HE may be an unlikely fashionista, but it seems county council leader Keith Mitchell may fancy himself as Oxfordshire’s very own Gok Wan.

The bearded member for Bloxham had a pop at the fashion sense of TV crews congegrating outside his County Hall office for an inquest into the death of little Nathalie Lo, who died aged 23 days following heart surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital last year.

Appalled by the trends of the media, Mr Mitchell logged on to his online blog and wrote: “I thought what a torment this must be for the poor parents of the child for whom an inquest in itself must be a harrowing enough experience, without this rag-taggle bunch of scruffs with cameras and microphones lying in wait.

“However, it is a free country and they are free to ply their trade. Pity they can’t be made to look a bit less scruffy, though.”

We feel we must, as a reposte, reprint this photo of Mr Mitchell displaying his own unique take on sartorial elegance a couple of years ago.

Arriving at an eco-town rally in Weston-on-the-Green, he was resplendent in a tweed jacket, purple striped shirt, pink tie and blood red hanky – more fashion conflicts than you could shake a stick at.

The more extreme might suggest such a combo should be the first items dispatched into the big new rubbish burner Mr Mitchell’s colleagues approved this week.

And before we’re accused of being over-sensitive, for the Oxford Mail did not have any photographers outside the inquest.

PRIME Minister David Cameron may have come in for a bit of stick over the tatty state of his socks, after being snapped recently with holed hosiery. But, if Oxford is anything to go by, the Tories’ coalition partners are making more effort to keep Britain’s sartorial standards high.

Lord Mayor of Oxford John Goddard, pictured right, a Liberal Democrat, was spotted at an appointment earlier this month, sporting a technicolour pair of rainbow-striped socks.

The occasion – a farewell celebration for chef Muhammad Ali, before the respected cook jetted off to Bangladesh for the finals of the International Indian Chef of the Year Competition.

Feasting on tikka masala, saag aloo and the chef’s award-winning chick pea-based speciality, a cheery Mr Goddard won the admiration of fellow diners at Cowley’s Karma restaurant by flashing his natty footwear from beneath the table.

And while louder even than Mr Mitchell’s tie, above – they were at least stylish. We are not sure if John was expressing his artistic side, or merely trying to ‘curry’ favour with local voters. Groan!