Jill Biden.

Varian the saying was, that you had to choose between your face and your figure
Barbara Cartland famously said that she chose her face, and decided to sit down as much as possible

My figure went to pot years ago. I'm not sure that the face didn't go after it.

I noticed in the photo with our lovely Queen who looked fabulous in her pink outfit , that Jill Biden has the very same accessory as I have, A plaster on her shin,!! I wonder if she has had a cut just like I have, very slow to heal when you knock your shins. ?

Talullah

Saetana

Mary Beard is a star for her knowledge, not for her dress sense. I admire her for wearing what she likes and am disappointed that other women are criticising her for it. I have zero interest in the outfits of anyone - famous or otherwise - I think its incredibly shallow that we are STILL talking about women's outfits in the 21st century! Can we PLEASE celebrate women such as Jill Biden and Mary Beard for their achievements and not what they look like!

Totally agree. When I was at school we had a teacher who looked very much like Mary Beard. She'd sweep in and then manage to make the most ardent maths haters, love the subject. Everyone loved her. Who cared what she looked like? We knew she was our favourite teacher and even now when old school chums have a get together we all say she was our our fave.

Sounds very like a maths teacher where I taught.

I find Mary Beard compelling and fascinating she draws me into her subject matter, she appears to have moved beyond appearance into a deeper reality. And I find Jill Biden easy to look at smart attractive and seems to be a gentle spirit; but there’s an incongruence about her which I cannot put my finger on. But hay love to see powerful women strutting their stuff.

When Mary Beard holds forth on her subject, I simply don't notice what she's wearing. I wish I could have been like her, knowledgeable, interesting and charismatic.

Watching Mary Beard talk about ancient Rome is like watching George Clarke talking about architecture or Brian Cox talk about astronomy. You don't notice the clothes. It's the genuine enthusiasm that shines through.

Perhaps if we could hear Jill Biden talk about education we would see that same sparkling enthusiasm for her subject and not notice how she looks.

Unfortunately for her and for all the other leader's wives she has to conform and be judged on her appearance and little else.

It is not quite the same for women who become leaders. Theresa May and Nicola Sturgeon have their own style but still look like leader's wives. Angela Merkel is a noteable exception sticking to her jacket and trousers formula and disregarding fashion. She looks like a leader and commands respect.

Hmm, I think nicola sturgeon dresses very well and like a leader (whatever that is !!)

I love it that you think May and Sturgeon look like "leader's wives"

Oh sorry, meant to say - Brian Cox is a particle physicist, not an astronomer.

would you say 'you look like a leader's wife' to Nicola Sturgeon's face?

Lucca

Hmm, I think nicola sturgeon dresses very well and like a leader (whatever that is !!)

I've posted before about Sturgeon's clothes. It's very much a uniform, almost armour, even down to her hair and makeup - always false eyelashes!
Like you, I think that she looks very stateswoman like.
Feminine but strong.
She wears mad heels too!
I think that her clothes look a little too tight mind you, bit that is just personal preference.

I could talk about this stuff forever...

I think tight clothes seem popular now. I always think Rishi Sunak looks like he's growing out of his clothes and I'm pretty sure he can afford the best. His suits are really smart but just look a little bit short in the arm and a little too tight, GS tells me that is "the look" so I am just out of touch. That's fine, every generation has their own style I think or maybe styles.

Alegrias1

I love it that you think May and Sturgeon look like "leader's wives"

Better than “readers’ wives” ?

I must be out of step, I've never watched Mary Beard, heard her on the radio once when she was laughing about what Johnson had got wrong when he was talking to some children in a school in London. I can't remember if it was about Rome or Greece or maybe both. She sounded good fun and was obviously very amused.

Lucca ?

I'm wondering what Ardern and Marin look like? Leaders' overconfident daughters?

Could start a thread “what would you wear/have worn as leader of a country?”

theworriedwell yes, I agree
about ill fitting clothes on men, especially jackets, it looks awful.
Sunak is a very small man, so there's no excuse!

Lucca

Could start a thread “what would you wear/have worn as leader of a country?”

I'd wear a cloak, some kind of very large hat (TBC), and carry a staff.

Lucca - not the wolf fleece

I like the way Nicola Sturgeon dresses, she looks business like, but feminine. Theresa May didn’t wear clothes well, she had some lovely clothes but her poor posture didn’t set them off, but that’s not her fault. Margaret Thatcher was a product of the time, lots of pussy bow blouses to femininise her business suits.
Rightly or wrongly, I do notice what the women are wearing more than I
notice the men. So I’ll address that, Blair and Cameron always looked very smart, it goes without saying that BJ doesn’t, although since he’s lost weight, he’s improved a bit. Mostly men in politics do look pretty smart though.

FannyCornforth

theworriedwell yes, I agree
about ill fitting clothes on men, especially jackets, it looks awful.
Sunak is a very small man, so there's no excuse!

Apparently, that’s why he wears his trousers at half-mast - to give the illusion he’s so tall he can’t get trousers to fit! Even my 6ft 4in son and my 6ft 5in brothers can get trousers to fit.

I must admit I had no idea about Sunak's height but that is an interesting theory. My son is 6ft 4in and he doesn't have trouble getting trousers but he does go to a specialist company to get shirts with sleeves the right length.

I just checked, he's 5ft 6in. Maybe his plan works, I wouldn't have guessed he was that short.