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French aesthetics inform first lady’s dinner gown
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Michelle Obama chose a Venezuelan-American designer for the gown she wore on Tuesday evening to the state dinner honoring French President Francois Hollande.
But the formal, ornate style of the sumptuous gown by Carolina Herrera reflected French aesthetics, from the intricate beaded black bodice to the train and full skirt in a color called liberty blue, according to Susan Swimmer, author of “Michelle Obama: First Lady of Fashion and Style.”
“From the White House to Versailles it’s not that far,” said Swimmer, who is also contributing fashion features editor for More magazine. “It’s much more keeping in a French aesthetic than I’ve seen her wear before. It’s very French in terms of how ornate it is and the use of lace and the velvet sash.”
The gown featured a black, hand-sewn beaded embroidery applique scallop-edged top that came to Michelle Obama’s elbows. The top went over a blue silk faille corset and long skirt with a train that billowed behind the first lady as she walked with President Barack Obama. It was matched with a black velvet belt. The color also echoed the blue color that both countries share in their flags.
The first lady had the fashion spotlight to herself during the evening’s events because Hollande was without a date after a very public breakup with his longtime girlfriend, Valerie Trierweiler.
The French president sat between the Obamas at dinner.
A four-course meal — including a main course of dry-aged rib-eye beef from a family farm in Colorado, with blue cheese from Vermont — was served in a pavilion on the South Lawn that had vines hanging from the ceiling like chandeliers.
Democratic donors, politicians, celebrities and business types who made up the 350-person guest list avoided mentioning the French intrigue.
The White House last autumn invited Hollande and Trierweiler to come for a state visit, the first such honor for France in two decades.
But just weeks ago, the two abruptly split after a magazine reported that a helmeted Hollande zipped via motorcycle to a liaison with French actress Julie Gayet.
Obama, in his dinner toast, was sparing with his French. He welcomed the guests with a hearty “bonsoir,” then confessed that “I have now officially exhausted my French.”
Hollande delivered a good portion of his reciprocal toast in respectable English before switching to French.
“We love Americans, although we don’t always say so,” he told the crowd.
Guest Ben Jealous, former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was nothing but admiring of the evening.
“I think the French are way cooler than we are on a whole lot of fronts,” he said, including “way better gossip.”
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