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Samantha Cameron - words fail me

238 replies

PuffPants · 14/03/2012 23:16

Why has she dressed so badly for this US trip? From the old mac she wrapped round her at the airport to the utterly hideous curtain she appears to be wearing at the state banquet tonight. I am embarrassed for her. Michelle Obama may be twice her size but she is ten-times better dressed.

OP posts:
Chubfuddler · 19/03/2012 21:24

I'm another early bean pole who slouches. A slouchy fat tall person looks even worse than a skinny one let me tell you.

EssentialFattyAcid · 20/03/2012 07:04

MO seems so much more confident and at ease than Sam. Sam is an awful sloucher and is being poorly advised on styling.

She is however doing a bit better than Norma major IMO,

SaynotoDaisyMeadows · 20/03/2012 07:13

MO clearly relishes the limelight and SamCam doesn't.

I think SamCam's hair is pretty.

pipsy76 · 20/03/2012 07:39

Look I know this is a style thread, I am very much not a tory but ffs Sam Cameron is a mum this is mumsnet she has young kids and baby and has suffered the recent heartbreak of her child dying, hence I feel she does bloody well in the morning just to get out of bed looking clean and presentable, I know I wouldn't. Solidarity sisters?

SaynotoDaisyMeadows · 20/03/2012 07:44

Agree with pipsy!

sansucre · 20/03/2012 07:55

I think as a representative for the British Fashion Council, SamCam dresses in absolutely the right way. While half of this thread don't approve of her dress sense, I think it's not only stylish but absolutely correct for this role and as the PM's wife. She dresses to suit her figure too.
I like that she's fashionable and not dressed like something that belongs on a Christmas tree. I think she's actually got a certain chicness in as much as she knows (most of the time) what suits her, far more so than MO. SImple parred down is far harder to achieve and wear than MO's style of dressing.
I make no apologies for thinking that MO has appalling dress sense, it's like she's wearing all her favourite things as once. I think she'd be best advised to look in the mirror before she leaves and remove at least one item. In addition, her love of chunky jewellery often works against her, the amazing multi-strand necklaces she often wears only really serves to draw attention to her sloping shoulders.
The one advantage she has over SamCam is that she's tall, striking and has a great deal of presence.

Out of curiosity, I'd be interested to know exactly how people think SamCam should be dressing?

Bonsoir · 20/03/2012 07:57

"Kate Middleton's Sloaney pronunciation is soon going to start setting people's teeth on edge."

I could barely listen to her yesterday! You are right!

BettyBathroom · 20/03/2012 08:21

Agree with comments regarding Kate's accent...but not because it's Kate, the Queen's accent is bloody annoying too!

thomasbodley · 20/03/2012 08:53

Sansucre correct me if I'm wrong, but Samantha Cameron is merely a brand ambassador for the BFC - it's a classic corporate wife role which she got because she already has a public profile thanks to her husband.

She gives drinks parties at 10 Downing Street for fashion designers and brand managers, goes to fashion shows, and wears British brands when appearing in public. That's about it. Sarah Brown used to do the same - another English premier's spouse who has absolutely zero credibility on the style front.

Both SamCam need to dress professionally and anonymously if they want their charity and public relations 'work' and not their clothes to be taken seriously.

Both SamCam and Kate Middleton need less fuss, and more tailoring. I don't think it's an accident that SamCam looks her best when she's going to work (in her real job at Smythson).

KM needs to wear longer skirts for practical reasons, even if it involves some SamCam-style fakery in the style of the M&S dress. She also needs to dress appropriately for her age - she seems to think this means shorter hemlines; it doesn't. The best I've ever seen her is when she was wearing navy Smythe jacket and dress. She looked businesslike, intelligent and confident rather than girly and frou-frou.

They both need to stop doing piddly little 'in the know fashionista' designers and start dressing in big British brands that have expanded rapidly in foreign markets: not only Burberry and Mulberry, but serious big business hitters such as Topshop, Marks & Spencer and Debenhams (yes, really).

This is what will bring in serious foreign revenue into this country; some £4000 dress from a designer who sells a 100 dresses a year is pissing in the economic wind.

Bonsoir · 20/03/2012 08:55

"They both need to stop doing piddly little 'in the know fashionista' designers and start dressing in big British brands that have expanded rapidly in foreign markets: not only Burberry and Mulberry, but serious big business hitters such as Topshop, Marks & Spencer and Debenhams (yes, really)."

I don't think that is fair on KM; she's very attached to the British high street brands.

thomasbodley · 20/03/2012 08:56

Actually, not Topshop. Just remembered that would just be lining a tax dodger's pockets Grin.

thomasbodley · 20/03/2012 09:00

Bonsoir I'd agree with you to a certain extent - she certainly did high street when she first started out. Now she's concentrating on the more expensive brands - it's all Jaeger, Reiss and LK Bennett; she needs to go back down to Oasis and Warehouse again, which have the advantage of being age-appropriate, mass-market and also in the shit financially.

Marks & Spencer needs to do her a corporate wardrobe [drums fingers against chin, phones client].

thomasbodley · 20/03/2012 09:03

Also really want KM to stop with the belts. We know she has a tiny waist, but emphasising them all the sodding time just makes her look as if she's obsessed with maintaining her figure, not finding out more about her charity subjects.

Bonsoir · 20/03/2012 09:25

I don't think there is much point in KM adopting brands whose target customer segments aren't interested in her. I think that is why Jaeger, Reiss, LKBennett hit the right note.

BettyBathroom · 20/03/2012 09:30

To be fair you can find the odd gem in Warehouse and Oasis but the quality and cut is not great. I wouldn't base my wardrobe around those brands and I would expect anyone in their 30's to either.

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 20/03/2012 09:34

Oasis is shit. Cheap fabric, cheap cut. I used to wear their clothes when I was 22, I wouldn't go near it with a bargepole now at 34.

I think the brands she wears are spot on, and please god no M&S!

BettyBathroom · 20/03/2012 09:47

Agree M&S is grim.

thomasbodley · 20/03/2012 10:07

Bonsoir target audience segments change country-by-country, as do the semiotics of a brand.

KM is never going to be a style icon in the UK by any means - she doesn't have the "London look" of a Kate Moss or an Alexa Chung, but that's fine because her 'purpose' (from a tourism/trade/branding point of view) is to garner attention from overseas.

In terms of dressing age-appropriately, Oasis and Warehouse are spot-on from a demographic point-of-view. Their older customers mix it up, their younger ones wear it head to toe. Mumsnet demographics and shopper profiles aren't really representative of the wider market Wink.

I agree that the quality from the mass market brands isn't great, but if she were my client, I'd be asking them to re-make chosen pieces from their commercial collection in more appropriate fabrics, hemlines etc. Brands regularly do this for their star clients.

I'd get M&S or Next to do a special collection for her, like they do for Olympic athletes, and then get her to accessorise with designer brands. I wouldn't be putting her in Per Una, that's for sure Grin.

I'm actually getting really excited about this [contemplates pitching for the business emoticon].

thomasbodley · 20/03/2012 10:11

It's really important for KM and SC to champion high street brands because they don't really have many equivalent brands in overseas markets, other than the US.

In Italy they actually run shopping holidays to Westfield to experience mass-market fashion

ZZZenAgain · 20/03/2012 10:14

I don't think the wife of a pm has to be a glamour puss. I find Samantha Cameron's hair quite nice, she has a nice figure and looks natural. I am not sure about all of the outfits but on the whole I think she can stay the way she is.

MarshaBrady · 20/03/2012 10:19

KM and William were excellent for the UK on their trip through US and Canada.

Don't put her in Next, M&S and Oasis. She wears enough high street as it is.

MarshaBrady · 20/03/2012 10:22

As for Sam Cam a tiny bit of media training would help. Not loads (sure MO has had loads of advice).

BettyBathroom · 20/03/2012 10:27

It'll take a bit more than KM to save M&S from the style suicide it's currently diving into.....their clothes are seriously awful, they used to be a bit safe but great quality and value for money now they are just plain dowdy and the quality is poor - they need a whole new rethink.

Chubfuddler · 20/03/2012 10:33

You wouldn't get km in next. The polyester would play static hell with her swishy hair.

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 20/03/2012 10:36

Thomas you obviously work in the industry, but I am Hmm at you considering putting the future Queen in Next, who make some of the most awful clothes on the high street. I really don't think that would do anything for 'brand UK'.