First Lady Michelle Obama's Inaugural Gown On Display At Smithsonian

A First Lady's Debut

First Lady Michelle Obama's Inaugural gown is now on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History along side the gowns of former U.S. First Ladies.

In a ceremony today in the Smithsonian's Flag Hall, Mrs. Obama said of the occasion, "I'm a little embarrassed by all the fuss being made over my dress."

"Like many of you, I’m not used to people wanting to put things I’ve worn on display. When we look at the gown that Jackie Kennedy wore 50 years ago, or the one that Mary Todd Lincoln wore more than a hundred years before that, it really takes us beyond the history books and the photographs, and it helps us understand that history is really made by real live people", added the First Lady.

The event featured the dress' designer, Vietnamese born, Jason Wu, along with the students from New York City's Huntington High School.

We asked Wu what it feels like getting this much attention to his work. "I feel like I'm dreaming. I've got to pinch myself", Wu said, laughing. "To be in this kind of company of so many great First Lady inaugural gowns and to be in the company of Michelle Obama, it's really a humbling experience."

Omar Wynn, the builder and installer of the Smithsonian's First Ladies exhibit was surprised at how beautiful Mrs. Obama's gown is. "It's more stunning in person than it was on television", described Wynn. "But when I saw it here, I said, Whoa! What a beautiful princess dress. Elegant!"

Sunae Park Evans is the Smithsonian's curator for the First Lady gowns and told us Jason Wu's design was "really smart".

"It was really well designed and well formed." Park Evans, also seeing the gown for the first time, said of the gown, "Wow. This is really pretty."

Her work has her putting in many hours ensuring the gowns remain as close to their original form and style. While she tells us she doesn't have a favorite gown herself, she did say one gown in particular was very challenging.

"I had to put in 300 hours for Martha Washington's gown because it was deteriorated. It was torn, so I had to work on that. The 1800th century body shape is totally different from now, so to make a supporting form, it was very challenging."

Students from Huntington High School were delighted to be a part of the day. The students sent in drawing ideas for the First Lady's 2009 inaugural gown. The drawings impressed the First Lady prompting her to write them a letter, praising them for their creativity, effort, and hard work.

"We put effort in, and we should have been proud of that, and that effort will take you places in life and open up new doors for you", Huntington teacher Kristen Singer said critiquing Mrs. Obama's letter. "It's been an amazing learning experience for our kids to understand that. You work hard on something and you put in the effort and something might come out of that."

For those efforts, the students were rewarded with a visit to Washington, D.C. and a visit to the White House.

"Today has been such an amazing day, because I got to meet Michelle Obama. I got to meet my favorite designer", said former Huntingon High's Akeem Muhammad who admits being a Wu fan since he was in middle school.

Like Wu, Muhammad - now a student at FIT - also designs doll clothes and has followed Wu's style. "I follow his footsteps and hope to be just like him soon." Muhammad said if he had to change one thing about the Wu design, "I would have made it strapless. I still love his design, but if it would have been me, I would have just taken the strap off. But it was so gorgeous."

The First Lady's white-silk chiffon gown was embellished with organza flowers with Swarovski crystal centers. The shoes are Jimmy Choo.

"I’ll never forget the moment that I slipped on this beautiful gown. I remember how just luscious I felt as the President and I were announced onto the stage for the first of many dances. And I’ll cherish that moment for the rest of my life", the First Lady recounted.

You can see behind-the-scenes video on all the inaugural gowns here. For our photos on the event click here.

Visit the Smithsonian's website for more details on the gowns of the First Ladies and the expansion of the gown exhibit.

Related
International Women's Day Celebration

In wake of the Zika virus, travel, spring break still O.K.

Representatives from the CDC and the NIH were on hand at the White House during Monday's press briefing to update the public and address concerns over the Zika virus that has caused some babies to be born with deformities. Dr. Anne Schuchat from the Centers for Disease Control and Dr. Tony Fauci from the National Institutes of Health told reporters that a vaccine is in the making. The pair also said they are particulary concerned about women who are pregnant, or plan to get pregnant, who have either traveled to or plan to travel to areas of South America and the Carribean known to have the Zika virus. Despite those bold statements, the doctors said there is no wide-spread concern and that Americans should continue to travel, including during upcoming college spring breaks -- when college students travel to warmer climate destinations to escape winter weather. "Travel to Zika-affected areas is very common among Americans, and we don’t think that needs to stop...

ACA Health Care Operator Fired For Doing Her Job?

More woes for the Obama administration's roll out of HealthCare.gov . During the president's weekly address he urged Americans to call a toll-free number to get help enrolling in a health care plan as the website continues to be 'improved'. Said the president, "But even as we improve the website, remember that the website isn’t the only way to apply for coverage under these new plans. We’ve updated HealthCare.gov to offer more information about enrolling over the phone, by mail, or in person with a specially-trained navigator who can help answer your questions. Just call 1-800-318-2596 or visit LocalHelp.HealthCare.gov . No sooner than the president gives out the 800 number for Americans to speak to one of the 'specially-trained navigators', one of them gets fired, perhaps loosing her own healthcare benefits. Her malfeasance? Talking to talk show host Sean Hannity. Hannity called the 800 number with his...

Saying goodbye to Mrs. Robinson, mother of First Lady Michelle Obama.

The woman who made her mark as grandma-in-chief when President Barack Obama was elected 44th president of the United States, passed Friday. The woman who was considered the backbone of the Obama household will be remembered as a family-oriented, kind person, who remained poised as she assumed the responsibility of helping raise her two beautiful granddaughters in an environment, and in a world, far from what she ever imagined. Mrs. Marian Robinson, mother of First Lady Michelle Obama, waves to reporters during Easter egg hunt at the White House. (photo CD Brown) I recall seeing her that day in March during Women's History Month at the Smithsonian when her daughter's Inaugural gown, like all the other first lady inaugural gowns, was being cemented in Smithsonian history . She was smiling as she walked alone prompting me to ask, "is there no security, no secret service, for the first grandmother?" ADVERTISEMENT CMB BUSINESS SOLUTIONS I am also reminded of the time w...

Politics. On Point.

Search This Blog