No coats politicians

Sorry .wilma, I can't agree , I don't think any men have posted on this and the majority of posts critcised TM, so it's what women do

Annie nobody is going to disagree with you about how male and female politicians are perceived because everyone is aware it is wrong. At the moment we're comparing the styles powerful female politicians.

M0nica I agree about Christine Laguarde, she is a striking woman and I like her hair now it is short and sassy. She wears a monochrome wardrobe and it suits her. It looks too harsh on most women, but pulls it off with accents of colour and always looking tanned and healthy.

On the other hand she's paid much better than elected politicians who get paid from the pub purse. LaGarde gets a tax free salary of about $500k, plus generous allowances. Of course, money is not a guarantee for looking good, but she wouldn't have got such a high profile job if she had a reputation for dressing badly. I don't mean her looking good was a factor in her getting the job, but looking the opposite would be a factor in her not getting it. Men only have to wear a suit and tie and make sure their shirt is clean and they're ready. Some men look better than others, but suit is their uniform and everyone can look good in a uniform. Look at the Queen and Angela Merkel.

Does showing where the power lies depend on clothes for women ? This does trouble me , women it seems have to wear the right colour, dress length, immaculate hair cut, we do not subject men to these expectations .

Wonder if men are as critical of male leaders

Now the powerful woman who always looks the part is Christine LaGarde, chairman of the IMF. She carries herself beautifully, has an immaculate haircut and is usually dressed in a black suit and white shirt.

She only has to walk into a room for everyone to know where the power lies.

Obama is definitely a "tight trunk" kind of man. I hate boxers. They are all flappy. yuk.

Of course I look like a super model don't I?

Not the other kind of fit?
Well, yes, he's fit
And she is a supreme example of Amazonian womanhood.

Gosh, Wilma can you come and sort me out please?

True Wilma, women in public life are criticised for the way they dress but underwear ? May is 61, has been in the public eye for quite a few years . Perhaps she doesn't want to sit at a desk corseted

No I didn’t know that either Annie ( Sturgeons hair) I assumed she was a natural ginger colour,wonder why she changed it when her hair was a lovely dark brown?
She wears too much make up and her suits are very very bright, often an eye watering shade of red, and very high heels.She isn’t as old as I assumed she was, and could really do with a more modern look IMHO.
Wilma you could give her a few tips perhaps.

Oh Annie don't take it so seriously. We're just chatting and I made it clear that I was giving my opinion on how TM could look better, but I didn't do it in a nasty or malicious way. People say much worse off GN and like it or not, women in public life have always been scrutinised.

Good grief, I can't recall a female in public life being so criticised as this , her underwear, shade of her tights,

Didn't know N S was a bottled hair lightener.

In the case of Barack it's both! But I'm jealous of how physically fit Michelle is.

Fit as in slim and healthy, I presume? Not the other kind of fit?

Both of the Obamas were very fit.

On the Ellen show during the Either Or Quiz he was asked if he wore boxers or briefs, but he wouldn't answer (on the list of never answer questions apparently).

I reckon he's a boxers man.

I bet he wore well fitting undies too.

PS Barack Obama said the reason why he only wore grey or navy suits was so he didn't have to decide what to wear in the morning. His ties were usually chosen for him by an advisor.

I think TM looks good in trousers too. As someone who is 'in' to this kind of thing, here's my take on TM's dress style.

She's a tall, slim woman without much of a waist and long legs.

No waist - I think some time in the past she's been advised to create the illusion of a waist and that the simplest way to do this is by adding a belt to your outfit. Now this is good advice, but TM has taken it too far and adds belts to outfits that end up looking plain wrong e.g. the burgundy dress she wore on the day of the reshuffle. When she wears a suit she makes good choices of jackets that create the illusion of a waist. I don't think she's very good at identifying dresses that will fit her shape (especially the waist) and she may have to rely more on matching separates (which help disguise problems with different sizes, fit and length).

Long legs - Again, I think in the past she's been advised to wear shorter skirts to balance out the top and bottom halves of her body. Also to show off her good legs. But she spoils the effect by wearing kitten heels and these shoes are clearly her passion. She would be much better off wearing medium heels when she is not wearing trousers and the heels should be neutral to match her tights. The kitten heels will work well with trousers.

The other thing she really needs to work on is her underwear. She needs to be wearing underwear that doesn't add anything to her appearance like. I'm not saying she should be wearing spanx, but she's creating extra lines to her appearance and these look like rolls of fat. She should be wearing 'foundation' underwear that allows her clothes to hang smoothly and that means a bra that doesn't cut into her and knickers and tights that sit under the waistband of her skirt. It's hard enough to avoid your clothes looking creased, so avoiding extra crease lines is a good idea. An appointment with Rigby and Peller should sort her out. I'd say Angela Merkel has cracked it when it comes to getting her underwear right.

TM should have a session about her makeup with someone like Lisa Eldridge who could advise her on doing her own makeup. TM needs advice from a range of experts that she can manage herself on a daily basis.
Gets off soap box

Yes, I expect that's what happened. She knows we're all style icons.

Yes, I saw that too MissA although I couldn't see her bottom half, very nice.

Perhaps she read this thread.

It's such a B that women politicians aren't only judged by their policies but by their clothes.
I think that one or two male politicians have been criticised mentioned from time to time regarding their clothes as well Iam64

Well,I can think of at least two!

I have the news burbling away in the background tonight and just saw Mrs May in a nice charcoal grey, well fitting jacket. It looks so much better, and she looks comfortable in it.

Mrs May, Merkel, and other Leaders probably wear the sort of things that they like, as long as they are suitable.We are actually saying what We don’t like really, and putting it onto them ( who are likely happy enough with how they look.) Of all of them, I would say that although Merkel dresses a bit on the frumpy side, she looks comfortable in trousers and confident.
Sometimes May wears trousers, and suits them.

Angela Merkel is not interested in clothes, and looked terrible before she came to power BUT she loves necklaces and always wears one and they are really classy.

She's been married before and now has a very decent looking husband who was quite dishy when younger.
She also wears trousers as most German women do even when going out somewhere special.

Not having to wear a dress is freedom and perhapsMrs Mey could relax in jeans without her short skirts and heeled shoes.

Actually sexist remarks by men who haven't the brain power of either of these two women, just show them up to be the jerks that they are.