Victoria Beckham has always been an undisputed style icon. In the ‘90s, she carved out an iconic look as Posh Spice, centring around little black Gucci dresses and a blunt bob (or ‘pob’ if you will). Her style evolved in the ‘00s as she entered her WAG era, full of giant sunglasses and microscopic hemlines. However, since launching her eponymous fashion brand, the former Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer has entered her most elevated iteration yet, embracing pared-back silhouettes, clean lines and simple colour palettes.
As her new three-part Netflix documentary series Victoria Beckham explores, Victoria's style journey has been years in the making and full of valuable lessons. While she may be applying these learnings in her business, ensuring the success of her label's biggest Paris Fashion Week show to date, we're taking notes and implementing them in our own wardrobes. Below, find some of Victoria's best style lessons, as seen in the documentary.
Know your body
During episode one, Victoria recalls being invited into Versace to select an outfit to wear to attend the brand's fashion show. “I remember trying on the dress, looking in the mirror and saying to someone in the store, ‘I really like the dress, but, how about let's tighten it here, shorten it here...’ I basically redesigned the whole dress. I really can't believe I did that. So rude,” she tells the camera.
Donatello Versace makes an appearance in the documentary, conceding that the dress did look better on Victoria with the alterations she made.
From getting dressed in the morning to going shopping, finding clothes you like and want to wear is a far easier experience when you know what will look good on you, even before you've tried it on. But, to know what will suit, flatter and fit you, you have to have a good understanding of your body.
Don't underestimate the power of clothing
“I started by creating clothes that I wanted to wear,” Victoria recalls of her initial design process. “Something that made me feel good, made me feel strong and ultimately like the best version of myself.”
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It's a valuable lesson in how your clothing can have an impact on the way you're feeling. If you feel good in your clothes, your body language and mentality will reflect that. Similarly, an outfit you're uncomfortable in will inevitably change the way you act, feel and even think. Don't just throw on any old thing; make sure you're dressing with intention.
Use your clothes to be the person you want to be
“Throughout my life, I've used clothes to become someone else, be the person that I always wanted to be, that maybe naturally I wasn't,” Victoria says. Take Posh Spice's iconic little black Gucci dress, for example. Victoria wanted to be seen as ‘someone’ within the fashion industry, the type of person who regularly shopped at designer labels. But actually, her little black dress was from Miss Selfridge – a true high street bargain.
She revealed the dress's origins back in 2014, saying at the time, “The first dress that I wore in the Spice Girls, which everybody thought was a little black Gucci dress, was actually from Miss Selfridge. It wasn't a little back Gucci dress.” People assumed, based on the image she had constructed for herself.
As for how you can apply this mentality IRL, one situation would be attending a job interview dressed the part, even though you haven't been hired yet. You know the saying, dress for the job you want.
Take fashion risks and have fun
“Look, it was fun. I look at those pictures and I smile,” Victoria says in defence of her WAG era. “I didn't realise it at the time, but I was trying to find myself.” That involved wearing audacious outfits that made headlines, something the designer confesses was due to an element of attention-seeking.
It's a sentiment Victoria's friend, actress Eva Longoria, echoes in reference to some of Victoria's past outfits. “When you're younger, you're like ‘F**k it, I'm gonna take all these fashion risks’ and you can, and it's fun,” the actress says, making an appearance in the first episode. Ultimately, fashion is all about having fun, and you can only find your unique style through trial and error. Luckily, we don't have to do it on a public stage like Victoria did.
Ignore what people say about you
“I became so self-conscious. People thought I was that miserable cow that never smiled, and they weren't wrong,” Victoria shares of how the heavy media criticism, particularly during the early 2000s, affected her.
We say ignore the haters! If something makes you feel good, comfortable and confident, you should wear it no matter if anyone disagrees.
Don’t drink red wine when you’re wearing white
Victoria offers plenty of practical fashion tips throughout the documentary, too. During episode one, we see her and David getting ready to attend a royal dinner earlier this year. For the occasion, Victoria wore an ivory floor-length gown from her eponymous brand. Coming downstairs to get ready to leave, David can be seen offering her a glass of red wine and a Wispa. While Victoria refuses the chocolate (candidly saying, “I haven't touched chocolate since the ‘90s. Not gonna start now”), she does take the wine but worries about spilling it in the car.
The solution? Transferring it to a reusable bottle with a straw that we see David carrying as they walk out the door. Yep, sometimes red wine isn't worth the risk!
It’s never too late to change your style
“I have been witness to many transformations of Victoria,” Eva Longoria says to the camera during episode one. And it's true. If the documentary shows us one thing, it's how much Victoria's style has evolved over the 30 years she's been in the spotlight. Proving, it really is never too late to change your look or completely overhaul your image.
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Alexandria Dale is the Digital Fashion Writer at Cosmopolitan UK. Covering everything from the celebrity style moments worth knowing about to the latest fashion news, there’s nothing she loves more than finding a high street dupe of a must-have designer item. As well as discovering new brands, she’s passionate about sustainable fashion and establishing the trends that are actually worth investing in. Having worked in fashion journalism for six years, she has experience at both digital and print publications including Glamour and Ok!
