• Intelligencer
  • The Cut
  • Vulture
  • The Strategist
  • Curbed
  • Grub Street
  • Subscribe to the Magazine Give a Gift Subscription Buy Back Issues Current Issue Contents
    Subscribe to New York Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Profile
    Sign Out
The Cut
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
Style
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Parties & Red Carpet
  • Fashion Shows
  • Cathy Horyn
  • The Cut Shop
Self
  • Health & Wellness
  • The State of the Uterus
  • Parenting
  • Advice
  • Sex & Relationships
  • Horoscopes
Culture
  • Books
  • Television
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Celebrity
Power
  • Politics
  • Work
  • Money
  • Rebecca Traister
More
  • Latest Stories
  • Video
  • About Us
  • nymag.com
  • New York Magazine
  • Intelligencer
  • Vulture
  • The Cut
  • The Strategist
  • Grub Street
  • Curbed
political fashion
October 18, 2016

While We Wait to See Michelle Obama’s Final State-Dinner Gown, Take a Look at All Her Past Outfits

By Véronique Hyland

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

While there’s speculation that Michelle Obama could pick an Italian designer — Gucci, perhaps? — for tonight’s state dinner with the country’s prime minister, Matteo Renzi, it’s really anyone’s guess. The First Lady loves to surprise when it comes to her fashion choices.

Over the years, she’s chosen designers from rising talent Brandon Maxwell to FLOTUS stalwart Carolina Herrera for the premier event. She’s also deftly incorporated the event’s theme into her attire, wearing Korean-American designer Doo-Ri Chung to a dinner with the president of South Korea, and Chinese-American Vera Wang’s strapless design to one honoring Chinese president Xi Jinping. (Of course, her choices haven’t completely elided controversy — who can forget the criticism she faced for wearing a non-American designer, Alexander McQueen, to a state dinner in 2011?) While you place your bets on what she’ll wear tonight, reminisce on all of Michelle’s past White House state-dinner looks below.

View
1 / 12 Photos
In Naeem Khan on November 24, 2009.  Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images
In Peter Soronen, May 19, 2010.  Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
In Alexander McQueen, January 19, 2011.  Photo: Mark Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images
In Naeem Khan, June 7, 2011.  Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
In Doo.Ri, October 13, 2011.  Photo: Brooks Kraft/Corbis via Getty Images
In Marchesa, March 14, 2012.  Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
In Carolina Herrera, February 11, 2014.  Photo: Pete Marovich/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In Tadashi Shoji, April 28, 2015.  Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
In Vera Wang, September 25, 2015.  Photo: Pool/Getty Images
In Jason Wu, March 10, 2016.  Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images
In Naeem Khan, May 13, 2016.  Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
In Brandon Maxwell, August 2, 2016.  Photo: Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images
1 / 12

Tags:

  • michelle obama
  • fashions
  • political fashion
  • slideshows
  • vera wang
  • doo.ri
  • marchesa
  • alexander mcqueen
  • jason wu
  • naeem khan
  • carolina herrera
  • More

More Galleries

oscars 2023 Mar. 12, 2023
Oscars Red Carpet 2023: Every Look  Rihanna! Florence Pugh! Michelle Yeoh! They’re all here. 
celebrity Feb. 19, 2023
All the Best Looks From the 2023 BAFTAs Red Carpet  Florence Pugh, Barry Keoghan, and Angela Bassett brought color to the red carpet. 
grammys 2023 Feb. 5, 2023
Every Look From the 2023 Grammys Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Lizzo, Bad Bunny, Adele, Doja Cat, Jack Harlow, Mary J. Blige, Sam Smith, and more.
By Brooke LaMantia
Jan. 10, 2023
All the Looks From the 2023 Golden Globes  Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jenna Ortega, Jessica Chastain, Julia Garner, Jeremy Allen White, Angela Bassett, and more. 
parties! Sept. 23, 2022
Katie Holmes, Chloë Sevigny, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Chanel, Mejuri, and more celebrate. 
parties! Sept. 16, 2022
Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Fendi, Frame, and Coach all celebrated NYFW. 
emmys 2022 Sept. 12, 2022
Emmys 2022: All the Red Carpet Looks  Updating: What Hollywood is wearing to the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards. 
By Olivia Luppino
nyfw spring 2023 Sept. 9, 2022
Gigi Hadid, Chlöe Bailey, and More of the Bestest Party Pics of the Week  Saks Fifth Avenue, Longchamp, and more celebrate the beginning of NYFW. 
rip Sept. 9, 2022
The Queen Sure Did Love to Color-Coordinate  Monochrome for decades. 
red carpet Sept. 6, 2022
The Venice Film Festival Is a Major Fashion Event  Valentino and Gucci and Armani, oh my. 
red carpet June 5, 2022
All the Best Looks at the 2022 MTV Movie and TV Awards  Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Hudgens, Jay Ellis, and more! 
parties! May 20, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Harry Styles > everyone! 
parties! May 13, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Bury me in Dove Cameron’s Saint Sintra skirt. 
parties! May 6, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Cue the Met Gala after-party FOMO. 
met gala 2022 May 2, 2022
Met Gala 2022: All the Looks [Photos]  Billie Eilish, Kim Kardashian, Michelle Yeoh, Hailey Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Blake Lively, and more. 
parties! Apr. 29, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  This one goes to Olivia Rodrigo and her sweater vest. 
parties! Apr. 22, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  “Fuck those Zoom tops.” 
celebrity style Apr. 18, 2022
The Best Looks From Coachella 2022  From Harry Styles’s sparkling Gucci set to Megan Thee Stallion’s metallic bodysuit. 
style Apr. 13, 2022
A Look Inside the New Museum’s Spring Gala  Featuring all the best looks. 
grammys 2022 Apr. 3, 2022
Grammy Awards 2022 Red Carpet: All the Looks  Lady Gaga, Olivia Rodrigo, Lenny Kravitz, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, and more. 
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
  • About The Cut
  • About New York Magazine
  • Newsletters
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • We’re Hiring
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Ad Choices
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Accessibility
The Cut is a Vox Media Network. © 2023 Vox Media, LLC. All rights reserved.