THESE two First Ladies' fashion rematch has been the talk of the French press for days.

And both - Mrs Michelle Obama and Mrs Carla Bruni-Sarkozy - did not disappoint when they met again in Paris for the D-Day commemorations.

Allied forces landed in France to begin their invasion of German-occupied Europe during WWII on this day.

The highly-anticipated Round 2 of the Carla-Michelle 'duel of charm', as dubbed by the French press, seemed to be a tie, just like the last time.

This time, the script seemed to be: Two tall women, one of them a model, swinging in step in classic 'paired' runway formation, said The Daily Telegraph.

Both were almost identically dressed in knee-length cream outfits with belts, bare legs and heels.

They could almost have been modelling some designers' collection named 'First Lady Spring 2009'.

The sombre occasion was given a dash of cream, perhaps too light a colour for such an event.

And never mind that there was a French military band playing in the background - for a moment, the D-Day images that the cameras were capturing in Caen seemed interchangeable with shots from a catwalk show.

The French president's wife, a supermodel-turned-singer, chose to wear Dior again, but dropped the grey in favour of a youthfully chic and flattering cap-sleeved ivory satin sheath with a gathered neckline.

And this time, Mrs Obama dropped her 'right to bare arms' - a term Mr Obama jokingly used on her for making elegant sleeveless dresses her signature look a few months ago.

Instead, the American First Lady donned a coat by Narciso Rodriguez over a dress by Michael Kors, both New York designers, and topped off the look with a belt by Givenchy.

The last time they met was during the Obamas' first official visit to France in April.

That fashion face-off, on the sidelines of a NATO summit in the French border city of Strasbourg, was widely considered a tie, with both first ladies' wardrobes garnering praise by international observers, said AP.

Then, standing next to Mrs Obama, Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy found the American had a two-inch advantage on her.

So in Round 2, the most significant detail of all was found in the two pairs of shoes on the Caen red carpet, said The Daily Telegraph.

Mrs Obama wore silver Jimmy Choos, and for the first time since marrying, Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy was seen wearing heels.

This article was first published in The New Paper