By Ali Daher For Daily Mail Australia
11:49 03 Jul 2024, updated 13:14 03 Jul 2024
Laura Chalmers ensured all eyes were on her on Wednesday night when she stepped out at the Midwinter Ball in Canberra.
While many Australians are feeling the pinch during a cost of living crisis, Ms Chalmers was happy to flex her style credentials in a $3,375 ensemble as she posed alongside her treasurer husband, Jim Chalmers.
Ms Chalmers poured her slender frame into a powder blue Rebecca Vallance gown worth a staggering $1500.
The sleek number features a rounded neckline, cinched waist and princess seams to enhance her trim physique, before falling into a column skirt.
It appears Ms Chalmers wasn’t a fan of the original design and opted for alterations on the night, ditching the short cape sleeves which featured an embellished feather design.
The journalist opted to keep her accessories to a minimum at the event, carrying her valuables in an Oroton clutch valued at $150.
Ms Chalmers appeared to finish her head-turning ensemble in a pair of Le Silla beige ‘Nicole’ pumps made from transparent mesh with a pointed-toe silhouette.
The Italian-made footwear adorned with sparkling crystals retails for $1725.
Elsewhere, her treasurer husband looked chic in a classic black suit.
It’s not the first time Ms Chalmers has brought her fashion A-Game to a political event.
The former political advisor-turned magazine editor, 40, was seen sporting an $899 yellow Carla Zampatti dress and matching $999 jacket when she watched deliver his third Federal Budget in Parliament House in May.
She sat with their two children, Leo and Annabel – and next to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese‘s fiancée Jodie Haydon.
When Dr Chalmers’ address was over, the couple shared a kiss as they left the Lower House.
Ms Chalmers, formerly known as Laura Anderson, worked as a press secretary for former Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong before moving back to her first love, journalism.
Her successful career led to her becoming the national editor-in-chief for News Corp’s Saturday Weekend Magazines in November 2021.
Ms Chalmers worked as the state political reporter for her hometown Adelaide’s Advertiser newspaper from January 2003 to May 2006.
She then spent almost three years in Canberra as the Advertiser’s federal political reporter before working for Ms Wong and, later, Ms Gillard.
Her political career came to an abrupt end in July 2013 when Kevin Rudd deposed Ms Gillard in an internal Labor stoush and became the new prime minister.
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