Power Dressing : the Fashion of Politics
27 August to 19 September 1999

There was an outcry in 1981 when Michael Foot wore a duffel coat to the Remembrance Day ceremony at the cenotaph. It prompted one reader to write to the New Statesman: 'It says a lot for the state of British politics when we are reduced to judging our politicians not by their policies but by their dress... I breathlessly await the day when election campaigns will be conducted from the catwalks."

The new Capital Concerns display at the Museum of London asks: are we really so far away from that now? Many politicians deliberately try to use their image, successfully or unsuccessfully, to make statements about themselves and their politics, and Britain has a long history of judging its politicians by their clothes. Over the years a dialogue on the subject has developed between politicians and the media, both self-proclaimed representatives of 'the people'.

Power Dressing: the fashion of politics focuses on politicians who are identified with specific items of clothing and explores the relationship between personal style and political image. In particular it looks at what the responses have been among the public, the media and satirists. The exhibition displays clothing, photographs and cartoons with extracts from the media. Keir Hardie, the first Labour MP, caused press consternation when he entered Parliament in 1892 in a tweed suit and cap.

Recently another hat caused a commotion: a baseball cap worn by William Hague to highlight how in touch he is with younger people. His attempts to update both his own image and that of his party were successful in attracting attention, although not necessarily always the kind he was aiming for. Come along and see Harold Wilson's pipe and suit, Edward Heath's sailing waterproofs, outfits worn by Margaret Thatcher, Ken Livingstone, Tony Blair and Bernie Grant, and the outfit worn by Cherie Booth when she accompanied her husband to Downing Street on 2 May 1997.