{"id":135117,"date":"2024-09-15T15:47:35","date_gmt":"2024-09-15T15:47:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/15\/who-pays-for-the-clothing-of-world-leaders-and-their-spouses\/"},"modified":"2024-09-15T15:47:35","modified_gmt":"2024-09-15T15:47:35","slug":"who-pays-for-the-clothing-of-world-leaders-and-their-spouses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/15\/who-pays-for-the-clothing-of-world-leaders-and-their-spouses\/","title":{"rendered":"Who pays for the clothing of world leaders and their spouses?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Who<\/div>


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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Michelle Obama (l) wore a striking scarlet Alexander McQueen dress while meeting former Chinese President Hu Jintao<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Lady Victoria accepted donations of clothing so they could “look their best” to represent the UK, David Lammy has said.<\/p>\n

Asked about the donations, the foreign secretary suggested other countries had generous taxpayer-funded budgets for leaders’ clothing.<\/p>\n

It came after reports Sir Keir may have broken parliamentary rules<\/a> in failing to declare clothes bought for his wife by Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli.<\/p>\n

Lammy told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: \u201cUS presidents and first ladies have a huge budget, paid for by the taxpayer, so that they look their best on behalf of the US people.”<\/p>\n

In fact, the US first lady does not have access to a specific clothing budget – and many have shared frustration at the cost of staying fashionable in the White House.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

So what are the rules around clothes for the world stage?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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In some countries, taxpayers contribute to living expenses for their leaders – and this can include clothing. <\/p>\n

US presidents have an expenses budget of some $50,000 (\u00a338,000), which can be used to purchase clothing and other items, on top of an annual salary of $400,000.<\/p>\n

But the US president\u2019s spouse – historically, always a first lady – does not receive an annual salary or fixed expenses budget, though they have paid staff and an office.<\/p>\n

That’s despite the US first lady\u2019s fashion choices attracting immense scrutiny and attention.<\/p>\n

Notable examples have included Melania Trump\u2019s Zara jacket emblazoned with \u201cI REALLY DON\u2019T CARE, DO U?\u201d, on a visit to a migrant detention centre, and the striking scarlet Alexander McQueen dress worn by Michelle Obama while meeting former Chinese President Hu Jintao.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Lady Victoria joined her husband Sir Keir for her first international event in Washington in July<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Melania Trump later said her jacket’s slogan was a message for her critics<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

First lady Laura Bush faced scrutiny for her fashion choices<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Some first ladies have said that, in general, they were expected to pay for their clothes themselves.<\/p>\n

Mrs Bush, the wife of George W Bush, wrote in her 2010 memoir that she was \u201camazed by the sheer number of designer clothes that I was expected to buy\u2026 to meet the fashion expectations for a first lady\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter our first year in the White House, our accountant said to George, \u2018It costs a lot to be president,\u2019 and he was referring mainly to my clothes,\u201d Mrs Bush wrote.<\/p>\n

Michelle Obama\u2019s press secretary, Joanna Rosholm, told CNBC in 2014: \u201cMrs Obama pays for her clothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

US first ladies can also accept clothes as gifts, often on behalf of the government. <\/p>\n

Some designers welcome the publicity their clothes being worn by the first lady offers them. <\/p>\n

With the price tags of designer dresses easily running into the tens of thousands, donations are the only way comparatively less wealthy occupants of the White House could afford to wear star designers.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor official events of public or historic significance, such as a state visit, the first lady\u2019s clothes may be given as a gift by a designer and accepted on behalf of the U.S. government,\u201d Mrs Rosholm said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The dress first lady Jill Biden wore at her husband’s inauguration was donated to the Smithsonian Museum<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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The Smithsonian Museum lists the dress current first lady Jill Biden wore at her husband\u2019s 2021 inauguration as a donation of designer Alexandria O’Neil \u201cin honour of first lady Jill Biden\u201d \u2013 an indication the designer lent her the dress.<\/p>\n

By contrast, it appears that her predecessor Melania Trump, whose husband’s wealth made him the richest president in history, donated her inaugural dress, designed by Herv\u00e9 Pierre, herself. That may be because she paid for it.<\/p>\n

In the UK, Sarah Brown, wife of former prime minister Gordon Brown, has spoken of the difficulties around accepting gifts – including clothing – while in Downing Street.<\/p>\n

“As I quickly discover,” she wrote in her book. Behind the Black Door, in 2011, “there is no shortage of designers and retailers who will offer you free clothes.<\/p>\n

“However, there are many rules that govern what MPs (and spouses) can do with free gifts – not to mention the moral aspect of using your position to grab freebies.<\/p>\n

She explained the solution: “No10 advisers and I figure out a way that works for everyone. Any clothes that I want to keep, I can buy. <\/p>\n

“Any freely offered clothes or jewellery, I can effectively \u2018rent\u2019 for about 10 per cent of the retail value, then return.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What about other countries?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Spouses of world leaders elsewhere generally appear to rely on donations for their style choices. <\/p>\n

France’s Brigitte Macron does not have a state-funded budget for clothes and is believed to be lent outfits by Parisian high fashion houses such as Louis Vuitton. <\/p>\n

According to the 2019 book Madame La Pr\u00e9sidente, her office keeps a record of which clothes have been donated to her and which are her own. <\/p>\n

But her husband, President Emmanuel Macron, has been criticised for his own profligate spending. This year, it was revealed that his office reserved a business class seat on a flight from Paris to Brazil solely to transport two of his suits, at a cost of nearly \u20ac4,000 (\u00a33,380).<\/p>\n

In Germany, ministers were criticised for spending \u20ac450,000 on hairdressers, makeup artists and photographers in the first six months of 2023, though there does not appear to be a specific fund for clothing.<\/p>\n

Asked about Lammy’s remarks, a Foreign Office spokesman declined to comment further.<\/p>\n

Downing Street said of Sir Keir’s declaration of clothing donations: “We sought advice from the authorities on coming to office.<\/p>\n

“We believed we had been compliant, however, following further interrogation this month, we have declared further items.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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Getty Images Michelle Obama (l) wore a striking scarlet Alexander McQueen dress while meeting former Chinese President Hu Jintao Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Lady Victoria accepted donations of clothing so they could “look their best” to represent the UK, David Lammy has said. Asked about the donations, the foreign secretary suggested other countries […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[603],"tags":[10278,6118,5200,93350,1052],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135117"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135117"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":135119,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135117\/revisions\/135119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}