I'm not in love at all with Michelle's outfit. It's a lot of yellow sequins!! I've never been a fan of matching outfits, so I would've liked to see her wear a different color and texture with the bold coat.

I love the green gloves and her yellow outfit. It's cool that she did not have it specially made. They are both brilliant. I like Hillary's blue coat and the Obama children's colorful coats too.

Hm, this article says it was made for her. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.....-dress/?hp

I'm so sad I'm stuck at school and can't see anything. I'll have to look at the photos andtale later.

In response to black not looking good: when I was watching the Rachel Zoe Project, I remember her talking about black not photographing as well as other colors. Details don't come through and it ends up looking like one big black mass. Also, it looks more harsh than in real life. Maybe that's why the black coats are a miss, especially compared to the bright colors.

Ooh I thought there would be a fshion discussion! I loved the green gloves. I also thought Bush Sr color choices were quite bold - or maybe it's the 80s throwback?

I also love cobalt blue color, and I hope it stays around for a while.

Document signing now... he's left-handed.

Is it just me, or does Obama look a little choked up?

I'm choked up! And have been all morning. I didn't notice it but I'm going to watch it again when I get home this evening.

I thought Michelle looked festive - appropriate because this was a celebration, after all. Now we can wait and look forward to what she's going to wear tonight!

I am thinking lavender. Just a random guess!

Here's a fun quiz if you're bored:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITI.....all.gowns/

(Yes, slow day for me at work!)

Isabel Toledo is former creative director for Anne Klein and didn't know til this a.m. that Michelle would wear her outfit. And Michelle wanted a color that projected "warmth."

This from ABC news ... wow, big fashion news today!

Congratulations everyone!

I haven't watched the news yet, so I've only seen pictures of Michelle online. It's great that she picked a bold colour and she looks wonderful, but I think I agree with Shell about not matching the colour of the coat with the dress.

The matching coat and dress was big in the late 60's/early 70's. All my friends and I had such outfits especially for wedding "going away". Many kept them because they were such a favorite outfit. I wish I still had mine. At a recent 60's party many women were wearing these (vintage from their or their mother's closet) and they looked fab.
The network I was watching said Michelle bought it off the rack in the designer's shop.

I very much like Michelle's coat! Classy and I love how it works with the gloves.

I thought Michelle looked beautiful, though I would have liked a contrasting coat and a little more waist definition. I adore the yellow on her.

I suspect the bow detail at the empire waist that was visible some of the time was actually a tie closure on the coat.

I only caught the tail end (the prayer and entering the WH and document signing) at the gym so I'll have to watch the rest of it all later.

Barack and Michelle seem like such a warm and lovely couple. I love how they were holding hands so much of the time.

What will she wear tonight to the ball? Can't wait! I hope it's Thakoon.

For the luncheon it seems she wore a yellow cardigan over the dress, a cardigan I've seen her wear before. I think it's J crew?

Here's a slideshow of Michelle's outfits the past few days:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....58916.html

I really loved all the colorful coats that the girls and Hillary wore. Michelle looked great, but I think she had better outfits. I really love her style though. She and her girls wear a tons of J Crew, they better get some endorsement deal

(I'm covering this tomorrow). I'm all choked up.

I like the concept of Michelle Obama's outfit. I think it was a bit much citrus for my personal taste, though. I wore something very similar when I left the site of my wedding (didn't know it was big in the 60s!), but in all cream.

I'm just getting a chance to watch the coverage on CSPAN now. Obama looks very handsome, and so close to tears! I love the crowd's reaction!

I think Michelle's choice of outfit was appropriate, but I was not fond of the green gloves. Not that shade of green--unless it's my TV. It looks Oscar the Grouch to me, and it just makes her look like she has some weird skin condition.

I'm now watching the John Williams musical piece--I can't imagine how their fingers are working in the cold. Beautiful! It must be such an honor to be asked to perform for this event. I can't even imagine!

I like Senator Feinstein's plum coat. I wish Aretha wore something other than grey--but her hat was befitting her stature.

Hmmm. Did Michelle's outfit look yellow to you? It was absolutely gold to me. A metal, not a colour.

I thought it looked gold, not yellow.

What an exciting day! I loved the fabric and color of Michelle's outfit especially the texture and sparkle. If there is one day to wear such a fancy fabric during the day, today is it for Michelle!

However, I don't understand the cut of the outfit, it makes her look puffy, far less figure friendly than the other outfits she wore recently. I wonder if there is a bullet proof vest under it? Just a wild guess.

I'm so incredibly sad that I had to be working at the moment. I got to watch a very broken streaming version of his speech, but I missed the swearing in. Thankfully I had it Tivoed at home, but I won't have time to watch until the weekend, so I am watching a recap on CNN.

Ooooh the designer of Michelle's gown is a Parsons student! I am so proud! On the flip-side, I don't think I'm crazy about it. The ivory color is stunning on her, but the shape isn't as flattering as it could be. Loved the yellow and green getup though. It was festive and youthful and looked lovely against her skin.

How about Malia and Sasha? Their outfits were custom made from Crewcuts. I don't know if that was mentioned yet. I wish I looked that great when I was a kid.

Angie, I read several news reports saying her outfit is yellow... on purpose - the color of sunlight, and Hope. The designer calls the color "lemongrass."

On my t.v., the color coordinated nicely with the yellowish-gold braiding on some of the uniformed officers (sorry, not sure which uniforms). But still came across more yellow than gold.

At the luncheon, when she took off the coat she had on a yellow cardigan that looks just like the Jcrew one she has worn previously on a few occasions (I thought that was a nice touch, actually... showing you don't have to sacrifice style for frugality). That cardigan is the "in" yellow color that has been popular at Jcrew.

Here's one blog that says her outfit is lined in pashmina:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.co.....dress.html

I did keep thinking all day long that Michelle looked like she was absolutely freezing! Jill Biden seemed to make a better choice, wearing boots and a wool coat, though there was something off to me about her outfit. Boots too high? Dress to short? .... awaiting your blog tomorrow!!!

Maya, after spending all day soaking up the media photos, I think Malia and Sasha stole the show!! Loved the ribbons on their coats. Two very fashionable young ladies.

Well, I suppose I will be the lone dissenter here. First, Shiny, thank you for starting this thread. So interesting! Second, my comments are not politically motivated, as I am thrilled about the new First Family. Fashion-wise, I was really let down by Michelle's choice for the inauguration. The color looked drab. It was essentially shapeless, from what I saw, and it had such a conservative sensibility. The whole thing struck me as quite dowdy. I DO understand that as First Lady she can't be edgy, but I was hoping for something, well, just something different. It's a new era, with a young First Family and a promise of hope and change. But the outfit, to me, felt like more of the same. I've been such a fan of Michelle's choices up till now, and she wears clothes so beautifully. I am still holding out hope that she will take a few more chances and usher in a bold new fashion-forward America!

(And don't get me started on Aretha's hat!)

OK, now, the ball gown? That's the Michelle I want to see.

Maya, they did wear Crewcuts! I was just at the J. Crew splash page, and they had this:

"Congratulations to the First Family: On this historic day all of us at J. Crew would like to extend our very best to the President and his family."

http://www.jcrew.com/index.jsp

And then underneath it says, "Yes, they wore crewcuts! Find out more...."

Anyway, I LOVED the girls' jackets, especially the younger girl (Malia?) in the peach jacket. If they had a grown up version of that peach jacket with the little rust colored tie, I'd be all over it.

I just woke up and peeked in to see what Michelle wore to the ball. I wasn't sold on the gown until I saw a photo of her and Obama descending the stairs together. Then I loved it. The fluttery petals remind me of a wedding gown I tried on when I was getting married (and would have bought if it had been in my size). I also love this type of Grecian one-shoulder look. I took a minor in Greek & Roman studies in my undergrad, so I'm very biased

Honestly, though, I think Michelle and Barack could have been wearing burlap and I'd have been charmed. They were radiating joy and most of all LOVE all day long, and that's the most beautiful part of it all.

Congratulations to all of you Americans on your new First Family. It must be kind of neat to know how much of the world is celebrating with you.

Oh, and I totally agree with the guess that she was wearing a bulletproof vest under the yellow outfit. I'd be shocked if she wasn't.