How Victoria Starmer transformed first lady dressing in one week

One week you’re quietly getting on with life working for the NHS in occupational health, the next you’re rubbing shoulders with world leaders at a Nato summit in Washington as the UK’s (unofficial) “first lady”.

It’s been quite the transition for Lady Starmer, a woman who had mostly remained in the shadows throughout her husband’s rise from Labour leader to Prime Minister. One thing we have learnt about her in the past seven days, though? She can already call herself a fashion influencer. The red Me+Em dress she wore to enter Downing Street last Friday sold out within days and prompted a 300 per cent uplift in traffic to the dress’s page on the label’s website.

If Lady Starmer has so far eschewed interview opportunities, she has chosen instead to speak via her clothing choices. It’s a strategy which she has cemented during her first week as the wife of the Prime Minister, a period which has involved a foreign diplomatic mission as well as a visit to the races.

Just as we might have predicted from a woman who has fiercely protected her family’s privacy and her own career during her husband’s political rise, Lady Starmer hasn’t undergone a dramatic Downing Street makeover. Instead, she’s underscored her refreshing approach, opting for a mix of labels which mark her out as an aspirational everywoman whilst also subtly upholding the Government’s political aims.

That might sound like a tricky juxtaposition but Lady Starmer is no fashion amateur. As one mother who knows her from the local mums circuit in Camden told Grazia magazine: “She’s sleek and polished, the one who makes us try to up our game.”

That much was evident last Saturday when, fresh from celebrating her husband’s historic landslide, she had a day out at Sandown indulging one of her own personal passions: horse racing. She showcased another purchase from her recent Me+Em spree, a £365 drawstring-waist floral-print maxi dress which looked effortless but elegant, especially paired with Gucci sunglasses.

If the Lib Dems were targeting seats based on whether they had a Gail’s bakery, then Lady Starmer’s style appeals to the similarly affluent Me+Em woman who might pull on her latest purchase from the label to grab a coffee with her girlfriends. “Every piece we create is designed to be camera-ready, whether that’s shirts crafted in a creaseless fabric, or pockets positioned so as not to add bulk, we don’t want our customers to ever have to worry about their outfit not looking pristine,” a spokesperson for the label told The Telegraph earlier this week.

Next came Lady Starmer’s simple but significant departure dress. Leaving the UK on Tuesday evening, Lady Starmer achieved what so many of us aim for and so often don’t quite nail – looking relaxed without straying into too-casual territory. By choosing a pared-back white knitted dress, the Prime Minister’s wife looked appropriately smart without giving the impression that she’d been agonising over her outfit for hours.

She returned to Needle and Thread, a British label known for its flouncy, sparkly womenswear and which she also wore for the Japanese state banquet at Buckingham Palace last month when she attended as wife of the leader of the opposition. On that occasion, she chose a twinkly £725 caped gown – a quintessential example of the label’s aesthetic. At Stansted, she opted for a more muted £450 lace knit dress – the kind of dress you could throw on at the beach as easily as you could dress it up for a party (or indeed, a Nato meeting).

Needle and Thread’s founder and CEO, Hannah Coffin, told The Telegraph that she was “delighted” to see Lady Starmer wearing her designs. “She looked beautiful and elegant in our Heart Lattice gown at Buckingham Palace and in our Lace Knit gown on her first foreign trip as ‘first lady’,” she said. “It’s fantastic to see her wearing female-founded, independent British brands to represent British style on these occasions and we are honoured she chose to wear us.”

Coffin pinpoints the significance of Lady Starmer opting for UK-based labels like Needle and Thread and Me+Em which are not only founded by women, but have grown into commercially successful businesses with global relevance. Notably, too, these brands are relatable in a way that, for example, Brigitte Macron’s wardrobe of ultra-luxe Louis Vuitton or Jill Biden’s custom designer outfits simply are not.

In Washington, Lady Starmer flexed her diplomatic dressing credentials for the first time. Earlier in the week, the new Prime Minister said: “We intend to improve our relationship with the EU and that means closer trading ties with the EU.” So, it made sense for his wife to visually symbolise such ties by choosing a £320 Labour-red pleated gown by French retailer The Kooples for a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of Nato at the White House on Wednesday evening.

Standing alongside the prime ministers of Bulgaria and the Netherlands and the president of the European Council and his wife, Lady Starmer’s Labour-red dress not only served as a reminder of the election victory, but also a representation of her husband’s foreign policy ambitions.

Lady Starmer was first seen wearing The Kooples the weekend before the election when she attended a rally at her husband’s side in a £425 floral midi from the label. If you read nothing else into her choices, take away the fact that edgy French brands can do wafty frocks as well as they do sharp tailoring.

To Thursday, and Lady Starmer starred in a series of posts on X by Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska. In what appeared to be a cosy meeting over tea and biscuits, Zelenska detailed how she “was pleased to meet Lady Victoria Starmer... We have a lot of common topics in the healthcare sector.” Their meeting proved the perfect example of the impact of different soft power style strategies – while Zelenska opted for armour-like white tailoring, her British counterpart stuck to her love for a midi dress at a sweet spot price.

Lady Starmer flew the flag for the UK “high-high street” again in a £179 cheetah-print dress by Whistles. “Seeing Lady Victoria Starmer wearing Whistles and supporting British brands is very exciting and an incredible honour,” says Camille Sullivan, product director at Whistles. “In an ever-changing market, being represented by someone with her influence globally is so important for the retail landscape and shines a light on what British brands have to offer the market.”

More style lessons from Lady Starmer’s first foray into world stage style? This is a woman who knows exactly what suits her. Every silhouette in this week’s line-up is some variation on a flattering fit-and-flare silhouette which is fitted around the waist and bust and swooshy around the legs and hips.

She’s likely to have five years, at least, ahead of her to evolve her first lady look, but Lady Starmer is off to a stylish start.