Sartorial success should be suited and booted

You may not judge others by appearence, but the rest of the world does, writes Russell Wardrop

Corbyn was dragged kicking and screaming into doing it. May and Sturgeon have been doing it for a while. Boris pretends he doesn’t do it.

When The Speaker says ties need not be worn by male MPS asking questions in Parliament it is seductive to think in this hipster age that anything goes. Convention kicks in less and less, and formal events like the Mansion House dinner are beyond satire. Tiaras maybe worn traditionally by married women only – along with any other sparkly bling. Long evening gloves are optional and removed for eating. I have no idea why one would eat long evening gloves.

As an illustration of shifting sar- torial sands this year, due to the Grenfell Tower disaster, even the Freemen, Liverymen and Guests eschewed White Tie and Tiaras for standard City clobber in front of the grey, suited, Chancellor.

But it is naïve to think dress is unimportant. If you don’t judge others by appearance that is just dandy, but remember the rest of the world does.

Jeremy Corbyn’s recent success has many fathers but his choice to suit and boot and shirt and tie up like a proper adult mattered: he morphed from Frazzled Frank The Photocopier Repair Man into Political Messiah via a crisp white shirt, red well-wind sored tie and snazzy off-the-peg navy. Sturgeon and May