There was plenty of warmth to go around Thursday night as political leaders, diplomats and media personalities gathered for a State Dinner at the White House, where President Obama toasted new trade agreements with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to a room full of more than 200 attendees who had rushed inside during a thunderstorm wearing their fall-finest. “So much for the hair salon,” joked ABC News correspondent Juju Chang as she messed with her wet locks in a dress that oddly mirrored the first lady’s. The guest list included producer Bruce Cohen, CNN’s Candy Crowley, CBS News anchor Scott Pelley and tennis-great Billie Jean King, who said she’d spent the day reviewing news of the trade pacts and was “just excited to be here and be a part of it and share.”
Guests dined on a lush menu of fall faves including Texas wagyu beef, orange-ginger fondue, sauteed kale and roasted kabocha squash, and chocolate cake with Korean and American pears – enough to make any foodie drool. But Michelle Obama stayed relatively dry, donning an elegant purple gown with a jeweled belt from South Korean-born designer Doo-Ri Chung, whose celebrity fans also include Eva Longoria and Vanessa Getty.
