Jimmy Choo pumps in a smartly offbeat shade of olive

From strong watcher perspective, it is maria and sasha Obama who stole the show today. Even Aretha franklin's spectacular hat with a virtuoso show colour - blocking on - by the first daughter, trend in their comparative coat and scarves. Maria looks terrible, 10, electric blue, black and sasha vujacic, 7, blow it out of the park in this season's hot orange - and - tear combinations of colours. You hear here first: of orange and pink new red, white and blue.The bold choices that characterised her campaign wardrobe made Michelle Obama a fashion icon even before the election. Today was her first attempt to blend her own, very modern image with the venerated position of first lady. Stung, perhaps, by the lukewarm reception to the daring black-and-red dress she wore on election night (one wit described that as "an apron designed by Mark Rothko") she seemed to lean a little too heavily on recent precedent today. In her richly textured lace, and abiding by a now old-fashioned convention of a matching dress and coat, Obama appeared to be "channelling" the stately look favoured by Barbara and Laura Bush on state occasions, rather than the sleek, pared down image of Jackie Kennedy, to whom she has often been compared. What lifted the outfit were the accessories: sleek leather gloves (which she used to hold the Bible during her husband's swearing in) and Jimmy Choo pumps in a smartly offbeat shade of olive.