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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Theresa may's awful awful red dress

356 replies

BananaMilkshake13 · 13/07/2018 06:39

AIBU?
I think she looked absolutely ridiculous in that red dress when she greeted Trump at Blenheim palace.

She looked out of place and was perhaps trying to compete with melania trump...obviously a formal event but that dress was a bad choice and didn't suit her AT ALL.
The slit....🙈

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
QueenoftheNights · 13/07/2018 08:23

Why is is horrible to discuss the clothes of someone in the public eye? Stop being silly.

If you are in the public eye you know your clothes will be under scrutiny- why else does she wear statement shoes and 'loud' coats etc?

Dressing the part is part of the job.

I can't bear all this silliness about how we ought not to comment on what women in business or politics wear.

I think that dress is awful. It's been worn before loads of times. It's not flattering, the slit is a bit risque for a PM at a very very formal dinner, and she needs better supporting bras.

Considering all the dresses she could have, it was a poor choice and did her no favours.

MilkTrayLimeBarrel · 13/07/2018 08:24

Melania looks as if she is about to take off!!

Heatherjayne1972 · 13/07/2018 08:26

can anyone remember those long chats / tweets/ threads about David Cameron’s suits?
No. But because he is a man
Why is anyone commenting on TM at all - because she’s a woman ??

Good old casual sexism

Anniegetyourgun · 13/07/2018 08:26

The only positive thing I've ever said about Theresa May is that she was the least awful (by a small margin) of the completely ghastly shower of candidates in the leadership contest, and that said a lot more about them than it did about her. But since you drag it out of me, I've never seen her dressed in a way that would make me think "she really shouldn't have worn that". The dress in question seemed fairly appropriate for the occasion; it definitely didn't deserve two "awfuls".

ShatnersWig · 13/07/2018 08:28

Why do women feel the need to do this? I don't think I've ever been in a conversation with men where they slate what another man is wearing. But women constantly do it about other women.

Peregrina · 13/07/2018 08:28

We don't usually criticise the Queen for her dress sense. Mind you, she has had a lot longer in the public eye and has worked out what works for the engagements she has to perform and what suits her.

Don't say that the Queen has got lots of money either, which she has, but so has Theresa May, married to a wealthy man.

EmmaGrundyForPM · 13/07/2018 08:32

OP, you asked "AIBU" and almost everyone here has said yes.

Think about it.

Kingkiller · 13/07/2018 08:32

Yes you're allowed to comment on people's clothes. But have you really not reflected on the fact that women's clothes are far far more often the focus than men's are? And the reasons why that might be the case? I'd rather be calling that out than helping perpetuate it, personally.

Immigrantsong · 13/07/2018 08:34

I actually think she always manages to look smart and groomed.

NoelHeadbands · 13/07/2018 08:34

You can try and dismiss it as ‘silly’ all you like. It’s really not.

Needmoresleep · 13/07/2018 08:40

TM looking unhealthy. Perhaps because she is managing Type 1 diabetes?!

I like the fact she tries. She won't always get it right. But far more interesting than the Merkel/Hilary Clinton trouser suits.

More interesting, I thought, was the picture of Melania and Philip May with a headline along the lines of "What will they talk about". No one is commenting on his suit...yet he is the spouse of a PM. How about an article on whether it is tailored or M&S. And about how it ranks compared with Boris and Corbyn.

Dljlr · 13/07/2018 08:44

I liked the dress Confused

longwayoff · 13/07/2018 08:44

She has to spend 2 days with bloody donald trump. I expect her wardrobe is the least of her concerns.

LittleLionMansMummy · 13/07/2018 08:45

can anyone remember those long chats / tweets/ threads about David Cameron’s suits?
No. But because he is a man
Why is anyone commenting on TM at all - because she’s a woman ??

Good old casual sexism

^^This.

I don't like her, I don't like her politics. But she's a pm navigating her way through one of the most difficult times in British politics. I couldn't give a shiny shit what she wears while she's doing it.

QueenoftheNights · 13/07/2018 08:46

I think MN is often a parallel universe where the inhabitants are too much up their own arses.

In RL women comment on other women's clothes all the time. If you don't even think about what someone on the public stage wears or how they look you are being dishonest.

Even my 90 yr old mum who is quite apolitical would mutter 'Didn't think that outfit did much for her.'

Dressing for the job is part of the job- if it wasn't, she could turn up in tracky bottoms and a T shirt all day long.

And the reason men aren't criticised so much is they wear a uniform; a suit, white shirt and a tie. last night it was black tie. Not much to get excited over there.

But having said that, men are criticised- has no one seen the comments over the years about Trump's hair? Boris looking like he's been dragged through a hedge backwards? Eric Pickles weight? William Hague's baseball cap at the Notting Hill Carnival (headline news at the time.) Corbyn's scruffy beard, his cheap suits, his single and only (it seems) tie- red.

If you think comments are aimed only at women, you are living under a rock

diddl · 13/07/2018 08:47

I think that she she should have worn leopard print shoes.

Melania's dress is ridiculous imo.

Bluelady · 13/07/2018 08:47

For God's sake get a grip, OP. We have the most catastrophic political scene I can ever remember - and I was around in the 70s - and you're bitching about a perfectly nice and appropriate dress. Do you not think that poor bloody woman might have more important things to think about?

I abhor her policies but I feel very sorry for her, she has a poison chalice. She's visibly aged in the last couple of years, not really surprising as her stress levels must be off the scale.

PlatypusPie · 13/07/2018 08:48

She looked very stylish in an entirely appropriate formal dress. She always dresses well.

staffiegirl · 13/07/2018 08:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

longwayoff · 13/07/2018 08:49

For crying out loud people. Getting worked up by TMs dress is fiddling while Rome burns. Hurrah for the sisterhood.

mydogisthebest · 13/07/2018 08:51

I think she looked fine. I don't particularly like the clothes she wears but I don't think it matters what she wears. She is our Prime Minister not a model.

StealthPolarBear · 13/07/2018 08:51

Queen do you not remember the 'who has the nicest legs?' photo? Women are much much more affected by this crap than men

Gramgram · 13/07/2018 08:52

Dress looked fine to me, a little daring too with the split up the back. The yellow frock was ok, though a bit Disney princess. I did wonder how grubby it would get on the gravel Melania had to walk on. I feel sorry for TM having to host the man and the Queen has to put up with him too. Can I write a note for the Queen excusing her from the tea party?

hmcAsWas · 13/07/2018 08:53

Good to see that the op has been given a proper mauling for this sexist post

RunMummyRun68 · 13/07/2018 08:54

Haha op!! Has this thread not turned into the bitch fest you were hoping for??

The dress is absolutely fine! Nothing wrong with the split, her arms or anything else

She looks great! Just because she's in her 60's do you expect her to cover up head to toe??