Yahoo Finance First Lady Jill Biden Supports Ukraine and American Manufacturing With LaPointe Dress
ON MESSAGE: In line with two key messages in U.S. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, First Lady Jill Biden showed an allegiance to the people of Ukraine and a commitment to American manufacturing by sporting a blue domestically made dress from the LaPointe label.
Designer and founder Sally LaPointe is rooted in New York City, where she also manufactures her ready-to-wear collection. The cobalt blue frock worn by FLOTUS at the U.S. Capitol was made with double-face satin and features arm slits — the better to applaud with. The minimalist style had an embroidered sunflower on the sleeve of the dress that was emblematic of Ukraine’s national flower. The blue was symbolic of the same shade that adorns Ukraine’s national flag.
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Courtesy of Sally LaPointe
President Biden offered more forceful words in retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He announced that America will join its allies in closing off American air space to all Russian flights, and providing support to the Ukrainians in their fight for freedom with military, economic and humanitarian assistance. Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden said, “Putin has unleashed violence and chaos. But while he may make gains on the battlefield — he will pay a continuing high price over the long run.”
Biden’s solidarity with the Ukrainian people was evident by the presence of the ambassador of Ukraine to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, who was among the guests seated with the first lady in the viewing box. Facebook’s former lead product manager on civic misinformation Frances Haugen, Intel’s chief executive officer Patrick Gelsinger, United Steelworkers Local 1557 member Joseph “JoJo” Burgess and the diabetic seventh-grader Joshua Davis were among some of the others. The Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and the president’s sister Valerie Biden Owens were also in the viewing box.
Rallying for the passage of the Bipartisan Innovation Act sitting in Congress, Biden said it will “make record investments in emerging technologies and American manufacturing.” He went on to say during his nearly hourlong address, “There’s something happening in America. Just look around and you’ll see an amazing story. The rebirth of the prude that comes from stamping products Made in America. The revitalization of American manufacturing.”
FLOTUS’ choice of a dress from LaPointe’s pre-fall collection was testimony to that mind-set. The designer hails from Massachusetts and graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in apparel design. She started her signature company in 2010 and is a former winner of one of the Fashion Group International’s “Rising Star” awards. Her dresses can retail for upward of $1,000. As for the specifics about how and why the State of the Union dress was chosen, a spokesman for LaPointe declined to comment Tuesday night.
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