Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy in a 'Delicious' Fashion Moment

STRASBOURG, France April 3, 2009— -- After going through a week's worth of outfits in two days, "Mighty Michelle," as the British are calling her, has left the U.K. for France.

President Obama and the first lady were greeted upon arrival by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.

The meeting of world's most fashionable first ladies was perhaps the most widely anticipated photo-op of the Obamas' European tour.

Daily Beast editor Tina Brown speculated that it would be "the most delicious, sartorial fashion moment that we are all going to be deconstructing for next two or three weeks."

Dressed in a black-and-pink patterned floral dress coat, Mrs. Obama greeted her French counterpart by saying, "Bonjour." Mrs. Sarkozy wore a gray silk-belted dress.

The looks were remarkably similar, with large bows at the neckline, falling just below the knee. Under her coat, Mrs. Obama wore a short-sleeved bright pink dress of a similar pattern. The first lady opted for kitten heels. Mrs. Sarkozy wore flats.

The couples lunched together, dining on guinea fowl stuffed with foie gras, coquilles Saint Jacques and asparagus.

The Obamas traveled to France for the 60th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. To mark the occasion, Germany and France are co-hosting a summit for member countries.

But even before the summit, from the moment the Obamas stepped off Air Force One outside London Monday night, so many eyes have been on first lady Michelle Obama.

This is the first time in nearly 50 years, since Jacqueline Kennedy took a trip across the pond, that Europe has so widely anticipated a visit by a U.S. first lady.

The trip may be her husband's debut on the world stage but it is the first lady who just might steal the show. In much of the British tabloid press, it is Michelle Obama, not her husband, who is the main focus of the "Obamamania" headlines.

Mrs. Obama's visit to an all-girls school in London Thursday seemed more like an appearance by English soccer star David Beckham or pop boy band The Jonas Brothers, with shrieking students clamoring to get close enough to greet her.

Obamas' Trip Recalls Kennedys in Paris

The European reaction to the Obamas recalls the Kennedy's trip to Paris in 1961, when Jacqueline Kennedy wowed with her glamorous style and fluent French.

The attention and reception the first lady received on that trip prompted the president to joke about his standing in the power couple. "I am the man who accompanies Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris," Kennedy said.

Much like Parisians' reaction to Jackie Kennedy, so too are the Brits "completely in love" with Michelle Obama, said Alexandra Schulman, editor of London Vogue.

"She's something different," Schulman said. "She looks like she's enjoying herself. She's glamorous, she has a fresh glamour. We love it if it's another country's political wives looking glamorous. We have more problems and are more critical when it's our own and our politicians' budgets that are being spent on their dress, sadly."

Much of the attention on the first lady has focused on her wardrobe.

The Obamas drew a large crowd of spectators outside Buckingham Palace Thursday, and talk of the first lady's attire dominated the conversation.

"She's very stylish, always looking amazing, always looking very smart," Rachel Abbott said.

Her friend Katie Hunt agreed. "She's probably in the Top 10 of being best dressed, in the world."

Already on the trip, Michelle Obama has sported designs from Isabel Toledo, who created her Inauguration Day dress and jacket; Jason Wu, who designed her one-shoulder white chiffon inaugural ball dress; and a skirt and cardigan from one of her favorites, and a regular in the rotation, J. Crew.

A sparkling cardigan that Mrs. Obama wore early in the day Wednesday -- a $298 item dubbed the Crystal Constellation Cardigan -- quickly sold out, J.Crew told "Good Morning America." The pencil skirt she wore with the sweater is expected to be sold out soon as well, the company said.

"I think she could do no wrong," Vogue's Schulman said. "Frankly, she could wear a rubbish bag and I'd still think she looked great."

Michelle Obama's Busy European Itinerary

But for the first lady, the trip is more than just couture, double-strand pearls and tea and crumpets.

The first lady has her own schedule of events, including a NATO spouses' tour of a "cyber surgery unit" at a local hospital, hosted by Bruni-Sarkozy. On the outing, the French first lady will have the opportunity to showcase technology that allows doctors in France to do minimally invasive surgery by remote-controlled medical robots on patients as far away as Africa.

In the afternoon, the group will visit Cathedral de Notre Dame de Strasbourg.

Prior to the NATO spouses events, Mrs. Obama's trip included a tour of a London health facility on Monday with Sarah Brown, Britain's first lady, and the visit to the all-girls school, where she emphasized the power of an education.

The first lady caused a shrieking frenzy among the 11-17-year-old students at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Language School. There she explained why being smart is cool and even shared a little girl talk about her courtship with her husband.

"By getting a good education you too can create your own destiny. I never cut class. I like being smart. I thought being smart was the coolest thing in the world," she said, echoing remarks she has made to students in Washington D.C. "You are the women that will build the world as it should be and that's why a good education is so important."

On Wednesday, she and the president paid a visit to Buckingham Palace to meet with Queen Elizabeth II. The Obamas presented the queen with a gift of an inscribed video iPod, with preloaded songs, and a rare musical songbook signed by U.S. composer Richard Rodgers.

The first lady broke protcol and put her arm around the royal matriach, but the royal no-no was embraced, not only by the queen, but also by her loyal subjects.

Brown says in the eyes of the British, Michelle Obama can do no wrong.

"There was no whiff of disrespect in Michelle's tender and nice gesture that she made where she touched the Queen's shoulder. I think she just would have thought that this is a very authentic and warm woman and she would have responded to the warmth."