Female politicians are probably not your first choice when you think of international style icons. Smart, unfeminine suits seem to be the order of the day for these women as showing even the merest hint of womanly fashion is a sure sign that their credibility in the field will be damaged. Can our besuited female politicians, then, still make an impact on the fashion world?
Margaret Thatcher was a politician whose style choices were much talked about. A dressmaker's daughter, Thatcher used the power of fashion to her advantage and never made a public appearance without looking anything other than immaculate. Not only was she on (or ahead) of trend with her power suits and perfectly coiffed hair, she also managed to send out an unmistakeably businesslike image to the world. It is clear that her while her political legacy divided opinions, her fashion legacy is still lauded, having been photographed for Vogue several times and as recently as last year, aged eighty-two.
Since the power-dressing Iron Lady, have any other female politicians shown the same style? It appears not in Britain, whose female politicians have lived up to our conservative and old-fashioned image. America, however, has Sarah Palin - her red patent pumps and rimless glasses sent a clear message to people who might have previously ignored politics and sent the fashion world in America into a frenzy during the 2008 presidential elections.
Part of the problem is that politics is, and has long been, a male-dominated field. Women who take risks with their fashion open themselves up to debate about their capabilities as a politician and whether they'd rather be out shopping instead. This is a problem that women in government must overcome before they can ditch the conservative suits and be taken seriously both for their work and their style.
It's possible, that with more and more women entering into politics, that they soon they will be taken just as seriously for their work whether they are wearing skyscraper Manolo Blahniks or a twinset and pearls. But up until that point, politics is sadly lagging behind the rest of the world in terms of fashion icons.
Margaret Thatcher was a politician whose style choices were much talked about. A dressmaker's daughter, Thatcher used the power of fashion to her advantage and never made a public appearance without looking anything other than immaculate. Not only was she on (or ahead) of trend with her power suits and perfectly coiffed hair, she also managed to send out an unmistakeably businesslike image to the world. It is clear that her while her political legacy divided opinions, her fashion legacy is still lauded, having been photographed for Vogue several times and as recently as last year, aged eighty-two.
Since the power-dressing Iron Lady, have any other female politicians shown the same style? It appears not in Britain, whose female politicians have lived up to our conservative and old-fashioned image. America, however, has Sarah Palin - her red patent pumps and rimless glasses sent a clear message to people who might have previously ignored politics and sent the fashion world in America into a frenzy during the 2008 presidential elections.
Part of the problem is that politics is, and has long been, a male-dominated field. Women who take risks with their fashion open themselves up to debate about their capabilities as a politician and whether they'd rather be out shopping instead. This is a problem that women in government must overcome before they can ditch the conservative suits and be taken seriously both for their work and their style.
It's possible, that with more and more women entering into politics, that they soon they will be taken just as seriously for their work whether they are wearing skyscraper Manolo Blahniks or a twinset and pearls. But up until that point, politics is sadly lagging behind the rest of the world in terms of fashion icons.
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