

Does anyone know where I can find the wallpaper in the pic with the lemongrass throw pillow?

Oh, I loved her outfit. I thought it was regal and conservative and fit the occasion perfectly. And let me tell you, it was cold as hell that day. I think it was in the low to mid 20's with a stiff breeze blowing the entire time. I hope Vanessa was right about the outfit being insulated because, my goodness, the cold was painful!

I am currently struggling with getting the right shades of lemon-green and orange to work in my bedroom. I'm going to have to paint again.

I'm sorry, but I would have to agree less angrily with what was said above. I love to read this blog for design ideas but to have to read constantly about the Obama family on here is frustrating to say the least. Please turn the obsession knob down a notch or two. Thanks. :)

I agree with Martigny and Abby-Sue! Besides, who cares if Michelle's coat is quadruple-lined? Her legs have nothing below the knee except pantyhose and light shoes, and no hat. This could have been a wonderful oppurtunity to showcase a designer who creates beautiful, feminine, full-length coats (perhaps designed for the occasion). And bring back sense. AND bring back fab hats! Lost opportunity for her, and for fashion. But for AT, get over it! You're like a 5th grade girl with a bad unrequited crush!

With madsarah - like it or not, you can't ignore it. I liked this color long before it had anything to do with the Obamas (except I knew it as Citron.) I like the interiors here.

I love how everyone here who says this should be irrelevant still has something to say about the outfit.

vanessa, it was bitterly cold in nyc too. and i was raised on the great lake ontario. but what has that to do with the first black first lady in american history getting decked out for the biggest day of her and her husband's life? she dressed for the occasion not the weather. the temperature is so completely secondary to the event.

Do you people have someone standing over you forcing you to click Read More? That's so sad!

Loved the dress, loved the color. Loved that she stood out among the crowd. Loved the accesories. Love her.

"says this should be irrelevant"

Who said that? Can't find it.

"Do you people have someone standing over you forcing you to click Read More?"

It was the wallpaper, not the cheesy intro/segue. Oh, the wallpaper!

BlueLM,

It was Aretha Franklin's job to bring out the "fab hat." Michelle had plenty of other things to worry about--and celebrate.

AT may be like a fifth-grader with a crush, but some of the people posting here are like the other kids who are jealous of the most popular girl who's getting all the attention, and will find any reason to bring her down. Talk about "getting over it."

I like her style. I just need a break from the innundation.
"Any reason to bring her down"? You know this based on one article where I comment?
Speaking of hats, just looking at all those nearly bald men without hats makes me shiver.

Loved the color (I'd call it Citron, though, not Lemongrass).

LOVED the flash of white lining to the coat.

Did not love the pairing of the green of the shoes and gloves.

Did NOT love the rhinestone aspect to it. Had a Republican First Lady shown up to a daytime event (even of this magnitude) in rhinestones "in these times", I daresay she'd be skewered by this crowd!!

But how come no fuss was made over who made *his* suit????

Look, I get that some of you have a sincere affection for the First Lady. I get that. But I don't like the state of politics in the USA. I don't like President Obama, I didn't like would-be-president McCain, and can't stand the former Presidents George Bush. So. I turned off the t.v. a year ago so as not to have to be bombarded with all that nonsense (with a brief return to watch the swimming competitions during the Olympics). I have long prefered the internet for being able to avoid bias-based media and news (or at least get a good balance of differing bias). And now my dear AT is head-over-heels about the polititians. When I like an article, I send them to my friends, hopefully increasing traffic here. If I am tired of something, I can speak out, but don't need to complain outside. Sorry if it's too annoying to folks here. But at least it's keeping complaints to the relevant party.

BlueLM,

I think you're making much ado about nothing. How many posts have there been on this site that are specifically about the Obamas? I looked and honestly couldn't find that many.

Simply posting now and then about something relevant--like the resurgence of a color in decorating that the first lady has worn--is not the same as being "head over heels" and gushing about everything they do without regard to whether it fits the mission and purpose of this site.

Every time I come to this site I skip over literally dozens of posts that don't interest me. Some of them seem to be about the same thing over and over again. So what? The beauty of the internet is that we can pick and choose what we read. It's just not that big a deal.

BlueLM,Martigny & Abbey-Sue, your posts were great and serve as a reminder that we can all agree to disagree. Thank you for keeping it relevant!

I'm already tired of the obsession with President Obama as well, but the women of this country were robbed of their chance for a female president. We have, instead, a very strong and together first lady for whom we have big hopes. When that first lady steps out on her first day looking like she wants to be Jackie Kennedy O., and then looks as if she is wearing someone else's clothes ... I, for one, was disappointed. And yes -- everything Michelle Obama does will be assessed and critiqued. It goes with her position as first lady.

I agree about the jeweled collar -- too old lady. And the green of the gloves and shoes was wrong. That yellow looks better with certain grays and steel blues and taupes. It can take greens, but I think they need to have a lot of gray or a lot of blue in them. Those gloves read as olive.

I would never have thought to do orange with that color, but that orange-brown chair in one of the rooms works quite well.

Patrick-T-O-O, no fuss was made over the president's suit because, I believe, he always gets his suits from the same place in Chicago and that was covered during the election, so it's old news. But he has the ability to make his clothes disappear. Charisma... and being tall, thin, athletic ... and having a good tailor.

You people who get your panties in a knot over seeing a pic of the Obamas on here need to friggin chill. Geez...

the women of this country were robbed of their chance for a female president

Total BS.

There have been articles regarding politics and the Obamas in particular that are wholly irrelevant to interior design. I think the First Lady's dress is traditionally a "high point" on Inauguration Day and influences more than just clothing fashion. So I think this article was relevant.

When I watched it on TV, the whole outfit read as yellow, like a baby chick. It didn't have any green in it until I watched the news replaying portions of the ceremony later in the day. I don't think she was outside more than she could stand in the weather conditions. I don't really care if she didn't look sensible. I think she looked warm enough. I can't believe I'm talking about this. People dress like this all the time on the commute in the winter, just that their coats aren't yellow. If it makes any sense, I think being yellow made it seem less warm than a dark or jewel-toned coat. I thought the green shoes were weird, but that's because I thought the dress was yellow yellow. This is called one day in your life, you can wear a coat that doesn't close in the front. I desperately wanted to see the dress without the coat once. I don't know what that "vest" or something was, that kept showing under the coat.

Anyway, I was using some of this color in the kitchen, some stuff I'd gotten on clearance from Pottery Barn at the end of last summer. Is this color a hit or a fail. Hmm. I like it in the home. I think when it was yellow (as I viewed it live), it was appropriate. With a little green in it, I view it as too spring/summer, so as fashion forecasts go for the home, this will be a big color this summer (to a greater extent than it sort of is every summer). On Mrs. Obama, I wonder if she had gone a little more definitely green, how people would feel about that. A little too strong, which makes the shoes a great accent ultimately, the gloves not as much. I think the yellow is more feminine and with a hint of green to it, optimistic. So what if it's January - what matters is to inspire this color to hit by March, all over retail clothing and home fashions.

Henrietta, this is no place for rudeness.

There are so many cultural meanings to colors. Yellow is considered cheery and hopeful (due to that horrible song) in the USA but is associated with death in Egypt, courage in Japan, and peace in India. Green is the color of eco-correctness, harmony and springtime. It is also the color of Islam. I'm surprised that I haven't seen any conspiracy theories about that little detail online (especially after the president's first interview).

Green can be very difficult to wear, and even more difficult to use in decorating. This yellow-green is a delicate color that can easily go muddy or too acid. If I had been accessorizing Ms. Obama's outfit, I would have gone with a string of chunky black pearls, and shark-gray (blue-gray) gloves and shoes. And a warmer day.

Hey Forestdweller, you are spreading BS, and I am calling you on it.

We have all heard this spin ever since Hillary started complaining about the very same DNC rules she agreed to honor before she started losing. Hillary was the presumptive nominee years ago, well-known, with tons of the color of eco-correctness, harmony and springtime in her warchest and Bill Clinton and the Democrat Party machine behind her. The nomination was hers to lose. Please spare me the utter nonsense that Hillary and "women" were "robbed".

Let's hope she runs State better than she did her campaign.

Oh, and I thought the Obamas looked dashing out there on Pennsylvania Avenue. They've got guts, that's for sure.

Yikes!
This is getting nasty...
Maybe some of us should move on to the next post and forget this one.

Hey LadyJ,

Me too! I grew up on the shores of Lake Ontario in Brighton, Ontario and now live in Manhattan. Where are you from? My comment about coming from a cold place is only relevant in the sense that I know what cold is and it WAS cold that day! I loved Michelle's outfit.

:) Vanessa

Funny, Henrietta -- I wasn't even talking about Hillary, but about the possibility of a female president in general.

Astounding.

Citron yellow green pops = always fresh.

And a nice surprise color choice for MO, though my heart sank at the be-jewelled collar and needless all-over embroidery. How swank the coat and dress would have been without any pattern, and a real (one with special meaning -?) necklace dropping a few inches below the neckline.

I thought she looked spectacular. The dress was lovely as was the coat, great cut, great drape, vaguely retro without being a pastiche. And the rhinestones - while an unusual touch for daytime - were a bold choice that played against such a traditional silhouette and added just the right amount of sparkle.

Didn't care for the dark green gloves though - thought they looked a little Playtex. They might have looked better indoors, under more subdued light.

The green shoes worked well, though.

Forestdweller,

Either you are oblivious of the movement, not so long ago, to de-legitimize Obama by claiming that Hillary was "robbed" of the nomination by the DNC, or you are being disingenuous. At the time this claim was every bit as controversial as to whether to wear green or "shark-gray (blue-gray)" with "lemongrass".

So "the women of this country were robbed of their chance for a female president" translates into concern for "the possibility of a female president in general" (somehow without allusion to Hillary Clinton!). In what language?

Up there somewhere P2 wondered why no one made a ruckus over Obama's suit. Apparently some people were scandalized that Obama appeared at the inauguration balls in white tie with a dinner jacket. I fear for the republic.

Get your political peanut butter out of my interior design inspiration chocolate. It's a DRESS.

K T G... it used to be a CURTAIN.