Victoria Beckham’s new fashion bible is soon to hit shelves. Women’s editor Maria Cusine takes a peek at her top ten commandments for looking fabulous. Some women would love to be her while others loathe her, but there’s no denying Victoria Beckham is one of the biggest fashion icons of the 21st Century. So it’s no surprise the former Spice Girl has penned a style guide giving us her tips on looking fashion fabulous. And it appears women who love to shop have a lot more in common with Victoria than we’d ever have thought.
OK, we may not have the millionaire lifestyle and one of the world’s top footballers for a husband, but ones thing’s for sure, we love clothes.
I love mine so much that I hate throwing any of them away. And it seems Mrs Beckham feels the same way about her outfits.
“Clothes work like a scrapbook of your life,” she says in her new fashion bible. “Which is why I have kept virtually everything I’ve ever worn.”
Passion
Well if we all lived in a house the size of Beckingham Palace I don’t suppose we’d struggle to find room to keep every outfit we ever possessed.
Victoria admits she has no qualifications to write a book on fashion other than a lifelong passion.
It’s that passion, as well as an insight into the fashion world and her own tips, which she is now sharing with women.
But as well as offering fashion advice, the book provides us with another insight into the life of Victoria Beckham. From her Posh days in the Spice Girls, to her dates with David Beckham and then to marriage and motherhood, she reveals that she has loved fashion since the age of 14 - when her mother let her loose in C&A.
It has to be said she does offer some interesting tips, although much of her fashion advice is common sense. We know it would be silly - and a tad chilly - to go out knickerless as she advises women to be aware of mini-skirts. We know we should cover up on our “fat” days - of course, we wonder if she ever has had a bloated day.
“My book is not an attempt to tell women what not to do, it’s just to share some of what I have learned.”
And the title of the book, That Extra Half an Inch, does not refer to anything as saucy as it suggests. It actually refers to her shoes. It covers everything from Haute Couture to High Street and describes itself as a guide to looking your best.
Victoria tells us how to find the perfect jeans as well as telling us how we should wear trousers, cords and shoes. She offers tips on finding the most flattering skirts and day dresses for your figure and also tells us which tops work best with what. She may be pictured in body-hugging designer gowns, but jeans are the thing she pretty much lives in.
“Jeans are probably what I’m happiest wearing,” she says.
“They’ve got so much better since the 80s and 90s, but that doesn’t mean they are fail safe. They’ve got trickier because there are so many possible styles around, and no one style is going to suit everyone.”
Flattering
So low-slung is more flattering on short waisted girls while high waisted are good if you want your legs to look longer. “The ideal pair of jeans is flattering, comfy and sexy, and that tends to mean blue and boot-cut.”
And she also advises - if we can afford it - to have one pair of jeans for heels and one for flats.
“With heels, the bottom should just skim your toes as that will give a good couple of inches to your legs. “Obviously if your jeans are long enough for heels, they are going to drag a bit with flats but that really doesn’t matter - we’ve all got used to seeing raggedy hems from everyone treading on the back of their jeans.”
Moving on to trousers in general, she reminds us to “always” check for VPL before leaving the house.
She says the trick is to buy trousers that are flat-fronted and sufficiently roomy at the front, even going up a size if necessary.
We may not have her millions, but what we can have is style.
“Fashion is about looking like you,” she says - and I, for one, agree.
l What are your top fashion tips? Are you a Victoria Beckham or more of a Vera Duckworth in the style stakes? Share your tips with us. Contact m.cusine@expressandstar.co.uk or call 01902 319282.
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