Michelle Obama Wears Barbara Tfank Dress for State of the Union

Michelle Obama wore a blue Barbara Tfank dress to the State of the Union address.

Last night first lady Michelle Obama wore a a shiny, sapphire blue dress by Los Angeles-based designer Barbara Tfank for the State of the Union address. The silk twill sheath dress features cap sleeves and a criss cross bodice Obama accessorized with a pin by Alexis Bittar. The silhouette was chic and the bold, Democratic blue shade certainly made a statement in a room full of black suits and navy blazers.

Read more about the power of a Michelle Obama fashion endorsement

Michelle Obama wore another Tfank dress to meet Duchess Catherine at Buckingham Palac …

Obama has worn Tfank's designs several times before, including a sky blue, belted, floral-print dress she donned last May when she visited Queen Elizabeth and met Duchess Catherine at Buckingham Palace. FLOTUS wore the 1950s-style dress from Tfank's 2011 resort collection with a cropped pink jacket as she was introduced to the fellow style icon. Obama also wore a green printed Tfank dress with pink pumps and a pearl necklace to an award ceremony for Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger, of the US Air Force in the fall of 2010.

The first lady will make "Tonight Show" appearance later this month

Barbara Tfank started her career as a costume designer, and she made her mark while working as Prada's design consultant when she dressed Uma Thurman in the Italian label for the 1995 Oscars. No one had really heard about red carpet stylists until that point, and the lavender gown put Prada on the map. Tfank launched her eponymous label at Barneys New York in 2001 and recently dressed Adele in a black scallop edge custom dress to last year's MTV Video Music Awards. Her spring 2012 collection was inspired by some of Elizabeth Taylor's most iconic on-screen looks.

Designer Barbara Tfank in one of her creations.

Last year, Obama wore a basic white 3/4 sleeve frock by Rachel Roy to the State of the Union. Just as Rachel Roy, Jason Wu, Thakoon, and other first lady favorites have become household names, we can now expect Barbara Tfank to get a lot more attention.

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Can Stylish Obama Gear Help the President Get Reelected?

Stylish campaign gear may help rally Barack Obama supporters.

The Obamas have always been a stylish couple, and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour believes fashionable gear for supporters can help get the president reelected. As a backer of Barack Obama, Wintour has hosted many fundraisers on his behalf (she helped raise over $500,000 for his reelection bid), and now she's working on a new project called Runway to Win. (It's a follow up to 2008's Runway to Change.) According to Women's Wear Daily, Vogue has gotten a group of 22 designers together to design Obama-centric graphic t-shirts, tote bags, and other merchandise to benefit the Obama Victory Fund. The good will go on sale on Thursday, January 12.

Executives at LVMH (the parent company behind Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Fendi, Donna Karan, and Givenchy among others brands) were reluctant to involve their brands in these efforts for fear of alienating their Republican clientele, but designers ultimately could make their own decisions. While Donna Karan turned down the opportunity, Marc Jacobs (who also designs for Louis Vuitton) will be creating Obama merchandise. Diane von Furstenberg, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu, Tracy Reese, Tory Burch, Rachel Ro, Rag & Bone, and Joseph Altuzarra will also be participating.

Women's Wear Daily also points out that executives and employees of fashion brands contributed almost double the money to Obama's campaign as they did to John McCain's campaign during the 2008 presidential election.

Do you think stylish campaign gear can help wrangle in supporters and help Obama get reelected, or does Runway to Win seem like a frivolous effort?

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