Theresa May has addressed delegates on the final day of the Conservative Party Conference.
And the all important outfit- a Daniel Blake Tulip dress in wool flannel windowpane check, accessorised with the Twiggy Russell & Bromley kitten heels, oversized bracelet and her swirl Celtic Treasure ring.
It's been a year since Theresa May became Prime Minister- and what a rollercoaster 12 months it has been!
Despite the ups and downs, one thing remains constant- Theresa May's fabulous sense of style.
The PM's most visible commitment in her diary is her weekly outing to Prime Minister's Questions. Facing MPs and the Leader of the Opposition, May is a strong performer in this bear pit.
I've always been interested to see what May wears at PMQs, and what her sartorial selections for this often brutal event suggest. I decided to take a deeper look at the clothes she has been wearing during her time at the despatch box.
Focusing on PMQ appearances and official statements, I've created this infographic analysing Theresa May's clothes in the Commons chamber. From favourite designers to fancy footwear, I've analysed what Theresa May wears and considered the reasoning behind her choices.
Here's what I found:
Amanda Wakeley and Escada are the two most frequently worn designers by Theresa May at the despatch box. Both combined, May wore items from these two brands for over 60% of her appearances.
Theresa May's favourite colour is navy. She chose this true blue hue for almost three quarters of these televised appearances.
Russell & Bromley again topped the poll for the Prime Minister's most loved shoe brand. She wore a shoe from the brand 26 times at the despatch box.
Theresa May wore the gold Twister block heel from Russell & Bromley the most for these televised appearances. This was closely followed by the chic Vivacious heel from the same brand.
And unsurprisingly, British designers continue to be the Prime Minister's preferred outfitters, with a reliance on classic British tailoring and accessories.
But what was different?
Heels have overtaken flats as the most worn type of shoe. This is most likely because of the added height and confidence they give to the wearer in front of the TV cameras.
Bright colours didn't get a look in, with May never wearing red at the despatch box. With blue associated with the Conservative Party and red for Labour, this is a logical and obvious choice.
What does this suggest about Theresa May's despatch box style?
May understands the power and complexities of a televised forum. She selects tailored, timeless pieces that will look good on camera and present her as a strong and sophisticated leader. She picks items of clothing that give confidence and make her feel good, relying on trusted brands to help her get the job done.
Theresa May selects suitably serious pieces for big events, choosing classic, no fuss pieces like a white shirt and a sharp navy suit for big announcements like the Budget and Brexit negotiations. And for solemn statements, like responses to the Westminster terror attack, May uses black to convey her sympathy and solidarity.
But just as May chooses classic pieces, she does like to wear 'wildcard' items. In this very public arena oversized necklaces and statement bangles are two favourites, as is a sophisticated silk scarf. Theresa May memorably used this public event to show her support of young designers, wearing an eye catching silk scarf by the talented Megan Ferris to a PMQ session for all the world to see. Genuine touches like these makes Theresa May a real champion of British fashion and provides us with an insight into just how much she loves to accessorise.
As her political future remains uncertain, one thing does remain constant- Theresa May truly is the most fashionable MP we'll see at the despatch box!
I'd love to hear what you think of this infographic- share your thoughts with me in the comments or on Twitter! View the full infographic here.
Campaigning for the 2017 General Election is in full swing, and with business to wrap up in the Commons before Parliament is dissolved on Wednesday, it has been a busy week for the Prime Minister.
On Tuesday, Theresa May travelled to my home turf and I was lucky enough to meet her in Bridgend. But before the Prime Minister got to Bridgend, she visited Newport Galvanizers in my home city. She then made her way down the M4 to an area of Bridgend called Brackla.
For this first campaign stop of the week, the PM wore tailored black trousers, a brown and white tweed jacket, black pearls, black patent and sparkly brogues from Russell & Bromley and one of her new rings from Celtic Treasure.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister was back in London to take part in the final PMQs before the Election. May wore her ever faithful navy Escada suit with a white top. She wore the velvet bow adorned Twister gold block heels from Russell & Bromley and a maroon jewel necklace. Later in the day, the PM met with Jean Claude Juncker at Number 10 to discuss Brexit negotiations.
On Thursday, May was back on the campaign trail, this time in Derbyshire. Here she visited IKO Polymeric and spoke to party activists. For this stop, the PM wore her beloved blackwatch tartan Vivienne Westwood blazer, teaming it with a white top and tailored black trousers. We saw the Divine black flats from Russell & Bromley make a reappearance, and a new green jewel necklace added to the mix.
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On Friday, the PM welcomed Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan to Chequers. With a subtle, diplomatic nod to the Japanese flag, May wore a red dress, an oatmeal jacket and a pair of leopard kitten heels. Political style in action! Following their meeting, May was back in her constituency, attending the annual Maidenhead Conservatives Dinner and wearing head to toe Amanda Wakeley.
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Up bright and early on Saturday, May launched her own re-election campaign in Maidenhead town centre. A classic campaigning look for May is her olive Barbour jacket, jeans and a blazer, all of which were on display. She rocked this look with a pair of leopard ankle boots- essential campaigning footwear in my view! It was then straight on a plane to Scotland, where May joined in with canvassing and meeting party members in Aberdeenshire.
And today, May appeared on the Andrew Marr Show and the Peston Show, discussing the Conservatives campaign and Brexit. It was a return to an old favourite for these two important interviews- the red Amanda Wakeley suit (last seen on her visit to Cardiff in March,) accessorised with a Hermes scarf. May added a new pair of black suede kitten heels to the mix- this time the Twiggy from Russell & Bromley.
A busy week in Theresa May's world, and it's only going to get busier! For updates throughout the campaign be sure to follow Political Style!
Polls are a funny thing, but still pretty fascinating to read. A new poll out today suggests that Theresa May is perceived to be doing a better job than any Prime Minister of the last 20 years. The findings are attributed to Opinium Research in partnership with Polling Matters, the independent, non-partisan political podcast. Two out of every five UK adults (39%) rated the current Prime Minister as doing a good job.
Only Margaret Thatcher was more likely to be perceived as having done a ‘good job’ by the UK public, according to the new research (40%). While Gordon Brown had the smallest percentage of the public saying he did a ‘good job’ (13%), he is less polarizing than Tony Blair who is seen as having done a ‘bad job’ by nearly half of the population (49%).
Adam Drummond, Opinium Research said: “Theresa May retains her strong ratings with far more saying she is doing a good job than bad. However, as a still relatively new prime minister, she benefits from the fact that the end result of her actions is still undetermined and the judgement of history is, understandably, not in yet.
What’s also interesting is how loyal Conservative voters are to Margaret Thatcher and, to a lesser extent, David Cameron, giving both strong ratings. In contrast, current Labour voters are more likely to say that Tony Blair and Gordon Brown underperformed in No 10. That said, current Labour voters are quite different to those who last voted Labour into government.”
Keiran Pedley, Polling Matters said: “These results show that despite still dividing opinion Margaret Thatcher has a stronger reputation than those succeeding her as Prime Minister. Yet, for now at least, Theresa May is seen as more popular among the public and marginally so among Tory voters.
Arguably the more interesting story here is how Labour voters take a comparatively dimmer view of their past Prime Ministers than Conservative voters, which perhaps reflects the changing nature of the Labour vote over time but is surely something for the Party to ponder as it plots a route back to power.”
Conference season has come to an end with all of the UK's political parties holding their annual meet-ups. Recent attention has been on the Conservative Party, and Theresa May who ended her first conference as Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister earlier today.
The big issues of Brexit, the economy and welfare were rightly front and centre at conference. But delegates and the wider country were interested in May's personal side, and in particular, her interest in fashion. It's no secret that the PM is interested in clothes and her love of style is giving this blog plenty to write about.
The subject of female politicians and their wardrobe choices has always been a topic of controversy. Some say it is sexist to focus on what a woman is wearing whilst others like myself see the selection of clothes as an important part of crafting an image.
Theresa May is redefining political fashion and shaking up what is perceived as the 'typical female politician' look. What Thatcher did for the structured handbag and bow blouses, May is doing for the statement shoe and bold necklace. Her style is relaxed yet assured- the dark jeans worn on her 60th birthday, the two piece skirt suit and Russell & Bromley heels and the familiar aubergine Escada dress all demonstrate a leader with confidence and purpose. There will be no brash neon jackets or badly tailored suits here!
May isn't afraid to take risks with her sartorial selections and she knocked it out of the park with her choice of a structured black Paule Ka jacket, canary yellow belt and silver toed loafers from Russell & Bromley. Confident and bold, these choices reaffirm May's leadership style and the absence of any fear in her professional and personal approach.
May is interesting because she takes risks in her wardrobe and in the UK, we've not seen this in a female politician leader before. Too often our female politicians run for the stereotypical suit, a cookie cutter piece taken off the hanger void of personality. It gives nothing away about the leader and can perhaps be part of the reason why we know and think so little about our politicians. May's clothes convey the mood of the situation- the navy and neon Amanda Wakeley dress and long jacket a sign of optimistic change and the the sharp and subtle lines of an oatmeal tweed jacket conveying the seriousness attitude of leadership.
Whether you love hearing about Theresa May's shoes or want the style reporting to stop, throughout her premiership, the interest in her style selections will remain high. May is inspiring professional women to take risks in their wardrobes, and encouraging women in their 60s to not reach for the generic comfort clothing just yet. From these Vivacious courts to statement accessories, Theresa May is redefining political fashion and rewriting what it means to be a woman in politics.
The 2016 Conservative Party Conference kicked off in Birmingham today, with the Prime Minister making her first appearance as party leader.
Starting the day with an interview on The Andrew Marr Show, Theresa May confirmed that Article 50, which will trigger the formal 'Brexit' process, will be initiated before March 2017. You can watch the full interview below.
For her interview on Marr, the PM wore a navy skirt suit, white cami and a pair of Beverley Feldman for Russell & Bromley leopard, cherry red, tartan and diamonte kitten heels.
For her speech about Brexit, the PM combined the traditional with the modern. Wearing a simple outfit of black trousers and a black tailored jacket, May accessorised with panache, debuting a pair of Charlize metal trim slippers from Russell & Bromley, a utilitarian canary yellow belt and a chunky multi coloured bracelet. Her handbag is from Amanda Wakeley.
Arriving in Birmingham last night, the PM wore blue jeans, the Edelle Evergreen Tweed jacket from LK Bennett, handbag from Anya Hindmarch, navy Balls necklace from Mirta Bijoux and a pair of Russell & Bromley black jewelled buckle pumps.
