As Brown takes office today, his spouse will take over from Cherie Blair as the new First Lady of 10 Downing Street. And while it’s too soon to know what her style will be, it’s clear that she will be the antithesis of her flamboyant predecessor. The chances of her adorning No. 10 with “magic pendants” or engaging in New Age rebirthing procedures à la Mrs. Blair are slim. She also seems unlikely to partake in aggressive lecture tours, and if she does it’s doubtful she’ll charge more for her services at a charity event than the actual funds raised, as Cherie did at a cancer-research charity dinner in Australia in 2005.
Sarah Brown, 43, has shown no political aspirations of her own. Where the Blairs adopted the Clintonesque, two-for-the-price-of-one model, the country’s new political leaders appear to have reverted back to the more traditional political package. Demure, self-effacing and discreet, Sarah Brown has played the wife-in-the-background role to perfection. She has made no effort to keep her own name and career—as the single Sarah Macaulay, she headed a successful PR company—and is reported to have wasted no time in ordering “Sarah Brown”-monogrammed stationery when she married Brown seven years ago.
The British media have universally applauded her modest, reserved image, pointedly comparing her to Cherie. Headlines from newspapers like The Daily Mail and The Sunday Times have included zingers like “Greedy, Graceless and Grandiose? Not Sarah Brown” and “Can no one turn off Cherie, the cash-in machine?” Nor is Brown likely to be subjected to the same derisive scrutiny of her fashion faux pas. During Tony Blair’s years in office, Cherie’s silhouette in wide-legged trousers and big coat jackets was likened to that of a whale and her white stilettos were mocked as a sign of the return of the lowbrow Essex Girl—a British pejorative for a working-class bimbo. If Sarah Brown were to wear the same ensemble, she’d more likely be praised for her stylishly conservative look and for adding a touch of fun with her choice of heels.
Still, Cherie isn’t disappearing from the headlines just yet. As a top lawyer who practices under the name of Cherie Booth, she’s been hired by the owner of a London strip club to challenge the imminent smoking ban introduced by her husband’s government. Sarah Brown’s tenure at Downing Street may be more dignified, but chances are it won’t be quite as interesting.
