However, the designer told a New York Times blog that she hadn't known her dress would be chosen until the very last minute.

"I wanted to pick a very optimistic color, that had sunshine," she said. "I wanted her to feel charmed, and in that way would charm everybody."

Toledo said that about 13 people in her studio worked on the outfit over Christmas.

"We're all grateful for this opportunity, and we don’t even have a PR person!" Toledo, 48, told The New York Times.

According to the usually well-informed industry journal Women's Wear Daily, Obama chose another Cuban-American designer, Narcisco Rodriguez, for the black and camel-colored attire she wore Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial.

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama waves to the crowd after dancing her first dance of inauguration night with President Barack Obama at the leadoff Neighborhood Inaugural Ball in Washington January 20, 2009.[Xinhua/Reuters]

Obama, 45, has already been named a fashion icon by magazine editors, designers and bloggers. Her fashion sense first took center stage when she was photographed by Vogue magazine in autumn 2007.

She can also shift seamlessly between avant-garde designer labels, including Chicago designer Maria Pinto and New York designer Thakoon Panichgul, and mass market brands such as H&M, J. Crew and Gap.

But while Obama is rapidly acquiring the title of first fashion icon, she was not the only one on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to draw attention.

Obama daughters Malia and Sasha were as perfectly turned out as their mother, with the elder in a blue overcoat and scarf, and the younger radiant in a pink overcoat and orange scarf.

Michelle Obama's mother, Marian Robinson opted at the age of 71 for a simple wool hat and red scarf.

But the most original outfit was worn by soul diva Aretha Franklin who sang "Let Freedom Ring" to the crowd. She wore an all grey outfit with a grey felt hat sporting a gigantic bow.