Today, April 8th 2013, the first female prime minister of England, Margaret Thatcher passed away. "The greatest prime minister England has ever known."
I'm not so sure about that. But whether you like her political ideas or not, there's no denying about the fact that Mrs. Tatcher was and will always be, a style icon. Her black leather Asprey purse is by far the most famous accessory ever made, here's why...Born in 1925, being a housewife and mother in the 1950's, made Margaret Thatcher one of the last politicians ever, who took properly care of her appearance. She used an serious amount of Hairspray that would have made Jackie Kennedy jealous. England's first (and only) female prime minister wasn't politically active untill 1955. She kept working on her career as well as her family and finally became prime minister 1979 untill 1990, when she had to resign. She was a great friend of American President Ronald Reagan (The slightly plump man in 3 of the seven pictures below) and together they fought for the liberation of the Soviet Union. She had some very conservative ideas and was certainly not loved by everyone. There's a reason why people called her "the Iron Lady."
Enough about her controversial politics. It goes without saying that the woman had style. Blue was obviously her favorite color, also because blue was the color of her 'conservative party'. She took the 1950's female-suit (with skirt) and made it popular again. Though she was not a very pretty woman (she was an Englishwoman after all) she always looked ravishing. Her hair was perfectly in place and let's not forget those amazing pearls. Like all adult women should, Mrs. Tatcher wore a string of pearls everywhere she went. Pearls in her ears or around her neck, she clearly couldn't do without them.
But last, and certainly not least. The grandmother of all accessories:
Margaret Thatchers black leather Asprey purse.
This mythical object was considered as a part of her. It has been the subject of many great stories. The most famous off all, being the story about Mrs. Thatcher hitting one of her opponents in the face after a debate, with this very purse. Therefor she's known as the ultimate icon of "the woman hitting someone with her purse." The purse itself became a symbol of her power and she wore it with her from the beginning of her career as prime minister until the very end. (Notice the straps of this purse on the left picture below. This was taken in 1979 after her victory speech at the conservative party conference) The handbag was considered a "prop" and one couldn't imagine Margaret Thatcher without it. The purse was sold at a charity action at Christie's in 2011 for 25.000 pounds.
A member of her conservative party once said at a meeting, while Mrs. Tatcher was at the lavatory: "Why don't we start? The handbag is here." This also illustrates the battle Mrs. Thachter has had to fight (with or without her purse) to claim her position as a female politician. Isn't it remarkable that Margaret Thatcher has been the only female prime minister up until this very moment? Clearly our world is still ruled by men who aren't willing to share their power equally with women. Mrs. Tatcher showed us that men and women are equally qualified when it comes to leading positions. I think it's about time to continue the progress that Margaret Thatcher started for all women on this planet.
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