Tied up Reeves's pussybow blouse has a long history in high-stakes moments

It was a budget the chancellor said would "match the greatest economic moments in Labour history", and for the occasion Rachel Reeves chose to wear a garment to match the moment: a pussybow blouse.

- Ellie Violet Bramley

The UK's first female chancellor knows more than most how the way female politicians dress can be picked over and weaponised. While researching her book Women of Westminster, a history of what women in parliament have achieved, she was struck by how female MPs have "used fashion and appearance to tell us something about them and their politics, often to great effect". Her choice of neckline is unlikely to have been an afterthought at such a historic moment.

A close cousin of the necktie, the pussybow has historically been associated with women stepping into traditionally male spaces, such as the office.

While it is Margaret Thatcher who is perhaps most famous for wearing a pussybow blouse among British politicians, Reeves is more likely to have had the work and wardrobe of Barbara Castle - Labour's "red queen" - in mind. Michael Foot once called Castle "the best socialist minister we've ever had".