Screw the Oscars! Last night the Glambamas hosted their first black-tie dinner at the White House, to welcome the National Governors Association. So it’s no Hugh Jackman and the Craigslist dancers, but the sparkliness of Michelle Obama’s dress is not an unworthy rival. She wore a deep-purple, sequined fall 2008 “twilight gown” by Peter Soronen. The Chicago-born designer made his runway debut at New York Fashion Week for fall 2007, so like Michelle’s other favorite designers, he’s still up and coming. His clothes are sold at Barneys and Michelle’s favorite boutique, Ikram. Michelle’s crystal-and-pearl necklace is by Tom Binns, by whom she wore another show-stopping necklace to a Vogue fund-raiser in June. We applaud Michelle’s choice of sequins not only because we are amused by shiny things, but because it mirrors the boldness of the fall 2009 collections. First Ladies can’t exactly traipse around official black-tie dinners in neon, after all.
