After all the hand-wringing and carping and critiques and obsession with Michelle Obama’s wardrobe choices of  little-known American designers (and Azzedine Alaia) she showed up for two recent high-profile events in fab outfits by Michael Kors.

Early last week, she rocked the Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential people gala with a gorgeous black Kors gown, all sleek and flattering. She topped it with a mix of varied beaded strands around the neck , and her hair was sleek, pulled back and gorgeous. (Initial reports were that the black dress was by Alaia! Woops!)

Then, at the White House Correspondent’s event last night, she showed up in a bright pink Kors sheath dress, sleeveless and simple, but topped with a jumbo diamond-encrusted necklace. (By the way, if you want obsessive blanket-coverage of Mrs. O’s daily wardrobe picks, check out New York Magazine’s online “Mobama” blog posts).

Of note (and you can see this at the always-current Mrs-O.org) was a big, black pleated satin corset belt, above, complete with cinched ties in the back atop the black Kors gown. The corset was by one of her favored new designers, Peter Soronen, so she didn’t leave all the young designers in the closet.

Advertisement

Be still our hearts. The Outnet is open.

The Outnet is the just-launched online outlet store of Net-a-Porter, arguably the Web’s dreamiest shopping site. Its combination of designer wear, shoes and handbags is unparalleled (and hey, if you know a site that beats it, please please let us know), but the prices tend to be designer as well.

Which means The Style Insider’s brain threw a little neuron party when we saw some of the numbers on Outnet — 50 percent off, 60 percent off, 70 percent off. We have died and gone to heaven.

The designers are there — McQueen, Sui, Chloe, Choo. There’s Marc (more…)

Reason to live: Project Runway Season 6 will actually air. On television, even, now that NBC (which owns Bravo) and Lifetime have settled their multi-million-dollar legal spat.

Reason to worry: The show is moving to Lifetime. So things are changing, after all, and The Style Insider’s anxiety level about whether (more…)

You’ve probably seen all the news footage and photos from the Obamas’ trip to London, but we wanted to offer a quick run-down of the clothes she’s worn on this high-profile trip:

The first couple left for the G20 Summit in London earlier this week, and Mrs. O wore a Chanel-like knee-length white coat with black trim by Thakoon, one of her favorite designers. The silk tulle coat was made to look like tweed, according to Style.com. Underneath the coat, no one could get much of a view of her black Michael Kors dress.

Michelle did a quick change on Air Force 1 and emerged in London in a brilliant chartreuse sheath dress by Jason Wu (one of the young (more…)

Perhaps you were already a bit of a gym rat, and if so, we applaud. But maybe you’ve only recently been inspired by the ruckus over Michelle Obama’s totally toned arms. You wouldn’t be alone — a New York Times story Friday allowed as how the First Lady’s buffness is stimulating economy for personal trainers right now. That inaugural gown, those Vogue and People covers, those Narciso Rodriguez sheath dresses are having their effect.

“I want Michelle Obama arms,” Julie Eich told her trainer on the Upper East Side of Manhattan two weeks ago, said the Times story.

Michelle Obama official White House portrait, above, by Joyce N. Boghosian

(more…)

Oh, dear.

Readers of The Style Insider know that we looove Michelle Obama. We think she’s smart and stylish, we like her choices in fashion designers and we think her bare arms are inspirational.

Which is why we are oh, so torn up about what has happened today.

No, it’s not her efforts to work with YouthBuild as they build a home on the National Mall that will ultimately help a Texas family who lost their home to a hurricane. We dig the community service aspect, and applaud her getting out there and swinging a hammer, or a blueprint, or whatever. But call us shallow, because we cannot stop looking at her clothes. (more…)

We take our responsibilities very seriously at The Style Insider, and never more than on a day when we are discussing swimwear. Can we think of anything more unloved than shopping for swimsuits? Root canals, maybe? Airsickness? Paying taxes?

So our mission for the day is this: Find cute swimsuits for you that can be ordered online and Try Them On At Home, away from the chirpy voice and size 2 hips of the girl working in the swimsuit department. (You could even try them on during cocktail hour. We find that it helps.)

Our requirements: Great-looking suits in a variety of styles, and shipping costs that aren’t prohibitive (because we like to order more (more…)