The Sunday Telegraph

Why Mr May looks ideally suited to be First Husband

- Marie Claire

IFirst Ladies are scrutinise­d on style so it’s only fair to see how the man behind the world’s newest female leader measures up, says t is unlikely that a sartorial pretty much all of them are either wallflower like Philip May ever married or widowed with Putin-bating thought he would be the Dalia Grybauskai­tė, president of subject of such intense Lithuania being the only unmarried scrutiny from the British female leader. fashion police. But less than a In truth, Philip May’s “style” – his week into his wife Theresa May’s plain, uneventful­ly correct suits, tenure as Prime Minister, style writers bought apparently off-the-peg at at are already forensical­ly Jermyn Street rather than made dismantlin­g his ensembles. The bespoke on Savile Row, his white or glossy’s website unveiled the blue shirts, unpatterne­d silk ties and “wardrobe secrets of Britain’s new first proper, bench-made English footwear husband”, proclaimin­g that “Man May – engenders little examinatio­n. And does give a good suit,” and describing that’s exactly the way it should be for his collegiate spectacles as “100 per someone playing the role of a 21stcentur­y cent Peckham hipster”. First Husband.

There are tongue-in-cheek “His look says ‘steadfast comments elsewhere about the shoes and non-flaky’,” says and “sexy suit” he wore to Downing veteran style-watcher Street, too: “Philip elongated his pins Peter York. “More with a pair of black brogues as he importantl­y, his accompanie­d his wife to step over the inoffensiv­e clothes – a threshold of their new home”, “a single style generally fastened button at the waist helped encouraged among show off his fantastic figure and a pale senior City people – blue tie brought out the colour of his suggest a man who eyes”, and “round glasses perched on is involved in his nose accentuate­d his amazing bone something less structure”. aerated and

Of course, First Wives have had to volatile than put up with this kind of scrutiny for politics.” years. So why not First Husbands? Denis Thatcher, With world politics enjoying a husband of sustained period of female leadership, Margaret Thatcher, there is certainly no shortage of First believed that Men. A global tour of parliament­s consorts to prime reveals around 16 women in power – ministers should be presidents, chancellor­s and prime “always present, never ministers (I say around 16, because there”, and his blokeish, Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff was clubbable clothing recently suspended from her duties reflected that subtle pending a possible impeachmen­t) – principle, too. Blazer, club

 ??  ??
 ??  ?? Power dressing: Croatia’s president Kolinda GrabarKita­rović and her spouse Jakov, above; right, Angela Merkel and husband Joachim Saur
Power dressing: Croatia’s president Kolinda GrabarKita­rović and her spouse Jakov, above; right, Angela Merkel and husband Joachim Saur
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom