The significance behind Jill Biden and Michelle Obama's 9/11 blue ribbons

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Saturday marked 20 years since 11th September 2001, when planes hijacked by terrorists hit several landmarks on the East Coast of America, including the World Trade Centre in New York, resulting in the tragic loss of almost 3,000 lives.

To commemorate the event, President Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden, as well as former POTUS and FLOTUS Barack and Michelle Obama, attended a memorial service in NY, and held six moments of silence to mark each tower being struck and falling, as well as when planes crashes in Shanksville and into the Pentagon.

For the occasion, both women wore sombre attire, dressed all in black (including the face masks) with the exception of one small yet significant pop of colour: a light blue ribbon.

The symbol is one of remembrance for lost loved ones, in fact that particular shade is known as 'memorial blue'.

It's also a nod to New York City's perception of the sky. In fact, many remember that the 11th September 2001 started off as a particularly sunny day, with bright blue skies.

These would sadly turn to grey due to ash and debris later that day.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.