Ignore the naysayers, Lady Starmer… Your Labour conference wardrobe was quietly clever – and I know the exact reason you dressed like a ‘school run mum’: SHANE WATSON

Keir Starmer may have had a tricky time at Labour’s party conference in Liverpool but Lady Starmer has breezed through it looking like a Prime Minister’s wife for serious times that require hard choices.

On these occasions, naturally all eyes are on the PM’s wife – her demeanour (where on the scale it sits from fed up to light and cheery); her interaction with her husband (happy and hand holding or frosty and distant); and last but not least, there are her fashion choices which have been scrutinised and picked apart just as she knew they would be.

And here’s where it gets interesting because her outfits at this conference have been a in a different league from the glamorous clothes she gravitated towards during her first year in No.10 Downing Street.

At last year’s conference in Liverpool, she wore a T shirt and relaxed trousers from independent sustainable brand By Elleven, but she also wore a deep red ‘Dada’ dress by designer Edeline Lee, a favourite label of the Princess of Wales, as she arrived for her husband’s first conference speech as Prime Minister.

This dress was borrowed, so the price tag (£1,200) was not an issue on this occasion. And no doubt Lady Starmer could have borrowed another Edeline Lee outfit this time round, or something from Me+Em, whose dresses became her go-to for special occasions in 2024. 

Instead she’d evidently decided to reject the glossier brands and the bold statements in favour of everyday casual looks that were deliberately not front page catnip but everywoman appealing. 

Most of what she wore (bar the short navy dress) would not have looked out of place on a school run mum and that, no doubt, was precisely the intention.

Victoria Starmer started her time in No.10 wearing a bright orange red slit sleeved Me+Em dress (£275). 

She went to the races at Sandown Park wearing a maxi print Me+Em (£176) and filmstar sunglasses. 

For her first official visit to Washington DC, she exited the plane wearing an ivory lace knit dress from Needle & Thread (£450) and she wore a Needle & Thread white lattice gown (£725) for a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in honour of the Emperor and Empress of Japan.

For a front row seat at the Edeline Lee show during last year’s London Fashion Week she wore what looked like a long polka dot gown that turned out to be a high neck shirt and matching wide flowing trousers – pure A list celebrity dressing that would have worked as well at the Cannes Film Festival or on one of the fashion editors in the new film of The Devil Wear’s Prada.

Whatever your politics there is no denying Lady Starmer hit the ground running and quickly proved she has the gift of looking good in clothes and knows the ones that suit her best. She also looked like she was really enjoying herself. 

Not everyone wants to be faced with the choice of what to wear to meet the Trumps in the White House, but Victoria Starmer has the face and figure and temperament to carry it off.

There were, of course, issues about who had paid for all these clothes, how much they paid and what was borrowed – and those problems will partly explain her drift away from the less relatable brands.

But appraising her choices over the past few days, it feels like there may be more at play than playing it safe.

All week Lady Starmer has looked like she wanted to go back to basics and wear the clothes she would have worn if she was still the working wife of an ordinary MP.

On Saturday, when she arrived at conference, she was wearing a V-neck white T shirt under a blazer with flared blue jeans. 

While fashion observers rushed to point out that this is the current smart casual uniform of the front row (she was wearing oversize sunglasses to match the blazer), it was also unmistakably all her own.

This matters in light of the cash for clothes furore but it also looked 100 per cent authentic (key word in politics now) and every inch Lady Starmer’s natural comfort zone. No stylist or third party was involved in this outfit. 

Plus the sunglasses elevated it just enough to look special and not Saturday shopping trip to Sainsbury’s.

Cut to Sunday and Victoria looked a lot like she had been shopping her own wardrobe again, in a fit-and-flare, button front, short navy dress with navy tights and navy mid-heel suede pumps from Dune. 

On this occasion fashion observers were not in any hurry to complement her look, which showed off her mini-friendly legs, but also looked suspiciously like it might date back to Keir’s days as Head of the Crown Prosecution Service and seemed (hem length not withstanding) funereally dowdy.

Even so the outfit was still on message in a make-do sort of way, as was the old Me+Em denim frill-collared blouse she wore on Tuesday with similarly back-of-the-closet Me+Em navy trousers. 

By the time she wore the £36 Marks & Spencer red short-sleeve cotton blend cardigan buttoned up on top of regular wideish black trousers and silver flat pumps, we’d got the picture: Relatable, uncontrived and take me as you find me. 

There was nothing to scare the horses, nothing to trouble the bank balance, nothing flash or fancy or accessible only to the slim and pretty. 

And most of the time she may not have looked like a polished, styled, wife of a Head of State – but that was precisely the point.

After Starmer’s closing speech on Tuesday, she stood alongside her husband on stage in a red (naturally) Karen Millen stretch tailored midi dress (now 40 per cent off at £155 but she rented hers for a tenner) with short cuffed sleeves, a tabard detail waistband and a fuller longer midi skirt. 

The effect was almost deliberately a little bit dowdy and certainly more about flying the party colour than flattering its wearer.

If there’s one dressing lesson we can take away from Lady Starmer’s appearance at Party Conference it was what a difference a great pair of bug eye sunglasses makes. Talk about elevating the ordinary.

Victoria Starmer started her time in Number ten wearing a bright orange red slit sleeved Me and Em dress (£275). 

She went to the races at Sandown Park wearing a maxi print Me and Em (£176) and filmstar sunglasses. 

For her first official visit to Washington DC she exited the plane wearing an ivory lace knit dress from Needle & Thread (£450) and she wore a Needle & Thread white lattice gown (£725) for a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in honour of the Emperor and Empress of Japan. 

For a front row seat at the Edeline Lee show during last year’s London Fashion Week, she wore what looked like a long polka dot gown and turned out to be a high neck shirt and matching wide flowing trousers – pure A list celebrity dressing that would have worked as well at the Cannes Film Festival or on one of the fashion editors in the new film of The Devil Wear’s Prada.

Whatever your politics there is no denying Lady Starmer quickly proved she has the gift of looking good in clothes and knowing the ones that suit her best.

She also looked like she was enjoying herself (not everyone wants to be faced with the choice of what to wear to meet the Trumps in the White House but Victoria Starmer has the face and figure and temperament to carry it off.)

There were, of course, issues about who had paid for all these clothes, how much they had paid and what was borrowed – and those problems will partly explain her drift away from pricier brands. 

But looking back at her choices over the past few days it feels like there may be more at play than playing it safe.

All week Lady Starmer has looked like she wanted to go back to basics and wear the clothes she would have worn if she was still the working wife of an ordinary MP.

On Saturday, when she arrived at conference, she was wearing a V neck white T shirt under a blazer with flared blue jeans. 

While fashion observers rushed to point out that this is the smart casual uniform of the front row (she was wearing oversize sunglasses to match the blazer) it was also unmistakably all her own. 

This matters, in light of the cash for clothes furore, but it also looked 100 per cent authentic (key word in politics now) and every inch Lady Starmer’s natural comfort zone. No stylist or third party was involved in this outfit. 

Plus the sunglasses elevated it just enough to look special and not Saturday shopping trip to Sainsburys.

Cut to Sunday and Victoria looked a lot like she had been shopping her own wardrobe again, in a fit and flare, button front, short navy dress with navy tights and navy mid heel suede pumps by Dune. 

On this occasion fashion observers were in no hurry to complement her look, which showed off her mini-friendly legs but also looked suspiciously like it might date back to Keir’s days as Head of the Crown Prosecution Service. Hem length not withstanding it seemed dowdy.

Even so the outfit was still on message in a make do way, as was the old Me and Em denim frill collared blouse she wore next with plain Me and Em trousers – also from the back of her wardrobe. 

By the time she stepped out in the red short sleeve cotton blend cardigan (£36) buttoned up on top of some black trousers and silver flat pumps we’d got the picture: Relatable, uncontrived and take me as you find me. 

There was nothing to scare the horses, nothing to trouble the bank balance, nothing fancy or accessible only to the slim and pretty. 

Most of the time she may not have looked much like a polished, styled, wife of head of state – but that was precisely the idea.

After Keir’s closing speech she stood alongside him on stage in a red (naturally) Karen Millen stretch tailored midi dress (now 40 per cent off at £155 but hers was hired for a tenner) with short cuffed sleeves, a tabard detail waistband and a fuller longer midi skirt . 

The effect (just me?) was frumpy – it didn’t fit well – and certainly more about flying the party colour than flattering its wearer.

If there’s one dressing lesson we can take away from Lady Starmer’s appearance at Party Conference, apart from shop your own wardobe, it was what a difference a great pair of bug eye sunglasses makes. Talk about elevating the ordinary.