He doesn't mind: Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive to welcome Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur last November
New do: Mrs Obama debuted a sophisticated new corkscrew curled hairdo for the state dinner
At a recent state dinner to honour the indian Prime Minister, the First lady stepped out in a sequin-encrusted, strapless dress in a delicate shade of peachy-pink.
So far, so stylish. But it was the way the dress was subsequently described that caused the hoo-hah.
Diplomacy in action: Margarita Zavala, Michelle Obama, President Felipe Calderón and President Barack Obama stand together in front of the White House before their Presidential State dinner
Let me just get that for you: Michelle makes sure husband Barack, dressed in a smart black tuxedo, is picture perfect ahead of the lavish affair
Head of state: The Obamas hosted their second state dinner at the White House amid tightened security after the first was marred by gatecrashers
Double take: Eva Longoria and Michelle Obama are caught in a fashion faux pas after they arrived to a state dinner in matching dresses
Pomp and ceremony: The Obamas rolled out the red carpet to their Mexican counterparts as they bid to smooth diplomatic relationships between their nations
Night to remember: Guests were hosted on tables in the party and entertainment tent on the South Lawn of the White House
Lavish: Gold and turquoise themed tables, with a stunning floral centrepiece were laid for guests at the state dinner
Symbol of hope: Monarch butterfly decorations hung from the ceiling of the tent. Monarchs migrate between Mexico and Canada, passing through the U.S symbolising the relationship Calderon and Obama want to develop
Special guests: Chat show host George Lopez and his wife Ann, and the world's richest man, Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim arrive for the event
Guest appearance: Beyonce is seen heading to the White House where she entertained guests at the State dinner. She wore a stunning grey bejewelled gown by British designers Ralph and Russo
Hot ticket: Longoria wore a stunning tangerine coloured Reem Accra gown, and Whoopi Goldberg wore an elegant black kaftan by Chado Ralf Rucci
Presidents Obama and Calderón inspect an honour guard at an arrival ceremony during his state visit
President Barack Obama and President of Mexico Felipe Calderón watch the Fife and Drum Corps during a welcoming on the South Lawn of the White House
Michelle Obama and her Mexican counterpart Margarita Zavala run with children during a PE class as they visit New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland
The designer, Naeem Khan explained that it was a 'sterling-silver sequin, abstract floral, nude strapless gown'.
However, when the Associated Press news agency, reporting on the event, referred to the colour as 'flesh', they were lambasted by one editor, who asked 'Whose flesh? Not hers [Michelle Obama's].'
They subsequently replaced the offending adjective with the less contentious 'champagne'.
So, is it all just a storm in a style teacup or does the episode highlight a racial bias in the fashion world?
After all, it took a while for the major beauty brands to start catering to a broad ethnic consumer base.
And the fact that you can reel off the names of black models - Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Alek Wek and Jourdan Dunn - doesn' t really mean that the industry is colour-blind.
After all, how many supermodels look Chinese or Indian?
The PC brigade would undoubtedly assert that descriptions of colours as flesh, nude and skin are discriminatory, as they are usually used to refer to a pale, yellowy pinky shade, which describes a caucasian skin tone.
The more pragmatic among us would simply say that they're just not terribly helpful as adjectives as they are far too ambiguous.
But colour is such a subjective thing. One woman's turquoise is another's sea-green and is there not a point at which the root of a word becomes irrelevant?
'Brick' invariably refers to a russet red, despite the fact that in real life bricks might be anything from pale yellow to dark grey.
It's a thorny issue and not one that has a simple solution - unless, of course, we adopt a far less subjective approach.
The art world has long used the Pantone system of classifying colour, while computer geeks adopted a six-character system to code colours.
Perhaps, in the future, Mrs Obama's dress will be described as 'a stunning, sequin-encrusted, floorlength gown in #FFF8c6'.
The controversy comes after President Obama's second state dinner, which was a typically glamorous affair.
And as he and First Lady Michelle hosted the President of Mexico Felipe Calderón, and his wife Margarita Zavala, it was fitting that Mexican American actress Eva Longoria Parker was one of the specially invited guests.
However, arriving in a stylish tangerine coloured silk gown by designer Reem Acra, Longoria's asymmetric style threatened to steal the limelight from Mrs Obama, who herself had chosen a cobalt blue one-shouldered number.The First Lady wore an azure blue chiffon, lame and silk gown by American designer Peter Soronen. The gown features a structured corset top with a lace-up back.
While Desperate Housewives actress Longoria wowed guests in an orange silk Grecian style gown, accessorised with diamond earrings and a jewelled clutch.
Both women looked perfectly glamorous despite the unwitting fashion clash, but Mrs Obama may have won out as she chose the occasion to debut a new corkscrew curled 'up-do' which gave her a youthful, sophisticated look.Of course there was a political dimension to proceedings - illegal immigration and the controversy over the recently passed Arizona anti-immigrant law were the topics of the day.
President Calderón addressed the subject head-on during the formal arrival ceremony. He said: 'I know that we share the interest in promoting dignified, legal and orderly living conditions to all migrant workers.
'Many of them, despite their significant contribution to the economy and to the society of the Unites States, still live in the shadows and, occasionally, as in Arizona, they even face discrimination.'
His remarks drew applause and even a few cheers from the audience.
Immigration even cropped up on the red carpet. Longoria Parker said: 'I think it's probably one of the most important times to have this dinner with the president of Mexico - obviously because of the temperature regarding immigration reform, and the important conversations happened today.'
The actress went on to say she was happy to hear President Obama voice his displeasure with the Arizona law. 'You can't have these states doing their own punitive laws when immigration is a federal issue,' she said.
The Mexican president is widely expected to try to convince US lawmakers that his 'war on drugs' is working when he addresses Congress.Mexican drug gangs are killing rivals in record numbers, mostly in the U.S.-Mexico border region.
Nearly 23,000 people have been killed in drug violence since Calderon took office in December 2006 and launched an army offensive.
President Obama backs Calderon's drug strategy, following through on a $1.4 billion U.S. aid package known as the Merida Initiative. Obama has promised to step up efforts to curb U.S. drug consumption as well as the southbound flow of guns and cash into Mexico.
But human rights groups have long raised concerns that Calderon's army-backed approach is putting civilians at risk as claims of abuses by soldiers have jumped in recent years.
At the dinner, the White House promised to improve security after Obama's first state dinner was overshadowed by an uninvited husband-and-wife couple who somehow slipped through security and got close enough to the president to shake his hand.
Among the hundreds who lined up to get in, at least one woman, the wife of the assistant secretary of state, was turned away for lack of proper ID.
As about 200 guests streamed into the White House, the Obamas greeted Mexico's first couple on the North Portico.
Mrs Obama accessorised her shimmery, cobalt blue floor-length gown, with her favourite look - a wide belt - and dangling silvery earrings.
Zavala wore a plum-colored, sleeveless gown with an Aztec-inspired blue border around the square neckline.
Among those with coveted invitations for the four-course dinner in the East Room were a celebrity contingent that also included actress Whoopi Goldberg, comedian George Lopez, Olympic speedskater Shani Davis and New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez.
The world's richest man, Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim, also attended.
Goldberg said it felt like she was 'coming home after a long drought.' She said she'd been a frequent visitor during Bill Clinton's years, but not at all during George W. Bush's presidency. 'I wasn't here,' she said.
Lopez, joked when asked about the tight security. 'The guy with the club was nice.'
Obama and Calderón launched the dinner with a toast to the friendship between their nations.
Obama, in toasting Mexico's contributions to the world, singled out 'some very good food, including the food of the gods — chocolate.'
Calderón, for his part, congratulated the American people 'for having a president like Barack Obama' and Obama 'for having a wife and first lady like Michelle Obama.'
Another 100 or so guests arrived later in the evening for desert and the after-dinner entertainment inside a white tent on the South Lawn, where the Mexican duo of Rodrigo y Gabriela strummed acoustic guitars.
They were followed by Grammy Award winner Beyonce. And the Obamas children, Malia and Sasha - 12 and nine respectively - were allowed to stay up past their bedtime to watch her performance.
'Today is a celebration of the bonds between the United States and Mexico, including the music that brings us together and moves us a little bit and hopefully gets us literally moving on the dance floor at some point,' Obama said after the party moved outside.
The state dinner was organised by new White House social secretary Julianna Smoot. Smoot's predecessor, Desiree Rogers, resigned earlier this year; she'd been criticised for her high-profile approach to the job.
For their second state dinner, Mrs. Obama recruited Chicago celebrity chef Rick Bayless - one of the couple's favourites - to prepare the meal.
Dinner started with a salad of jicama with oranges, grapefruit and pineapple, followed by herb green ceviche of Hawaiian opah.
The main course of Oregon wagyu beef came with a Oaxacan black mole sauce that Bayless says uses more than 20 ingredients and takes days to come together. Grilled green beans and black bean tamalon accompanied the main course.
For dessert, a chocolate cajeta tart with toasted homemade marshmallows along with a graham cracker crumble made with honey from the White House beehive and goat cheese ice cream.
The two presidents and their wives sat at a rectangular head table, with guests at a mix of rectangular and round tables draped in three shades of Mayan blue to simulate rippling water. Bouquets of fuchsia flowers, including roses and orchids, and prickly pear cactus were made into centrepieces.
On the lawn, the tent was outfitted with tiered seating and a dance floor. Guests entering the room were to get a feel for Monarch butterflies in flight.
The White House said that decor was chosen to honour Calderón's birthplace of Michoacan, Mexico, where the butterfly's annual migration from Canada ends each spring.
The duo of Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero formed in Mexico City but moved to Dublin after becoming frustrated with the late '90s Mexican music scene. They are known for dueling acoustic guitar instrumentals that blend heavy metal sounds with Latin rhythms.
The dinner comes as President Obama pushes for sweeping changes in U.S. immigration policy and President Calderón claimed the Arizona law discriminates against foreign-born workers.
Immigration, a traditional sticking point in the neighbouring countries' relationship, became the focus of Calderón's Washington visit when the border state passed the law requiring police to check the immigration status of anyone they suspect is in the United States illegally.
The Arizona law has been criticised as discriminatory and Calderón, who had promised to bring it up in Washington, jumped into the controversy in his first formal remarks of the two-day state visit.
Despite their 'significant contribution to the economy and society of the United States,' Calderón said, many immigrant workers 'live in the shadows, and at times, as in Arizona, confront patterns of discrimination.'
Obama said the Arizona law underscored the need for comprehensive immigration reform and reflects U.S. frustrations, which he shares, with current law.
'In the United States of America, no law-abiding person -- be they an American citizen, a legal immigrant, or a visitor or tourist from Mexico -- should ever be subject to suspicion simply because of what they look like,' Obama told reporters with Calderón at his side.
There are millions of Mexican-Americans and Mexicans living in the United States, and many Americans travel to and live in Mexico.
The United States needs a new law that secures the border, targets businesses that hire illegal workers and punishes illegals, but gives them a path to citizenship, Obama said. He asked for support from opposition Republicans to pass one.
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