~~ Margaret Thatcher: a life in style ~~

Margaret Thatcher's policies may have divided opinion, but there’s no doubting that her signature style made her a fashion icon.

The former UK Prime Minister died earlier this week, leaving behind an impressive fashion legacy. As a woman in the male-dominated world of politics, the first and only female Prime Minister in the UK cultivated a personal style that was suitably formal yet unmistakably feminine.

In the early years of her political career during the 1970s, the pussybow blouse became her style staple, as did prim and proper pearls, decorative pins and perfectly-coiffed hair (not forgetting her trademark Asprey handbag). As her power increased, the look became sharper, with skirt suits forming the basis of her 1980s wardrobe, in every shade of Conservative blue imaginable.

Even as she aged and her health deteriorated, Thatcher’s commitment to style remained as pictures of her on her 87th birthday – in a lilac coat and dress, complete with a pearl necklace and not a hair out of place – illustrate.

Take a look at Baroness Thatcher’s most stylish outfits by scrolling through the gallery.