As the General Election looms, the battle between the two First Ladies (one in waiting, the other currently in No 10) is getting more intense by the day.
The biggest arena that these two political heavy weights will fight on is of course the fashion catwalk. They won't so much walk the walk themselves, but try to stake out an personal style and direct their influence on the British fashion crowd and its customers. Sarah Brown has done an excellent job on that by affiliating herself with London Fashion Week and....Naomi Campbell!
Anyway, I give you this excellent Guardian break down of the two ladies finest and worst fashion moments....enjoy!
Sarah
The look The Erdem-wearing, best friends with Naomi Campbell Sarah Brown we now know is in marked contrast to the Sarah Brown who became prime minister's wife in June 2007. At the start, she was stiff and uncomfortable looking. Having given up a high- powered career to be a political wife, her wardrobe seemed unwittingly to convey a sense of her new role as a dull and fraught job – which, let's face it, it probably is. But the role of a modern first lady is to breathe life and emotion into a leader's image. Instead, on her first holiday as prime minister's wife, she dressed in an ill-fitting shift dress and tights, looking as if she were about to give a parti cularly tedious middle-management PowerPoint presentation.
Fast forward to 2010, and Sarah is transformed. The office tailoring has been jettisoned in favour of smart but feminine belted dresses, the hemline lifted from that dreadful, upper-calf length to a more modern, on-the-knee point. Lighter colours and jazzy prints have replaced drab shades. And, crucially, the makeover has felt natural, that of a woman becoming comfortable in her role.
Finest fashion moment The Erdem golden-toned, floral-print dress Sarah wore at the most recent Labour party conference was a triumph. In a conference season that turned into something of a first lady dress-off, Sarah won the Erdem round hands down (Samantha Cameron wore a black Erdem jacket a few days later). Holding her own next to Michelle on the Obamas' visit was also a triumph.
Fashion mistake Sarah has been dealt a tough hand: who would choose to join the first lady sorority at the same time as Michelle Obama and ex-supermodel Carla Bruni? But truly, there have been some atrocious jackets (the white Jaeger one stands out). Recently she has figured out that slightly retro, swing or box jacket shapes suit her better than fitted ones. Other low points: that purple beret for the Queen's Speech was dreadful. And Graeme Black may be Scottish and really nice, but his clothes do her figure no favours.
Key accessory Sarah has become a sharp accessoriser. She prefers simple clothes, but has learned to lift them with great jewellery from Astley Clarke. She chooses chunky necklaces and earrings in stones such as garnet, cornelian and brown sapphire, tones that work with her colouring.
Grooming Great hair, these days: a walking advertisement for the power of subtle highlights and a bit of a blow-dry. She has to be photographed with celebrities, and she has decidedly civilian skin tone. Good on her for sticking to her guns: she's just not the spray-tan type.
Favourite designer Erdem, designed by RCA graduate Erdem Moralioglu, who worked for Diane von Furstenberg before setting up his own label. Also partial to Jaeger, the Keep Calm And Carry On of British fashion brands.
Samantha
The look Deliberately normal. The subtext is: "I read Grazia. I shop at Zara. I do not wear tweed jackets and jodhpurs on the school run, or nip to the shops in ballgown and Hunters." Samantha is creative director of Smythson, where she has come up with some of the most covetable handbags of recent years: this is a woman with a keen understanding of the nuances of fashion. She has used this know-how expertly to rebrand the Tory wife as a working mother with traditional values but a modern mindset. She often wears trousers, and steers well clear of anything that smacks of privilege, so no family jewels and no country-set twinsets or pearls. She is adept at finding funky yet demure looks that play well across different audiences. Take, for example, her use of bright colour: to those of her generation and younger who know (or care) what colour-blocking is, she looks bang on-trend, while traditional conservative voters just think she looks like a jolly good sport.
Finest fashion moment The teal Reiss blouse with red jacket she wore to arrive at the most recent party conference. (Party conference is wardrobe crunch time, for first ladies and would-be first ladies.) The mustard-yellow Topshop coat. Any number of covetable blouses in soft colours, for that Boden catalogue, demure and wifely without being frumpy look. Excellent use of peg-leg trousers: this kind of look is fashion that men categorically don't get, so it sends a message that she has a mind of her own.
Fashion mistake Seldom puts a foot wrong. Could be argued that the grey M&S polka-dot dress she wore for Dave's speech last year seemed a little too focus-grouped. Occasionally allows herself to be photographed with sunglasses pushed back into her hair, which is a gaffe because she suddenly looks like a braying brunette Chelsy Davy. Ditto leather knee boots, which are a little bit too just-back-from-Oxfordshire-in-the-Range-Rover for comfort.
Key accessory Smythson handbag, naturally. Also partial to a bumblebee necklace and simple hoop earrings. Avoids pearls or diamonds or anything too posh as alienating. Scored fashion points with a yummy pair of Zara dove-grey faux-suede court shoes last autumn.
Grooming The hair has been inspiration for more than one across-the-barricades secret fringe crush. As with most women in the public eye, it has got glossier and bigger the more she's grown accustomed to being photographed – the annoying truth is, it looks better.
Favourite designer Erdem (see Sarah above) who has cornered the market in first lady patronage, a cross-party Jason Wu. Loves a bit of high-street- for-grown-ups: look for her in Jigsaw and Whistles.
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