Blue rinse brigade

"Blue rinse brigade" is a somewhat pejorative term used, particularly in the United Kingdom, to describe elderly middle-class ladies usually of a conservative socio-political persuasion. This group is usually characterised as forming the backbone of local branches of the Conservative Party.

The term arises from the blue rinse dye applied by hairdressers to disguise the often yellow tones of greying hair, together with the pejorative sense of "brigade". There is also an allusion to the political symbolism of blue in the United Kingdom.

See also

• Mohair berets

References

• . Young women Tories fall at the blue rinse hurdle. The Independent, September 2, 2001. Accessed December 16, 2010.