Thailand - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday defended her sartorial choice to wear a partly discoloured green Thai silk jacket on her visit to Italy's fashion capital of Milan by saying her new style was rather "accidental".

The picture of the premier with the jacket while walking down the plane's staircase has caused a stir on Thailand's netizens, and received both positive and negative reviews.

The premier yesterday posted her view on Facebook stating: "I arrived in Milan and had the chance to wear a tailored jacket with silk fabrics from [Her Majesty the Queen's] Arts and Crafts International Centre of Thailand [in Ayutthaya]. It was flooded in 2010 and led to the different colours seeping onto the fabric thus creating a new pattern that I wear today."

The discoloured patches were on the premier's right jacket pocket, the jacket's left arm and near the right side of the lapel.

The PM was to give an opening speech at a seminar entitled: "The Italy-Thailand Business Forum: Commercial and Investment Opportunities for Italian SMEs" where an exclusive roundtable discussion involving leading Italian executives took place. That was followed by a visit to a showroom of furniture-maker Poltrona Frau.

Her sartorial choice led to intense debate with some saying it's inappropriate for the premier on an official visit, adding that it may diminish Thailand's image, while others praised her for her good and novel taste that turned out to be beautiful. The premier is known to be a fashionista.

The prime minister is on a European tour to Switzerland, Italy and Montenegro and is scheduled to return to Thailand today.