Blair's clothes: Throw on another designer top for the barbie, will you?

He's been tieless in Gaza, a shirt-sleever in Geneva, even risked an open-toed sandal scandal in Tuscany.

But yesterday Tony Blair appeared to have surpassed himself in his desire to be a trend-setter in the global fashion and diplomacy stakes.

Attending an evening barbecue at the Commonwealth heads of government summit in Australia, the Prime Minister defied convention and wore a long-sleeved designer top that left his fellow leaders looking, well, a little overdressed.

Mr Blair may have troubles at home with Mittalgate and Mooregate and troubles abroad with Zimbabwe and Iraq. Yet he shrugged off such distractions with a menswear makeover that was more This Morning than Prime Minister's Questions.

Critics may think that he looked like a male Barbie at the barbie, an old swinger who had turned into a walking mid-life fashion crisis. However, as he held a glass of lager in one hand for the cameras, the 48-year-old was out to prove that he still had the same youthful zest that swept him to power five years ago.

Mr Blair had already got the media into a tizz when it emerged at the weekend that he had worn a Paul Smith shirt featuring an image of a bare-breasted woman inside its cuffs. But while the Prime Minister's designer shirts may have their knockers, his stripey top nearly provoked a diplomatic incident when the Australian media pored over its significance.

Mr Blair's attire was certainly a stark contrast with that of John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister, who went instead for more geeky formal gear. Mr Howard bore an uncanny resemblance to Mr Blair's predecessor, the decidedly uncool John Major, the man whose contribution to high fashion history was the shirt-in-underpants look.

Mr Major was not averse to trying new things. On a visit to South Africa, he let his shirt-collar hang daringly out of his sweater. The former Tory PM also wore a tank-top, fittingly enough while sitting on a real tank top, on a visit to British troops during the Gulf War. He even, on one occasion, sported a white turban. But none of these comes close to matching Mr Blair's Beckhamesque love of the latest in menswear.

Yet while Mr Blair was sporting his casual outfit at the barbie, back home his officials were busy reading the riot act to errant civil servants accused of leaking against Stephen Byers. In every sense of the word, it was dressing-down Monday.