Snubbing Margaret Thatcher’s Clothes

“The V&A politely declined the offer of Baroness Thatcher’s clothes, feeling that these records of Britain’s political history were best suited to another collection which would focus on their intrinsic social historical value,” a spokesperson from the Victoria & Albert Museum told the Telegraph on Monday. “The museum is responsible for chronicling fashionable dress and its collecting policy tends to focus on acquiring examples of outstanding aesthetic or technical quality.” The close reader marvels: fifty-seven words and nearly each one of them spring-loaded with unassailably punctilious contempt. The statement was less a press release than a model of passive aggression. Who says “politely” when he is being polite? As an elegant variation, “these records of Britain’s political history” fairly screamed “hideous polyester rags.” Since the museum was charged with “chronicling fashionable dress,” and it was sadly unable—a matter of policy, you see—to make room for Baroness Thatcher’s looks, then Baroness Thatcher, it was saying without exactly saying, must have been categorically unfashionable. In the second half of the sentence, the museum twisted the fish knife again: not only were her clothes dowdy, they weren’t even nicely made. You couldn’t fail to understand the meaning of “best suited to another collection.” Thatcher’s double-breasted crepe suits were, in fashion terms, unclubbable. The application didn’t get lost. Her wardrobe had been blackballed.