Attire in the HOC.

[John Locke]

Tracey Brabin has been criticised for wearing an of the shoulder outfit to work.

https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/2020/feb/04/i...

I know nothing about Brabin, other than that she is the shadow culture secretary and MP for Batley & Spen, but find it refreshing to see a female MP, especially one from the party of harridans, apparently content to be, and dress like a woman.

[WinkleHoff]

John Locke said:

Tracey Brabin has been criticised for wearing an of the shoulder outfit to work.

https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/2020/feb/04/i...

I know nothing about Brabin, other than that she is the shadow culture secretary and MP for Batley & Spen, but find it refreshing to see a female MP, especially one from the party of harridans, apparently content to be, and dress like a woman.

Personally I thought it looked unprofessional. Fine for evening wear, but not work.

[PositronicRay]

John Locke said:

Tracey Brabin has been criticised for wearing an of the shoulder outfit to work.

https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/2020/feb/04/i...

I know nothing about Brabin, other than that she is the shadow culture secretary and MP for Batley & Spen, but find it refreshing to see a female MP, especially one from the party of harridans, apparently content to be, and dress like a woman.

Not very business like (depends on the business)

I like the way she defends it by saying "I've not just been banged over a wheelie bin" (the lady doth protest too much methinks)

[Stay in Bed Instead]

The Ferengi way is better.

[GoodCompany]

WinkleHoff said:

Personally I thought it looked unprofessional. Fine for evening wear, but not work.

PositronicRay said:

Not very business like (depends on the business)

I like the way she defends it by saying "I've not just been banged over a wheelie bin" (the lady doth protest too much methinks)

Oh look, its Trinny and Susannah! Here you go chaps, clearly more suitable for your needs than Pistonheads: https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty

[TTwiggy]

John Locke said:

content to be, and dress like a woman.

How's that then?

[bloomen]

No doubt sexism will be screeched but it's not too far off a bloke turning up in a muscle vest and that would not go down well either.

All the same it's time MPs started wearing capes and pimp hats. It's amazing that the suit is still what you have to be encased in for your entire career.

[FourWheelDrift]

Makes her look drunk, just got in from a night out and didn't have time to change.

[ZedLeg]

It's fine for Jacob Rees Mogg to sleep in the commons and Michael Gove to apparently be so drunk he can barely stand because they're wearing a suit, but a woman wearing a dress that shows a shoulder is beyond the pale

[Bam89]

Would be interesting to see how those who think the woman can't have a bit of her shoulder on show felt about Mogg lying down on the front bench like its a sun lounger

[vonuber]

bloomen said:

No doubt sexism will be screeched

Er, because it is?

[bloomen]

Bam89 said:

Would be interesting to see how those who think the woman can't have a bit of her shoulder on show felt about Mogg lying down on the front bench like its a sun lounger

He got a pretty much universal roasting. He should've sealed it with flip flops and speedos.

[bloomen]

vonuber said:

Er, because it is?

Please refer to the rest of me sentence.

[ElectricSoup]

Would the same people moaning about this lady be the ones who were happy and amused to see Jacob Reet-Smugg putting his feet up and lounging all over the benches in the House of Commons, and are now spluttering "Decorum! Civility!" when it suits them? I do wonder. The Venn diagram would be interesting.

[vonuber]

bloomen said:

Please refer to the rest of me sentence.

Huge difference though in your choice of attire.
The point is that yet again it's a woman being criticised over their appearance, as opposed to what they actually say and do.

[TTwiggy]

ElectricSoup said:

Would the same people moaning about this lady be the ones who were happy and amused to see Jacob Reet-Smugg putting his feet up and lounging all over the benches in the House of Commons, and are now spluttering "Decorum! Civility!" when it suits them? I do wonder. The Venn diagram would be interesting.

Most NP&E Venn diagrams are just circles (of hell).

[eharding]

TTwiggy said:

John Locke said:

content to be, and dress like a woman.

How's that then?

Take forever to do it, then ask for an opinion of her outfit, which will then without fail be deemed to be the wrong opinion.

[FN2TypeR]

PositronicRay said:

Not very business like (depends on the business)

I like the way she defends it by saying "I've not just been banged over a wheelie bin" (the lady doth protest too much methinks)

Why? A Twitter user accused of her specifically looking like that had just happened to her......

[yellowjack]

bloomen said:

No doubt sexism will be screeched but it's not too far off a bloke turning up in a muscle vest and that would not go down well either.

All the same it's time MPs started wearing capes and pimp hats. It's amazing that the suit is still what you have to be encased in for your entire career.

There's been sexism in "dress policy" since there was a dress policy. but it's the opposite way around to what most commentators seem to be making out...

TV News? Charlie Stayt, Dan Walker, etc all in suit & tie every day. Naga Munchetty, Louise Minchin, etc in pretty much anything they want. From a maxi dress to leather trousers and a sheer blouse, it seems anything is "work appropriate" for a female TV presenter. One of them this morning (can't recall her name, sorry) was complaining about how hard it is to dress for TV, sat there in block primary colours.

Same when I was in the forces. Rules for the cookhouse included "no flipflops" and "no sleeveless vests". Great. Because you don't want someone's grotty feet walking around when you could have them walking around in grotty boots, eh? And the sleeveless vests rule? Probably to keep rogue hairs from falling onto the hotplate into other people's food. The rules were mainly to keep gymwear out of the cookhouse, forcing sweaty oafs to take a shower before eating. but despite those rules never being relaxed, female soldiers, at evening meals and at weekends, were never challenged for wearing "sandals" or sleeveless tops. Why? Fear of being accused of sexism, probably. Ironic, given that NOT challenging women for "breaking" the cookhouse dress rules was sexist to male soldiers, really.

As for the House Of Commons? I don't know. Male MPs seem to have pretty tight rules about dress, whereas female MPs seem to be left to interpret their rules more freely. Maybe they should ban dresses altogether in the Commons chamber? Require female MPs to wear a suit too? It could consist of a jacket, a "collared blouse or shirt, sober in nature" and either trousers or a skirt. That way everyone knows where they stand, and what they're expected to wear in the House, and we can stop getting distracted by what female MPs are wearing, and by discussions about what they're wearing, and start listening to the content of speeches and statements they make within the House. Or go the whole hog, and put them into uniform. A unisex uniform of knee breeches, stockings, garters, and buckled shoes under a frock coat with a horsehair wig should do it...


...but then that would have to be publicly funded and we'd have debates about the cost of that.

[Dog Star]

Looks fine to me. And what's wrong with looking like a slapper who has just been banged over a wheelie bin?