M.P.’S AND CLOTHES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17346, 10 May 1924, Page 17

M.P.’S AND CLOTHES.

FASHIONS AT WESTMINSTER Sartorial appearances do not count for much, if anything at all, in Parliament, but just as a matter of interest it may be suggested that if the members of the Government were ranged in a line either Lord Chelmsford, the head of the Admiralty, or BrigadierGeneral Lord Thomson, the head of the Air Force, would probably bear off the palm as the best-dressed man at Westminster. Both of them carry their clothes well and have an air of distinction. For years past members in matters sartorial have been daintily disdainful of the possibilities of the House of Commons as a rival to the Burlington Arcade, and the present House can do nothing towards restoring the selfesteem of Parliament in this respect. There are rich men in the House, but no one who looks aggressively affluent. The wealthier they are the more undistinguished are their clothes. There is no one now to replace Mr “Lulu” Havcourt grasping the historic box with his jewelled aristocratic hands as he expounded policy from the Treasury bench ; no one who looks quite so trim and debonair as Colonel Burn used to. Mr Noel Buxton, tall and slender, with his Vandyck-like heard, lends an “air” to the Treasury bench, and Mr Trevelyan is another who is always well groomed. The Prime Minister is neat, and his collar.*; and ties suggest that he is particular about his Caricaturists who look round the House for any inspiration in the clothes of members are having a thin time. Colonel John Word —‘'the Navvies’ ' M.P..” as he used to be called—was !

once distinguished as the possessor of the largest, hat in the House, a soft felt of sombrero-like proportions. His taste in hats has modified itself and he is now to be distinguished only by a velvet coat and waistcoat. Summer and winter, Mr Frank Grey, member for Oxford City, wears the lightest of light check trousers. And these two members are the only two in whom any idiosyncrasies in dress attract a second glance to themselves.—P., in the “Daily Mail.”