Chancellor’s clothing choice shrewdly followed fashion footsteps of Thatcher, Harris and 17th-century menswear

It was a budget the chancellor said would “match the greatest economic moments in Labour history”, and for the occasion Rachel Reeves chose to wear a garment to match the moment: a pussybow blouse.

The UK’s first female chancellor knows more than most how the way female politicians dress can be picked over and weaponised. While researching her book Women of Westminster, a history of what women in parliament have achieved, she was struck by the way female MPs have “used fashion and appearance to tell us something about them and their politics, often to great effect”. Her choice of neckline is unlikely to have been an afterthought at such a historical moment.