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.

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We’ve been on a Michelle Obama fashion de-tox because we were just exhausted trying to figure out who made her every dress, skirt, shoes, belts, jewelry and on and on.

But we’re breaking the fast to mention that at a Food Bank event yesterday in D.C., Mrs. O. had on a very cool pair of sneakers, at right, that turned out to be by Lanvin and a similar style (which aren’t even as cool as hers) costs $540 at Barneys.

Uhhm, we’re good with Michelle’s mix-and-match philosophy most of the time, but sometimes pairing a cute little J.Crew cardigan (it’s on sale for $100) with wildly overpriced sneakers may not be exactly the fashion statement the First Lady wants to project.

Maybe we’re just jealous. But if we were going to spend $540 on a pair of shoes, we’d go for these blue suede Miu Miu platform sandals for $595 (below left), or these Brian Atwood starlette printed pumps (below right) for $600, or

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The election of Barack Obama may have exhilarated the nation with hope and new energy €” but who knew the fashion implications? Elect a president and get a bonus: the most stylish, sophisticated and fashion-conscious First Lady since Jacqueline Kennedy cat-walked through the White House.

Michelle Obama is beautiful, strong, elegant, a career woman, wife, mother, and now — subject of her own style book, Michelle Style: Celebrating the First Lady of Fashion. The author is Mandi Norwood, an award-winning women’s magazine editor (Company, Cosmopolitan UK, Mademoiselle, and Shop Etc.).

Michelle Style celebrates the distinctive style of the First Lady, featuring color photographs, exclusive illustrations and descriptions of her most iconic looks. Get a new look at the sleeveless Maria Pinto purple silk crepe sheath that she dazzled the crowd with on the night Barack clinched the Democratic nomination. Or admire, again, the ivory fairy-tale gown by Jason Wu worn for the inaugural balls.

The book also has quotes from world-famous designers, stylists, and fashion insiders €” and inspired advice on everything from dressing to suit your body type to shopping at Target.

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A splash of spring flowers and a happy pose with her mother is the next piece of news in the ongoing Michelle Obama fashion chronicles. Mrs. O and her mother, Marian Robinson, are on the May cover of Essence Magazine, and the cover alludes to conversations about raising strong children and having a strong marriage. (Here’s a photo gallery of the magazine shoot on Essence.com.)

But we digress, because we want to talk about what she’s wearing. For that information, we turn to the always reliable and entertaining Mrs-o.org, which chronicles the First Lady’s every fashion choice. Her dress is from Talbot’s, the familiar fixture in malls. The dress is a brightly colored “lagoon blue” floral print (with paler blue floral print as well as green leaves) with a full pleated skirt. You can buy it on the Talbot’s Web site for $126.75, on sale from $169 (below).

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Talk about turning our heads. We nearly got whiplash when we saw Michelle Obama in an amazing sleeveless tea-length Azzedine Alaia LBD for the NATO dinner in Baden-Baden on Friday night. The New York Times reports that Mrs. Obama got the dress through Ikram, the Chicago boutique that acts as somewhat of a go-between for Mrs. O and her designers. The Parisian designer told the Times that his first glance at Michelle Obama in the dress was on the web. Zut alors!

The dress was perfect on Mrs. O. (The always entertaining Mrs-O.org has more pictures of it). So perfect that, like yesterday, we went running off to see if we could find it on the web. It’s tricky, because Alaia isn’t carried in most mainstream American stores. But the traffic-stopping news is that we found the dress — or at least one that looks exactly like it, albeit with a bit of a shorter hem – at (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

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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…)