Pregnant Carrie Johnson champions British brands while supporting PM at Tory conference
Watch: Carrie Johnson arrives with the PM ahead of his speech at Tory Party Conference.
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Carrie Johnson has certainly perfected the art of diplomatic dressing.
The 33-year-old, who is expecting her second child with Boris Johnson, has been championing a number of British and sustainable brands during the Tory party conference this week.
Perhaps her most striking outfit was the look chosen for the prime minister’s keynote speech on Wednesday – a red needlecord dress with a frilled collar, gently puffed sleeves and a loose, ankle-length cut.
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The smock-style dress is from Cabbages & Roses, a family-run fashion and homeware brand based in Somerset, which has the sustainable credentials that Johnson seems to be fond of championing.
The high waistline and loose cut of the dress also meant it perfectly skimmed Johnson's growing bump.
The Lola dress, £360, was available to buy now on the website, but as it was made in limited numbers it is currently sold out.
Ms Johnson teamed the dress with a pair of £130 black leather ankle boots from high street chain Jigsaw.
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It wasn't the only time Johnson turned to the high street for clothing during the conference.
Arriving in Manchester, where the conference was held, Johnson teamed her black trousers with a ribbon-collared shirt and bright and bright, red blazer costing £59.99, both from fashion-fave Zara.
Watch: Carrie Johnson says PM is committed to protecting LGBT+ community gains.
The gold-buttoned blazer echoed a similar double-breasted jacket, also from Zara, that the Duchess of Cambridge wore to the Euro 2020 Championship game.
This choice to dress in the high street was likely a pointed decision, particularly as showing up in eye-wateringly expensive couture in a pandemic-stretched economy may well have been a political faux-pas.
Read more: Carrie Symonds’ maternity wardrobe
Later at the conference, Ms Johnson switched up her outfit, slipping into a midnight-blue dress with a soft geometric design to deliver a speech about LGBTQ+ rights at the conference.
The £279 long-sleeved floaty dress with smock detailing and balloon sleeves was from French label, Claudie Pierlot, which is a brand on the more expensive end of the high street.
It is the second time the label has been chosen for a political party conference, after Victoria Starmer also turned to the brand wore to support her husband Keir Starmer at the Labour Party conference.
It isn't the first time Ms Johnson has tried to use her sartorial choices to make a point about sustainability.
Earlier this year she wore a rented wedding dress to marry the PM, and, continued to shine a light on the rental fashion industry with an almost-entirely loaned wardrobe from London’s biggest rental platforms HURR and My Wardrobe HQ at the G7 Summit in Cornwall this summer.
She has also used previously used her platform to draw attention to independent British fashion brands including Damselfly London, O Pioneers, Alice Early, Seraphina.
