There was a time in the not-so-distant past when fashion was considered living room entertainment: back when Trinny and Susannah were categorising women’s bodies into fruit shapes, and Gok Wan was encouraging worn-out mothers to “put a belt on it” on prime time television. America’s Next Top Model was at its peak; Ugly Betty and The Devil Wears Prada were banking millions; and entire school trips’ worth of children were being taken to Birmingham trade centres for The Clothes Show Live. Meanwhile, the high street and all of its designer collaborations – Kate Moss’s beloved line for Topshop and Giles Deacon’s erstwhile New Look offering – was reaching its zenith. It was these people, these films and these products that functioned as spirit guides between fashion’s traditional gatekeepers – magazine editors and luxury designers – and everyday consumers, translating the glamorous hinterland documented on Fashion TV for regular folk at home.
These are the cultural circumstances from which Victoria Beckham’s long-forgotten style guide, That Extra Half an Inch, arose: a 400-page book that was first published in 2006 and includes a specific brand of nostalgic, Cosmo-girl prose: think, “cleavage-tastic”, and, “find me a woman who doesn’t love accessories!” and, “smellies”. Then a professional WAG with a denim line, Beckham assumes a been-there-done-that, mercifully unPR-ed tone of voice. “I have no qualifications to write this book other than a lifelong passion, which, combined with the extraordinary way in which my life has turned out, has given me the chance to wear some amazing clothes,” she says in the opening pages. “There are people out there who only wear clothes ‘because you have to’, or ‘because it’s cold.’ Be warned: this book is not for them!” she writes. “Fashion is how we express our personalities. Our way of saying, ‘This is who I am,’ sometimes even, ‘This is who I would like to be.’”
In other words, this book is a true pop culture time capsule. Just how much Victoria Beckham contributed to the ghost-written guide is unknown, though her comedic turns of phrase are an ambient presence: she thinks carrying heavy luggage around an airport will make one arm longer than the other, and recommends skinny jeans as the perfect outfit to wear on long-haul flights to ward off deep-vein thrombosis. Much of the advice she offers focuses on how to accentuate and hide parts of the body – avoiding the “flat bums” that certain trouser silhouettes create, for example – which is something fashion journalists have generally learnt to move on from, even if most people still shop for their shape. “I’m not a six-foot tall model and nor am I a pin-up for men,” Beckham insists. “In most respects I am very ordinary: smaller-boned than average, perhaps, but normal height, normal face, normal hair: the girl-next-door who got lucky.”
As Victoria Beckham celebrates her 50th birthday, here are 50 life lessons from That Extra Half an Inch that have aged almost (almost) as well as VB herself. “Because as every woman knows, that extra half an inch makes all the difference…”
1. Choose your icons
Educated in a stage school, Beckham said she had it drummed into her that grooming was everything from an early age: nails, hair, make-up, it all had to be perfect if you wanted to land that all-elusive gig as a member of the swing in a West End ensemble. Back then, she was just Victoria Beckham, but she had hinged herself on the eternal allure of classic fashion icons, like Grace Kelly, Jackie Onassis and Audrey Hepburn.
2. Second hand doesn’t mean second class
Don’t get it twisted: Posh Spice came about because of Beckham’s physical architecture only – the bob, the heels, the little black Gucci dress that was, in fact, Miss Selfridge. She said she still has that mini, despite it being worn to death, recommending that it’s best to make smart purchases on things that will last. Nothing, she states, is more expensive than something you wear just once. Second hand is not a synonym for second class, as anyone who has discovered vintage will understand.
3. Never hire a stylist
Beckham has never worked with a stylist – unless its for magazine shoots or her own label’s collections – and she never will. She makes it clear that she doesn’t want someone else to have all the fun. She is the author of her own look, much like when she was 14 and her mother would let her loose in C&A.
4. Put the boobs away
Beckham abides by the time-worn adage: legs or cleavage, but never both. In fact, it was Geri Halliwell that first schooled her fellow Spice Girls bandmate on this, imploring Beckham to “not let it all hang out”. Fashion, she says, is about feeling sexy and not inducing a riot.
5. Cut the label out
Much of Beckham’s fashion advice comes from surveying other people’s mistakes. She’s seen people squeeze into too-tight jeans for the sake of claiming ownership on a smaller dress size – but to what end? Cut the label out if wearing a size up leaves you feeling insecure. You’ll soon forget whatever number was printed onto that bit of fabric, she reiterates, when you realise how fantastic you look.
6. Never wear matching leather outfits
Of all Beckham’s supposed faux-pas, the most cringe-inducing – by her own admission – was turning up to a Versace party with husband David in matching Gucci outfits.
7. Treat your jeans like a Wonderbra
Remember: the primary function of a pair of jeans is to uplift your bottom with all the infrastructure of a Wonderbra.
8. Do (or don’t) channel Kate Moss
Beckham says Kate Moss can get away with some things that others just can’t – like sporting skinny-fit jeans and flats – so it’s best not to whittle yourself to someone else’s blueprint. She does, however, think that Moss is a leader in date-night fashion: simple vintage dresses and hastily-done hairdos. “Easy and fabulous!”
9. Do not flash your knickers
Among the various fashion grievances that Beckham outlines is being photographed falling out of Chinawhite with a G-string poking well above the waistband. “I don’t mind a bit of lingerie showing,” she says, “like a pretty bra strap under a vest top, or maybe even a peek underneath a dress or shirt (very Dolce & Gabbana), but that is very different from bending over in Piccadilly Circus and showing your thong.”
