Am I a bad feminist to always look at what Arlene Foster is wearing...

Nothing wrong with being interested in clothes!

I used to have this suit. It was made by Windsmoor (a now defunct British make, more expensive than high street but not silly prices so just the right sort of image for Mrs Major) Norma Major is older than me but it was just a very, classic tailored suit. The jacket was quite long with a straight knee length skirt.

Theresa May and I have a jacket in common and the Duchess of Cornwell and I have a dress in common.

I loved wearing this outfit. It’s taken the shine off, even though I am not the same body shape and have a different hair colour to Arlene.

She just seems to wear suits. Nothing quirky or different about them.

I'm with you Flossie.Although I think she is 50 or thereabouts.
Her dress sense is matronly imo.
Her hair is usually shapeless and in need of a colour touch up.
I think I read once her sister and mother do her clothes shopping for her.

I am baffled that anyone would think Arlene is stylish. She is only about 45!!! Nicola way ahead in the style stakes.

I was really proud of a Hobbs colour block dress jacket combo I had and wore all the time and I saw her wearing it and no longer felt so chic!

OlennasWimple: "I couldn't get over the fact that Helle Thorning-Schmidt had the Kinnocks as her in-laws."

Me neither. It seemed so unlikely. She was (is) so incredibly stylish. I say that as someone for whom dressing up means putting on a clean pair of jeans. I do enjoy looking at women who dress well, though, and even men, sometimes, though men's sartorial range tends to be narrower.

Cannot stand Foster, or anything she stands for so I tend to switch off when she starts speaking because life is too short to listen to that kind of bullshit. I'll have a wee squint at her clothes though next time she is wheeled out to opine on something. Feminists can talk about anything they like, and have no need to listen or pay any mind to the censure of non-feminists of either sex, so there's that.

It's noticeable when you see her on television that she dresses much more smartly now.

I suppose one might discuss whether that was off her own bat/ was she told to/ does she personally feel the better of it/is she uncomfortable with it but that wasn't the point of your OP.

Clothes send out signals. That applies to male MPs as well. For example Corbyn's dreadful anorak and its inside out hood last Sunday. The signal sent to me was Corbyn is a vain, egotistical prat who thinks he is above the convention, which everyone else followed, that the official attendees at the Cenotaph wear formal black.

I've had a bit of a crush on Christine Lagarde for a long time.

Not really getting the Arlene Foster thing particularly. Her clothes are very ordinary. But her haircut it certainly a vast improvement. She was starting from a v low base!

Why do you think feminists aren't allowed to be interested in clothes?
Not sure if you mean why as in, where did I get this idea from or why do I think it happens? If it's the first, whenever the subject crops up there's always at least one poster (obviously not all) loftily announcing that they have more important things to think about. There was a thread in the summer about the royal wedding frocks that was a classic example or more recently, one on Grazia magazine. It's not just that they're not interested in clothes, it's that they feel they need to tell the world they're not interested.

I've seen this attitude all my adult life. I was cold shouldered by the women's group at uni because I liked clothes and 44 years later, I get the sense that little has changed.

As for why it happens - I think it's looked down on because it's seen as a women's interest, which is actually a pretty misogynistic idea so I find it particularly depressing to find it on here.

Two words: Christine Lagarde. Killing it professionally and SO elegant.

I used a stylist recently, it was great! I’m trying to think laterally about how to quickly solve problems in my life. The problem is I want to be able to shop quickly and efficiently and get dressed quickly, like a professional man can, but society holds me to a different style and standard. And I love nice things and am at an age where I feel like I can have them if I want. But realistically finding stylish, flattering clothes takes a lot of time and knowledge and effort, which I don’t have. Conveniently, lots of people have a passion for clothes and shopping and style and you can pay them to do it all for you! They are happy, I am happy, it’s all good.

Why do you think feminists aren't allowed to be interested in clothes?

Lass - trying to work out if you are joking or not!

About the Theresa May picture - I like some of things she wears but that looks really unflattering.

I think Theresa May looks good in the red but I like David Cameron's coat even more. I bloody love a really well cut men's overcoat.

Lass - trying to work out if you are joking or not!

About what Theresa May and Nicola Sturgeon looking elegant? Arlene Foster scrubbing up well ?

Some posters on here being complete hypocrites? No,not joking about any of them.

JamieBravo' s posts are disgraceful. If she wants to discuss Foster's politics start a thread on it. Comparing AF to Robbie Coltrane is pathetic

I liked the contrast neckline on this dress www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-45628195 I know it won't be to everyone's taste

I couldn't get over the fact that Helle Thorning-Schmidt had the Kinnocks as her in-laws

When Helle Thorning-Schmidt was prime minister of Denmark, I used to love looking at the way she dressed. www.google.co.uk/search?q=danish+female+prime+minister&rlz=1CDGOYI_enGB738GB738&hl=en-GB&prmd=insv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjYx5CE69TeAhXtkYsKHY_BCFwQ_AUoAXoECA0QAQ&biw=320&bih=492&dpr=2

I get seriously annoyed at the idea that caring about clothes/style means one is some sort of airhead and there is some sort of moral superiority in buying all your clothes from the men's wear section of an army surplus store.

Couldn't agree more. And I am a feminist, and not the liberal sort.