Forget the Liberal party men and their blue ties – the closest thing the Australian parliament has to clothes as a signifier is Jacqui Lambie and her scarf collection.
The yellow scarf she wore through her PUP days, in a loose roll around her neck, with a soft crossover at the base, was discarded when left she Clive’s camp.
Think of medieval days, when regalia was worn to signify house loyalty. The abandonment of the golden scarf left no one in doubt that Lambie had struck out on her own. Think of a dude getting a divorce and throwing his wedding ring into the sea then filming a YouTube video of it and sending it to his ex-wife. That is the Lambie way.
Neutral colours have followed – but the scarf has remained, as if to ward off the Canberra chill, forever in the corridors and forecourt despite the start of summer.
As for Palmer, his style appears to have changed little since his split with Lambie. He wears, according to some cruel colleagues, “tea-towel checked shirts”. That is, shirts with a large checked pattern that is common on some tea-towels.
On Tuesday night on Kitchen Cabinet he will be rocking country casual, in moleskin pants and an open-necked chambray shirt.
Lambie’s style opposite is Julie Bishop. Bishop has helmet hair, even more so now that her style is more modern, whereas Lambie sports the scraped-back scrunchie look.
Bishop favours law firm attire – all corporate, tailored suits, while Lambie – even after her supposed makeover in late November – has stayed true to her original style.
Bishop’s gear is a nod to the corporate class. It says look, we wear the same uniform. Lambie is appealing to the working class – the one she refers to passionately in parliament expressing her opposition to university fees.
On her Sky TV interview on Tuesday she wore a hoodie.
Lambie wears hoodie. Cue fashion revolution (amongst small group of people who count Lambie as style icon) #auspol pic.twitter.com/RcmzDxMKAs
— Susannah Guthrie (@susg91) December 1, 2014
A hoodie! She rocked it with bright earring, pink lipstick and pulled-back hair. On it was a picture of the Australia flag – and in big letter I SUPPORT OUR TROOPS. As if anyone was in doubt …
Lambie need not even open her mouth. Her clothes tell her story.
