It's all about the pussycat bow and the pearls.

With her pussycat bows and court shoes, she wasn’t a fashion leader but at least she cared about what she wore.

It is attitude, not pussycat bows and handbags, that we owe to Mrs T.

Boudicca in a pussycat bow.

But the suits have gone beyond the boxy blazer and calf-length skirt worn with a shirt and a pussycat bow.

Short puffball skirts or city shorts were topped with sheer chiffony blouses with pussycat bow ties and a cape effect over the shoulders.

The women's power suit on display from that era, by Yves Saint Laurent, has the requisite blouse with pussycat bow, matching skirt and blazer.

Apart from the pussycat bow blouse which I refuse to adorn even if I was offered an Audi TT to do so, it's worked.

Prints, along with delicate bras, pussycat bow blouses, spaghetti straps, strapless dresses and anything high-waisted, are God’s gift to the flat-chested and, frankly, I’m jealous.

Vogue this month celebrates Thatcher the style icon, photographed by Mario Testino, her shiny carapace handbags praised, her suits and pussycat bows judged seminal.

Caen encounter was the sequel to their first-round meeting at the G8 in Strasbourg, where — to either their amusement or embarrassment — both women turned up wearing coats with large pussycat bow necklines.

By my time, there was much competition to see just how loosely you could interpret the formula and get away with it - black skirt to the ground and filmy white blouse, perky skirt above the knee with sheer black nylons, black velvet ribbon tied in a pussycat bow for the tie.

The soft grey, three-quarter-length sleeves and pussycat bow (as favoured by Mrs Thatcher in her heyday, although to entirely different effect), worn with French flats might have been a little too coy on any normal female; on Ms Bruni they added up to extreme European elegance, laced with minxish potential.

This season the pussy bow gets an update with added ruffles.

First, stand in front of your closet and count how many items are adorned with pussy bows.

She was wearing a dark blue gaberdine suit, a white blouse with a pussy bow, her check coat folded over one arm.

You were wearing a blue gaberdine suit and a white blouse with a pussy bow at the neck.'

It shows Catherine wearing a bottle green pussy bow blouse, looking straight out from the picture, smirking, rather than grinning.

Tomboy Pussy bows don't need to be girly.

Miss Phillips has been seen wearing a similar blush-coloured creation, teamed with a pale pink pussy bow blouse.

The tightly fitted electric blue suits and that deceptively- soft pussy bow were at the heart of the iconography of her time in power.

Even the tailoring, at times mannish in cut, oozed with femininity thanks to the addition of sheer pussy bow blouses.

A pussy bow or pussycat bow is a style of neckwear often associated with women's blouses and bodices.

She even looks a bit uncomfortable in black high-heel sandals and a demure white dress with a pussy bow that looks more like it’s wearing her.

In its original French, a lavallière designates a floppy neck tie tied to form a bow at the front of the neck (reminiscent of a pussy bow).

Thatcher reportedly said she thought bows were "rather softening" and "pretty," and at her funeral in 2013, the then Prime Minister's wife paid tribute by wearing a pussy bow blouse.

Michael Kors preferred a more uptown look with wide-legged tailored trousers and beige trench coat; both added white shirts that could be tied with a pussy bow or left loose.

Even high street chains have got in on the act, with budget retailer Peacocks offering a range of pussy bow blouses and structured blue jackets to help shoppers “get the Margaret Thatcher look”.

ON a recent Saturday in Long Island City, Queens, Tasha Goldblum (top right) wore a pale pink blouse with a pussy bow, a fashion statement both fastidious and demure.

Instead of going for the standard shock of colour with an emerald green pussy bow blouse or rust silk singlet, look for a bold graphic print, such as Burberry hearts or zebra stripes.

During the 1980s the pussy bow blouse became a key part of Margaret Thatcher's political image after she became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1979, and became closely linked with her.

The Valance show, which featured exquisite European fabrics and pussy bow shirts worn with sleek pencil skirts is being joined by the always elegant Carla Zampatti, who will unveil her spring/summer collection tomorrow morning.

The real faux pas of the day was the outfit worn by beautiful reality star, Jesinta Campbell, which included an unflattering pussy bow at the throat and what looked to be a blinged up sun visor.

And the addition of a little blue party dress I had with a fashionable pussy bow at the front elicited a dinner-party reaction so strong that I had to go and hide in the garden for a bit to calm down.

Mrs Thatcher dealt calmly with the situation, shaking Hamnett's hand firmly for the camera in her pussy bow blouse and suit, before engaging her with an icy stare and responding: "We haven't got Pershing here, we've got cruise missiles."