Up in arms over the lack of sleeves

Sleevelessness is next to tawdriness if you ask some citizens who spotted Michelle Obama in the audience of her husband's speech Tuesday night.

Although the first lady has been admired for her signature sheaths that expose toned arms, her choice of a Narciso Rodriguez sleeveless dress in this setting ignited some indignation.

"Does the lady not understand that these Big Speech Events are serious and important? Not a cock-tail party?" e-mailed Janice Elges of Wheaton, Ill., who said she scanned the crowd for other bare arms and spied none.

"The season is winter. The occasion is business. Dress was wrong place and time."

Obama has worn that plum-colored dress previously, around the time of the inauguration.

But the cover of People magazine hitting newsstands Friday shows Obama in a new sleeveless dress.

And it's one that should quell a separate fashion complaint: that Obama had not worn a dress by an African-American designer.

The deep-pink lace confection is by Tracy Reese, a more moderately priced designer, who is black. The dress retails for $395 at tracyreese.com.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.