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Since Emmanuel Macron’s election to office this past spring, Brigitte Macron has been shaking up the role of France’s First Lady in more ways than one. Aside from being 24 years her husband’s senior, at 64, Macron’s favorite unconventional fashion choices feature hemlines that fall well above the knee—and place her gamine, toned, and tan limbs squarely in the spotlight.

Directly after inauguration day, Macron celebrated mid-May’s sunny days at the Élysée Palace in a cornflower blue Louis Vuitton skirt suit that inched upward to reveal the head-turning limbs that would soon become her signature. A belted black shift, also from Louis Vuitton, came next, paired with leg-elongating nude pumps. Even when swathed in sheer black tights, her willowy stems maintained a scene-stealing presence. But lest one think Macron only shows them off for official occasions, the First Lady left her home in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage on a bicycle in June clad in a crisp button-up, sneakers, and a denim miniskirt that hit at mid-thigh. And today in Germany at the G20 summit, Macron stepped out in a coral funnel-neck frock and flesh-tone stilettos that offered a leggy take on the political uniform.

Historically, the French have never set an expiration date on femininity or sensuality. This may explain why, at a time when America’s youth obsession is paramount, and its restrictions on women ever-more pervasive (including Congress’s recent deeming of sleeveless attire inappropriate), Macron’s rejection of outdated age- and gender-related dress codes feels particularly remarkable. Visible on a global scale, France’s First Lady is cutting a liberating new feminist path with her particular brand of Gallic body confidence. In politics, as in life, what could be more powerful?