Victoria Beckham telling LA women not to wear tracksuit bottoms

**TheMoog** · July 16th, 2007, 02:57 AM

Posh risks upsetting neighbours by telling LA women not to wear tracksuit bottoms

If Victoria Beckham thinks she is going to be able to acquire new girlfriends effortlessly among Hollywood's showbusiness elite, she should think again.

Just a few days after setting foot on American soil, the self-styled fashion icon may already have alienated vast swathes of the country's female celebrity population by criticising their tatty dress sense.
Mrs Beckham, who has already herself been targeted by US commentators for being over-styled and arrogant, used her first American newspaper interview to bemoan American actresses' penchant for dressing down in tracksuit bottoms and Ugg boots.
Scroll down for more...

Shock: Posh was spotted wearing a tracksuit in public at Heathrow Airport in April 2003

In the interview in the LA Times, Victoria first defended her own dress sense, saying: 'I don't want to change the way I dress. This is me, and if people like it - great. I get quite bored with the way people look the same all the time, with the same make-up and the same outfit, and the same kind of hair. I like to change things around quite a bit.'
Then speaking about the paparazzi pictures of Hollywood stars she has seen on the pages of glossy magazines, she went on: 'They dress down quite a lot here, don't they?. It seems to be in keeping to go to Starbucks in tracksuit bottoms and Ugg boots.'
Scroll down for more...

Fashion faux pas: Pamela Anderson (left) and singer Pink commit the ultimate 'crime' by sporting tracksuit bottoms

She went on: 'I have one pair [of tracksuit bottoms] for non-photographic opportunities only. Underground car parks are fine, but aside from that, no.'
While the public and media have given her husband David a fantastically warm reception, the same cannot be said of the luke warm welcome Victoria has had. And comments like these certainly will not endear her to Hollywood's women.
What the Spice Girl has clearly failed to notice in a town which is wall-to-wall with stars, is that none of them feel the need to dress up just to go to the coffee shop - like she clearly does. The dressing up in Hollywood is usually saved for dressy occasions - like the Oscars or Emmys for example.
On a daily basis, the biggest names can be seen happily slouching around in the very tracksuit bottoms and Ugg boots look Mrs Beckham is complaining about.

In the last few months alone Penelope Cruz, Lindsay Lohan, Eva Longoria, Nicolette Sheridan, Pamela Anderson, Charlize Theron, Paris Hilton, Kirsten Dunst, Jessica Simpson, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Demi Moore, Britney Spears and Pink have all been photographed in Los Angeles wearing just that look.
Scroll down for more...

Dressing up: Posh says 'no' to wearing relaxed sportswear in public but Eva Longoria (left) and Lindsay Lohan don't seem to care

And as the accompanying LA Times editorial points out: 'Unlike most celebs, she (Victoria) doesn't dress down in slouchy T-shirts, flip-flops and jeans. Beckham dresses, really dresses, for every occasion. Her wardrobe notes might read something like this: June 11: Opening pitch at the Dodgers game — short-shorts and debut of Dries Van Noten platform sneakers. Jan. 16: Dinner date with Katie at the Ivy — frilly organza Giambattista Valli dress, very ladylike. June 3: MTV Movie Awards — vintage zebra-print Azzedine Alaia mini with pink satin bra peeking out. So 1980s, so MTV.'
The LA Times journalist also goes on to describe how Mrs Beckham is wearing 'a mini-dress for a coming-to-L.A. interview' which is 'so short that you can't help but get the occasional glimpse of her pink panties'.
The article is sure to send ripples around Hollywood's fragile starry circles - and give America's chatshow hosts further ammunition.
Scroll down for more...

Pretty in Pink: Posh takes America by storm

Just last week, prior to the Beckham's arrival, Victoria was the butt of endless jokes for being too pouty, miserable and over-dressed.
Mrs Beckham also uses the interview to attempt to stamp her fashion credentials on the veteran showbusiness set. Speaking of her collection of clothes, she said that she has kept every outfit, handbag and pair of shoes she has ever worn.
'I would love to have a record of everything I wore on every occasion. If I wasn't so busy with the children I would love to do that.'
She also has hundreds of handbags - including dozens from Hermes. 'I think of them as an investment,' And someday, when I'm lucky enough to have a girl, I will pass them along to her.
The article also reveals that Mrs Beckham plans to bring out a new version of her style bible That Extra Half Inch to help America's wayward stars to dress properly.
In the meantime, she says she is working on her own line of jeans and sunglasses which will be stocked in stores across LA.
'This is just the beginning,' she says of her fashion exploits. 'I want to still be doing this in 20, 30, 40 years' time. I was never going to be the best singer, dancer or actress. I worked hard at it and I did a pretty good job. 'But with fashion, I'm good at it.'

Posh risks upsetting neighbours by telling LA women not to wear tracksuit bottoms | the Daily Mail

**Dorahacky** · July 16th, 2007, 03:24 AM

STFU. That is all.

**sharon_b** · July 16th, 2007, 03:30 AM

grrr i started to like her a bit after watching the Jay Leno interview then she goes and says something stupid like this. I think this cartoon drawing i found in a newspaper sums her up correctly.

**aabbcc** · July 16th, 2007, 03:39 AM

If I wasn't so busy with the children I would love to do that.'

When exactly are you so busy with the children, Victoria? I'd really like to know.

**Novice** · July 16th, 2007, 07:41 AM

It doesn't sound so bad in the original interview....

A new diva in town

Victoria Beckham, the woman the world can't stop watching, is taking L.A. by storm.
By Booth Moore, Times Staff Writer
July 15, 2007

IT'S her first time going for drinks at the Chateau Marmont, but she negotiates the dark staircase up to the lobby like a pro, using the kind of sidestep one has to perfect when 4-inch Balenciaga heels are everyday footwear.

"Beckham, is it?" the bar hostess asks in a feeble attempt at acting nonchalant.

It's no use. There is just no way not to notice Victoria Beckham. She's dressed in a black bandage dress by Hervé Léger, her legs tanned the color of an Hermès Birkin. The pear-shaped diamond ring on her finger has to be the biggest bauble in Hollywood, or maybe it just looks like it on her child-size frame.

She strides into the garden, taking a table in the middle of all the action. Settling in for her first sit-down interview since her soccer stud husband signed a $250-million deal in January to play with the L.A. Galaxy, she orders a glass of Champagne and asks if it would be all right if she keeps her sunglasses on.

This week, the Beckhams and their three boys move into the $22-million, 13,000-square-foot Italianate house they bought in Beverly Hills. ("I didn't want anything too big and ostentatious," she says, by all indications being serious.) But for months, every detail of their arrival has been engineered to build buzz. The Beckhams hit the Oscar party circuit in February, then announced plans for a reality show in March, which Victoria began filming in May, popping up at the Grove, the Saddle Ranch Chop House and the Pleasure Chest sex shop — always with a film crew in tow and always in a head-turning get-up.

Unlike most celebs, she doesn't dress down in slouchy T-shirts, flip-flops and jeans. Beckham dresses, really dresses, for every occasion. Her wardrobe notes might read something like this:

June 11: Opening pitch at the Dodgers game — short-shorts and debut of Dries Van Noten platform sneakers.

Jan. 16: Dinner date with Katie at the Ivy — frilly organza Giambattista Valli dress, very ladylike.

June 3: MTV Movie Awards — vintage zebra-print Azzedine Alaia mini with pink satin bra peeking out. So 1980s, so MTV.

Her style isn't classic and it isn't driven by trends. It's daring, at times silly, and British at heart — think Princess Diana, who wore Moschino to meet the Italian president, Escada to Germany and Chanel to France, or the queen, with all those wonderful hats at Ascot.

Not that royal protocol would sanction a mini-dress for a coming-to-L.A. interview, especially a mini so short that you can't help but get the occasional glimpse of her pink panties. But Beckham is having a 1980s moment, inspired by her love of Léger, Alaia and British up-and-comer Christopher Kane, whose fluorescent bandage dresses were a hit at London Fashion Week in September.

"They dress down quite a lot here, don't they?" she asks. "It seems to be in keeping to go to Starbucks in track suit bottoms and Ugg boots."

Well, you can forget about that.

"I have one pair for non-photographic opportunities only. Underground car parks are fine, but aside from that, no."

"I don't want to change the way I dress," she says between nibbles of strawberries soaked in balsamic vinegar. "This is me, and if people like it, great."

But in many ways, she's already gone L.A. She's now highlighting her brown hair blond, launching her own denim line, promoting her own reality show, decorating a house in the hills, and gearing up for a reunion tour with her old band, the Spice Girls. Did she miss even one stereotype?

Well, she doesn't have a stylist — yet.

"I get quite bored with the way people look the same all the time, with the same makeup and the same outfit and the same kind of hair. I like to change things around quite a bit," she says, explaining that she works with stylists for magazine shoots only. But for personal appearances, "I prefer to do it myself."

Surprisingly, she comes off as pretty low-key. When we piled into her SUV with her driver, bodyguard and publicist to take the short ride from her manager's office to the Chateau, she dived into the way-back seat headfirst. A self-described "girl's girl," she has stick straight posture, knows exactly how to pose for a photo, and is quick to say she has to work at looking sexy.

She's worn nearly every designer you can think of and she's kept everything — the red Roland Mouret dress she wore to the Costume Institute ball at the Met, the white Alaia Academy Awards gown fitted by the master himself in Paris as a birthday present from David, even her Spice Girls costumes.

"Victoria is a true fashion lover," Mouret says. "She will never say 'no' to trying an outfit."

Hundreds of pieces will remain at her home outside London in a closet her friends compare to a Gucci store, with its shiny black fixtures and gray carpeting.

"I would love to have a record of everything I wore on every occasion. If I wasn't so busy with the children, I would love to do that." (The Beckhams have three sons, Brooklyn, 8, Romeo, 4, and Cruz, 2.)

At the house in L.A., she's made room for lots of jeans and handbags. She owns dozens from Hermès, including a fuchsia ostrich Birkin bought recently at auction. "I haven't ever used it," she says. "I think of them as an investment. And someday, when I'm lucky enough to have a girl, I will pass them along to her."

Her most sentimental piece is the original black dress she wore as a Spice Girl. "Everyone thought it was Gucci, but it cost about 20 pounds. Gucci got so much publicity from it, you'd think I would have at least gotten a bag," she says. The dress actually came from Miss Selfridge, a cheap chic chain in London.

Her first splurge was a pair of white sling-backs from Patrick Cox's Wannabe line. "I bought them with my sister. They were time-share shoes. I share everything with my sister."

During her time here she's been shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch at the Grove, Barneys and Kitson, "but it's been for work," she says, referring to the NBC show "Victoria Beckham: Coming to America," airing Monday at 8 p.m., which was produced by Simon Fuller, the "American Idol" creator who manages both Beckhams (and the Spice Girls before them). What were supposed to be six half-hour episodes have dwindled to a one-hour special because, she says, David got called back to play for England's national team and she wanted to be there to cheer him on.

Victoria Beckham, 33, has loved fashion since grade school.

"I tried to customize my school uniform, because I went to a very strict Church of England school. I used to get sent into the toilet every single day at school to take off my makeup and brush my hairspray out.

"My hair was so big in the 1980s," she continues, "I went to the theater once and the person behind asked if I could flatten my hair because they couldn't see."

Olivia Newton-John in "Grease" was an inspiration. "Remember when she wore those tight black satin trousers? One of my mom's friends promised me those and she never came up with the goods. I still look at her and say, 'You cow!' You should never promise a child something and not come up with it."

So she's designed a pair for the holiday collection of her dVb line.

But for now, she's launched only jeans — cut skinny, sometimes with fluorescent or metallic stitching, with a star or the dVb signature embroidered on the back pocket, at about $285 a pair. They're nothing remarkable, but they are being stocked at Saks Fifth Avenue, Henri Bendel and, of course, Fred Segal Fun and Kitson in L.A.

"They make the leg look long, and are thin enough around the knee and loose enough around the waist. They are flattering during the day, but you can put them with a heel and look good at night," she says.

Her sunglasses, in stores since April, are based on vintage styles inspired by Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Onassis and Farrah Fawcett. And now they're being worn by some of today's most stylish women, who happen to be Beckham's pals, including Katie Holmes, Elle Macpherson and Jennifer Lopez.

"This is just the beginning," she says. "I want to still be doing this in 20, 30, 40 years' time. I was never going to be the best singer or dancer or actress. I worked hard at it and I did a pretty good job. But with fashion, I'm good at it."

As Beckham pops another strawberry in her mouth, her enormous diamond scatters the California sunlight. The bill is already paid and the car is idling downstairs. All eyes are on her as she gets up to leave. Walking through the lobby, she steals a glance at the magazines on the newsstand. No Beckham covers, not today.
booth.moore@latimes.com
Sign Up

**TheMoog** · July 16th, 2007, 07:47 AM

"I have one pair for non-photographic opportunities only. Underground car parks are fine, but aside from that, no."

Maybe I'm being unfair to her, but it sounds like she is telling the women of LA their clothes are only fit for underground car parks where no-one will take their photo?

**Sweetie** · July 16th, 2007, 08:01 AM

I agree with her. I can see wearing that type of comfy clothes while your out every once in awhile, going to and from the gym, or if you are sick but other than that I think you should always try to look your best. I know, I am vain and feel you should look your best if at all possible.
Of course, I don't think you have to be dressed to a tee like she always is but I do feel the above looks are tacky.

**Bellatheball** · July 16th, 2007, 08:08 AM

Eh, she has a point. Everyone one of those girls shown looks a bit slobby. Shrugs.

**HWBL** · July 16th, 2007, 08:18 AM

Originally Posted by sharon_b

grrr i started to like her a bit after watching the Jay Leno interview then she goes and says something stupid like this. I think this cartoon drawing i found in a newspaper sums her up correctly.

BRILLIANT assessment in that cartoon!!!!

**Lucky32** · July 16th, 2007, 10:05 AM

That cartoon sums it up perfectly. I believe her plan is going to backfire. She is shoving herself down people's throats in an attempt to be loved and accepted by the American public. Had she kept quiet, I'm sure she would have been accepted more readily. Now people will fight it, cause' they don't like being told what to do. I also love how they stuck her robo tits in that cartoon.

**Grimmlok** · July 16th, 2007, 10:18 AM

There has been something said about the glamour of old hollywood lost, where the stars would dress up and BE glamorous and classy looking for the papers whenever they were shot.

The problem is, the paps were NEVER as voracious or as intrusive as they are now so when old hollywood got shot for the papers it was usually going to an event, at the event or leaving an event, where they would naturally be gussied up. It gave the illusion that they were faboo-glam all the time.

Being stitched into a corset and tottering around in high heels while pooper scooping after your prized Shar-Pei on a daily basis is just idiocy, even if the paps are fluttering around.