Fashion

Pat Butcher Is A Style Icon For The Ages & Here Are The Pictures To Prove It

by Aoife Hanna
Eastenders

That cool, icy stare. Accessories to make you swoon. A sassy attitude, and let's be honest — a heck of a lot of slaps in the faces. Yes, I am talking about Eastenders' very own legend, Pat Butcher, or Pat Evans, depending on timing. More cockney than pie and mash on a grey day, this woman is one of those legendary characters that has become a household name. Apart from all of those dramatic face slaps and arguments down the Queen Vic, she is known for her style. You heard me — move over Donatella Versace, Pat Butcher is a style icon.

Pat, played by Pam St Clement is perhaps one of the best known characters in BBC's famous soap opera. She has a cagey background as a former gangster's moll and basically takes no BS from anyone. She and her arch nemesis, Peggy Mitchell, followed the age old narrative of two women totally hating on each other mainly over some crappy guy. The crappy guy who they predominately were in constant agony over was Frank Butcher. I recall a particularly famous episode where old Frank turned up at Pat's gaff naked but for a spinning dicky bow. Shudder.

TBH in the end they saw the light of day and were like "OMG let's stop fighting babes", becoming friends. Pat sadly went to the jellied eel shop in the sky back in 2012, but her legend remains. Her strength, sass, and being a total sex positive female icon means she will never be forgotten. Especially after the actor who played her, St Clement, appeared on a show called Gone to Pot: American Road Trip about the positives of smoking weed and got hell blaised for our enjoyment.

Here's the seven ways in which Pat Butcher's style will never die.

1

Those Earrings

Outrageous, bold, dangly earrings were so much Pat's thing that if anyone describes an earring as a "Pat Butcher earring," you know exactly what they mean.

St Clement even named her autobiography The End Of An Earring, in perhaps the best play on words that there ever has been.

A dangly out there earring spruces every single outfit, fact. So if you need a jooj — be more Pat and chuck an earring on.

2

Androgynous Haircut

Adverse to the more classic female haircut, Pat has always had a hard femme-esque cut paired with a full face of uber glam make up. A look now emulated by many stars including Katy Perry and Halsey.

Rich Fury/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

3

Bright Colours

Bright colours, the bigger and brighter the better. Let's all get our rainbow clash on. Well sorry, but your gal Pat was clashing with strong, some might say extra, colours potentially before you were actually even born. Hell yes she was, and she has established herself as a damn style icon.

4

Strong Eyeshadow Game

That pigment though. Pat wore eyeshadow as it was intended to be worn, from lash to brow and a heck of a lot in between. Best known for her powder blue/navy vibes, our gal wasn't afraid to trowel it on in the interest of actual eye shadow art.

5

Animal Print

Jeremy Selwyn/Evening Standard/Shutterstock

Two queens together. It takes a real lewk to make the Queen look plain. Leopard, zebra, tiger, and lots of it — Pat remains one of television's iconic brassy, animal print covered queens.

6

Statement Blouses

Although Pauline Quirke of Birds Of A Feather fame definitely owns the crown for queen of the extra out there shirt, Pat has arguably also got a claim to this throne.

7

Fur (Faux)

Faux fur is hot to trot on every high street right now, but before it was trendy, Pat was carving the path for us all, and has left a pretty cute catalogue of fur based outfit ideas.

8

No matter what day of the week it is, or where you are at. Add some glamour, and be more Pat.