Let the Parties Begin

First stop: the first-of-its-kind, publicly accessible Neighborhood Ball

(NEWSER) - The new first couple danced their way through all 10 official balls last night, keeping with tradition and the desire to make yesterday’s inauguration the “most accessible” in history, CNN reports. Barack and Michelle Obama began the evening at the public Neighborhood Ball with Beyoncé’s rendition of “At Last.” The ball held special significance for the president, a former community organizer who took heat during the campaign for it. More»

Her fashion sense has jolted an ailing retail sector

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama may decide how to stimulate the economy, but it's Michelle who's teaching America how to look good in it, CNN reports. She's dumped the traditional first lady look for a "recession chic" fashion—a brazen mix of little-known designers like fellow Chicagoan Maria Pinto and bargain buys from J Crew and Target—that inspires everyday women and has jolted a slumping retail sector. More»

Jason Wu creation joins Museum of American History collection

(NEWSER) - The Museum of American History got more fashionable today when Michelle Obama donated the evening gown she wore to the 2009 inaugural balls to the First Ladies Collection. "I am very honored and very humbled, but I have to say that I'm also a little embarrassed by all the fuss being made over my dress," Obama said of the Jason Wu design. "To say that she has changed my life is really an understatement," Wu told Politics Daily . More»

(NEWSER) - You know it's a slow week when news outlets track down "experts" to discuss the effect Michelle Obama's shorts will have on the White House, writes Belinda Luscombe for Time. The thing is, the shorts she wore on Sunday as she stepped out of Air Force One actually are important. “She just didn't look particularly good,” Luscombe continues. “Her arms are much admired. Her legs are just, you know, legs.” And that’s a good thing for the rest of us. More»

First Lady's first formal photo highlights famous arms

(NEWSER) - The White House released the first official portrait of Michelle Obama today, People reports, and it calls attention to her most famous accessory. No, not the Kennedy-esque double strand of pearls—her rock-solid arms. In the photo, snapped in the Blue Room, the first lady also sports a sleek black sheath designed by Michael Kors, according to the New York Post. More»