Victoria Beckham appears in the November issue of Glamour as one of the magazine’s Women Of The Year. Although it’s only a fashion magazine, this is right up Victoria’s alley as far as honors are concerned. She has worked her tiny tush off to build some fashion cred, and I still remember the days when we heard rumors about major designers being upset that she wore their clothing. Those were likely cruel tales that simply poked fun at Posh’s former WAG lifestyle. If I was her, I’m not sure that I would have voluntarily picked away at a fashion career. She’s never claimed to design her own line herself, but she’s very involved in the process. On top of raising four kids, that sounds perfectly exhausting. In these few excerpts, Victoria talks about finding confidence and building her dream career even though she’s never been the best at anything:
On finding her personal girl power: “I did have to find myself and my confidence. I want to make other women feel like the best version of themselves. That’s the same message as the Spice Girls. It’s still Girl Power.”
On her work ethic: “Nothing ever came naturally to me. I was never the cleverest, never best at anything. But we always tell our children that if you work hard and believe in yourself, you can do what you want.”
Anna Wintour on Posh: “Women respond to her clothes because she lives a life that they understand. She’s an incredibly busy woman, she’s the mother of four kids, she’s very much a partner to David, and the clothes recognize that. She’s making clothes for women who are working, traveling, balancing, juggling all sorts of things at the same time.”
[From Glamour]
She’s so self-deprecating, but I think a lot of people can relate to her busy lifestyle, just like Anna Wintour says. It’s also interesting that Wintour chimed in when Victoria has pretty much been dying for a Vogue cover for years. Now, do women really buy the Beckham line of clothing because they identify with Posh? Probably not, but it’s a nice thought. Anyway, I like that Victoria doesn’t have a massive ego about her talent. She knows she’s never been the best singer, dancer, or designer, and that’s okay. She’s still killing it in the career department.
Photos courtesy of WENN
Yeah, we know.
If it wasn’t for the Spice Girl money, she’d be an ordinary Vicky. She is still not the best in music or fashion. Her fashion design is so terrible, it can only be worn by anorexic thin models.
I have to disagree. I believe that yes, it’s nothing new or extraordinary, but it’s for all tastes, shapes and sizes. You rarely see some weird shape or something that most of is don’t have the body or the guts to wear. Boring, yes, but it fits all kind of women.
There are too many very thin models who are not anorexic.
Victoria’s clothes do fit several body shapes, you just have to try and evaluate.
no, just no. Even though vb is very thin her clothes actually look really good on curvier women.
I like her clothes. They’re not adventurous, they aren’t art in the way people like McQueen’s was/is, but they are eminently wearable. Especially for curvy women, in fact.
I also admire someone who wasn’t born brilliantly gifted, but has worked this hard to be a success, anyway.
oops.
Can’t agree with that, she’s dressed Oprah, Jennifer Lopez, Kate Winslet… she knows how to highlight a curvier figure.
+1
I like a lot of her fashion because I like the clean lines and cuts, but I don’t think I’d ever really say that I identified with her (even if I could afford to buy the clothes, lol). I mean, she “struck it rich” by being a Spice Girl and then married one of the most famous footballers in the world. Not to take away from what she’s done with her brand / her life, but she got a huuuuuge head start compared to other designers.
I like her. She is self made. She married a gorgeous man and made pretty babies. I’m an edgy kind of a woman and admire those who are similar. Oh Lord, does that make me an egomaniac. Damn too early….
It’s fine, just don’t do the same pose for pictures.
Huh? Victoria Beckham is far from “edgy” like her or not.
Me too – have always liked her, she’s always been the more sane and down to earth of all Spice Girls (plus Mel C). She’s found her niche in fashion and i like her designs.
She and David have raised their kids right – that family is very normal and down to earth. All the kids are soo cute.
@Nancy – I like her clothes too. But iirc she grew up in an upper middle class household and that her parents are still wealthy. So in my mind she does not qualify as ‘self-made’. But she certainly seems to be working hard to build her fashion brand. And I like her message to Glamour’s teen readers. FYI, I know I read somewhere that Glamour is now primarily a teen magazine whereas it used to be popular with twenty-somethings.
I hated the Spice girls when they were big, because I was a hardcore punker back in those days and her wag-lifestyle made me dislike her the most, but having grown up and mellowed out I’ve really started to like her. Her interviews make her seem like a kind, self-deprecating person, she works hard and her kids appear to have been raised well. I still think it’s a shame Kim K. got a Vogue cover and Victoria didn’t.
yeah, it really is a shame that Anna will stoop to featuring THAT (which, let’s be real, she’d never have got if it wasn’t for Kanye) but not Victoria, who has achieved far more in her own right.
The Glamour Woman of the year award is a pretty huge accolade in Europe and South Africa, though it’s “just a fashion magazine”. I appreciate how it recognises women across the board and not just “fashion people”.
I personally like her line. It’s along the lines of what I normally wear minus the price tag. And though I don’t know what sizes her line is sold in, the designs would be flattering to most sizes.
Same here. I love her line just wish i could afford it.
I like her clothes. I like simple, clean, non-fussy. Could never afford them unless they end up in a consignment shop, though.
I like what she says, and I like the advice she gives her kids. You don’t have to be the “best” at something to be successful.
I agree. For someone who could have done nothing but look pretty for the rest of her life, she seems to really work hard. Being a Spice Girl was no doubt a barrier to be taken seriously, and yet I think a lot of people do take her seriously because of her work ethic. And I do like some of her clothes.
The advice she gives her kids? Look at Brooklyn, he could be in school (working hard), but instead he’s a model, not because of his looks, but because of who his parents are. Nepotism at its best.
Huh? School isn’t everyone’s jam nor is college. Pretty sure Victoria and David made Brooklyn work a minimum wage cafe job for extra pocket money. Neopotism will always exist but it’s not like they don’t try to instill other values in their kids. A leg up is just that…it’s what you do with it that matters
Brooklyn didn’t have that cafe job for long, he can’t hold down a job like that while flying to and from LA and London every other week.
Is Brooklyn the model and thought it was the middle one?
Brooklyn (and all of them) are in school. David was on one of the late-night shows and he talked about dropping him off and embarrassing him in front of his friends by yelling out “Brooklyn I love you!!”
Romeo has done modeling for Burberry but it’s not a full-time thing. The family goes to LA for the summer but that’s when school isn’t in session.
I think someone says above that she struck it lucky by marrying one of the most famous footballers in the world – I think a lot of people forget that David Beckham didn’t really become mainstream famous until he got with Victoria and became brand Beckham. He got lucky by marrying one of the Spice Girls – one of the most famous girl bands in the world.
Excellent point! And I think her message is one more kids should hear – this wasn’t easy, I worked hard. Hard work is just as important, maybe even more so, than talent.
Spot on Danielle. Whatever her advantages now VB had a very ordinary upbringing, but she has worked her tail off to get where she is. She has also had to deal with some tough lows in her marriage, and has made that work when others would have thrown in the towel. You have to admire her persistence.
She may not be the best at anything, but she is certainly the best at being HER.
More power to her I say, and I could eat her little girl with a spoon!
Maybe in America where football isn’t so popular. But in Europe, Victoria will always be best known for being David’s wife.
Most people in America (the people I know, at least) know her primarily as David Beckham’s wife, too.
not back in 1997 when they first got together, though. He was the rising up-and-comer, and she was very much the bigger star, being a Spice Girl and all.
People equate her success to her being on the Spice Girls and being Married to DB, but hey, how many wags, pseudo-celebs, singers-turned-designers have failed having the same formula or even better starting ground?
I can’t knock her hustle.
I like her clothes, I think what AW said perfectly sums up her style. I’m a designer and I really, REALLY like clean design, and her design aesthetic even if she’s not the one doing it from scratch. She has a very clear signature. Which doesn’t mean I would buy her stuff, I cannot afford it, but can’t blame the woman for having a niche market!
This woman has grown on me. While I do worry that she may pass some of neurosis about food on to her daughter apart from that she seems sweet, is hard working and has a beautiful family in that they seem quite connected and support each other.
Anna Wintour is still dissing her. Who buys clothes from a designer because they identify with them??? People buy designer clothes because they are drawn to the style or want the “brand recognition” (i.e. they are label whores.) She couldn’t even say that they clothes are well made, which I have heard others state of VB’s line.
I just looked at the collections on her website, and while I like a lot of the clothing: all of the models look SO MISERABLE! They must be hungry.
I love Victoria.
Me too. I just adore her. She’s my fake celebrity bff. I think she’s the genuine article.
I like her too. I like that she attributes her success to hard work (whether that’s true or not, who knows). Her and David seem to have a really nice family together. In public, the kids are well behaved and lovely.
I’m not a big Victoria Beckham fangirl, but I have to give her props for being honest without making it sound like a humble brag. Out of all the Spice Girls, she is the one who seems to have the biggest “charmed life” image, with the impression that everything came naturally and easily and was always glamorous, so the fact that she can get up and admit that the perfect image came as a result of hard work and she wasn’t just living a glossy, magazine cover (not that there probably hasn’t been a lot of that too, of course) was refreshing.
I don’t know, I never had the feeling she’s had things easily handled to her, even with if her life seems like the ultimate capitalist dream. She always came off as someone who struggled.
I don’t identify myself in her, but her dresses are made for women that’s true! I watch them and I think “I would totally wear this”. It’s not something too audacious, or high fashion.
What does she mean when she says she was never the best at anything? She’s a hugely successful businesswoman, that counts!
She certainly wasn’t the best Spice Girl.
I agree with her message but keep in mind that she came from money. I believe she’s a hard-working woman but she also had all the advantages.
I want that coat she is wearing!
I actually admire her she made a really good life for herself. She is self made and not pretentious and is quite grounded. I like the simplicity of her clothes and she always comes across genuine her in interviews.
“She’s never claimed to design her own line herself, but she’s very involved in the process” – Just because she has described how she is terribly bad at drawing, and instead directs a designer trained in drawing on what she wants, it does not mean that she does not design her own line. You make her sound like one of those celebs putting their name to hideous hair extensions or a shoe line that they had nothing to do with the actual design of. Victoria absolutely designs all her stuff herself.
While nepotism may play a part in her kids getting modeling jobs, they sure are a gorgeous lot. I bet all four of their children could have had modeling careers on their own (i.e., if their parents weren’t famous). Maybe they wouldn’t be modeling for Burberry, but they’d probably still be successful. Plus, I’m okay with nepotism in modeling. The main skill is being beautiful. This is far more palatable to me than some CEO giving their children cushy jobs they’re barely qualified for.
Actually, the main skill is to photograph well and having an specific bone structure.
That’s very inspiring!
And it’s probably not that women identify with Posh herself, but a life where one is actually doing things… instead of lolling around a Manhattan loft and going to lunches and parties to look fabulous. they’re more people clothes? dunno
Boo hoo! Cry me a river!