Victoria, Cheryl, Coleen, Alex, Abbey... this one's for you
“Even a dog gets better treatment than this,” huffed a 2006 Victoria Beckham (allegedly) when the private jet that had been chartered to take the singer back from a Swedish football match had been delayed. With Cheryl, Coleen, and Abbey teetering behind, Posh, as she was still known, was off to Baden-Baden, the sleepy German resort town which played host to the WAGs and their families during the World Cup.
By day, the WAGs made international headlines with £57,000 shopping sprees and morning runs in full glam – Jimmy Choos click-clacking about the cobbled streets in well-heeled, military formation. By night, there were stories of entire magnums of champagne being enjoyed through straws at local nightclub Garibaldi. Not to mention the karaoke renditions of Gloria Gaynor, which Alex Gerrard was said to lead. It was at the height of tabloid culture and Baden-Baden was its sexist, snobby zenith. And although the WAGs were cruelly branded “hooligans with Visas” by the press, their impact on British culture was like a thunderclap – a 2009 survey by More magazine found that 60 per cent of 21-25 year old women wanted to become a WAG.
It’s where VB was snapped wearing heels in a swimming pool, Cheryl Cole in a coterie of “oi mister” baker boy caps, and Coleen, almost always piled with shopping bags like a designer Buckaroo, told congregated reporters she’d just picked up “a few bits and pieces.” Between all the chunky belts, caramel extensions, and saucer sized sunnies, the WAGs cultivated an aesthetic enshrouded in gossip, wealth, and mobility. A look which would then be reflected back by thousands of young British women, swapping out the Birkins for Paul’s Boutique.
I miss peak WAG. pic.twitter.com/yQD0c2BDHV
— And I’m Victoria, Malcolm... ✌🏻🐑 (@husseybyname) June 13, 2021
There was, for a brief period of time, nothing more glam than the WAG aesthetic – all “jeans and a nice top” – its mass appeal owed in part to how easy it was to imitate. Think mini shorts, calf-high boots, and some kind of flouncy vest top. Low-rise denim, peep toe Louboutins, and a strappy cami. But always, always, with swamping sunglasses and a status bag dangling off the crook of an arm.
Unsurprisingly, Beckham and co’s dazzling antics were blamed for England’s poor performance in 2006. And since ex-England manager Fabio Capello effectively banned other halves from attending future football tournaments, the WAG’s dominance over culture has dwindled. Their influence still burns bright, however, with a new generation of Y2K-obsessed fashion fans taking over TikTok in looks heavily-indebted to era.
Now, with the Euros triggering memories of a golden era in Britain’s sartorial history, we take a deeper look at the remarkable fashion choices of our heritage 00 WAGs.
BIG SUNGLASSES, BIGGER BAG
The mid 00s era of Victoria Beckham was peak WAG. Nobody had bigger sunnies, nor shorter shorts, than the leader of the WAG pack herself. Often dwarfed by an enormous Birkin, this was long before Victoria had morphed into the muted Phoebe Philo-alike we know her as today. And while the cultural impact of WAGs could be seen throughout hometowns, they themselves were met with hostility within the fashion industry. It’s claimed that Tom Ford cried “Somebody stop her!” when he saw Victoria step out in Gucci while Burberry bosses allegedly scolded Christopher Bailey for being papped alongside her. Being “WAGGED” was, supposedly, every brand’s worst nightmare. A sentiment, unsurprisingly, rooted in classism. That a WAG was once a regular young woman from a working class background was not so much a trend as it was a fact. As such, the media framed their loud fashion as intrinsic to a lack of taste, culture, or refinement. When in reality, it was a reclaiming of space, an assertion of worth.
JUICY COUTURE TRACKIES
A single colour, velour, Juicy Couture tracksuit is, at this point, a totem of WAG culture. Here, Alex Gerrard, whose perfume Alex was a 2007 best seller, sports a hot pink iteration while shopping back home in Liverpool. Much like a permatan and a half head of extensions, the velour tracksuit was a regulation piece for these 00s icons, a commitment to 24/7 glam taken from the proponents of 90s style. For these women, it was never about looking “tasteful”, it was all about making an obvious effort. And that shameless artificiality is perhaps what makes the WAG so inherently authentic. So endearing. While British culture posits vagrant displays of money as vulgar – again, particularly within the working class – these young women, with their inordinate bank balances, are unapologetic in their wielding of wealth. So as much as the WAG was demonised for her spending and supposed reliance on a Premier League credit card, it was empowering to witness, subversive even. They had, quite literally, secured the bag.
BAKER BOY CAPS
One of the tabloids most beloved narratives during Baden-Baden was that of Girls Aloud member Cheryl Cole (who was technically still a Tweedy back then) and Victoria Beckham’s burgeoning friendship. Also blossoming over the course of the tournament, however, was Cheryl’s collection of early 20th century hats, which she’d often parade for match day. A notoriously hard piece to style, Cheryl houses her baker boy cap alongside the standard WAG staples – sparkly vest top, low slung jeans, and pristine french tips. You see that slight angle it’s perched at? It’s off kilter, broody, very Kate Moss at Glasto. Cheryl knows that the WAG is nothing without a statement accessory and though her reference points – chimney sweeps, newsboys, and Edwardian pickpockets – may be unusual, it’s probably what won her that precious seat next to fashion cognoscente Victoria.
#FBF to that time when Victoria Beckham and @CherylOfficial were going out in Baden Baden during the World Cup 2006 ❤ pic.twitter.com/z8Dl5YjXX0
— lilcoco (@PopInTheSky) July 10, 2015
ROBERTO CAVALLI DRESSES
It was Victoria Beckham who allegedly introduced Cheryl to Roberto Cavalli, whose Strictly Come Dancing dresses – in all their thigh slits, garish colourways, and flowing chiffon – became eponymous with the mid 00s. This was, of course, just before the Hervé Leger bandeau took its hold, just before the Kardashians, and long before Instagram. It means that, looking back, there’s more than just nostalgia at play – there’s something tangibly analogue, almost anti-fashion about revisiting WAG style.
Petition to bring back the Baden-Baden wags of 2006 #ENGCRCpic.twitter.com/KrnDIMMxLs
— Clodagh's Smashed Teapots (@rob_simm) June 7, 2018
JEANS AND A NICE TOP
Looking like a “Here Come The Girls” advert for Boots, this is the WAG pantheon in full force. Missing only their signature amulet – the chunky belt. Spot the peep toe Louboutins, the bulky bracelets, the mini quiffs. The WAGs, as evidenced, were the OG purveyors of the “jeans and a nice top” staple of British nights out. Although the previous slide, with its drop waist dresses, corsetry, and slinky fabrics have been appropriated across the runways of the past few seasons, these flouncy tops and bootcut denim are just as much a feature, albeit slightly ironically, on Depop and TikTok.
CRICKET
Long before she retrained in cyber, Colleen Rooney was catapulted into the spotlight at just 17 years old when she was papped walking home in her school parka, carrying a shopping bag emblazoned with “Cricket”. By 2018, she had been photographed by Robert Wyatt for British Vogue, snapped in Gucci and YSL. But Colleen, like all the other WAGs, were best known for their patronage of the Cricket boutique in Liverpool, where she’d purchase her trademark all-white looks and shrunken waistcoats (which would be paired with a chunky necklace and a wrist cuff, naturally). Come the evening, fitted flare dresses and peep toe Louboutin platforms were the de rigeur WAG look. Fast forward to 2007, the same year Colleen and her husband Wayne took to wedding hopping in a helicopter, and the Liverpudlian had been given her own reality TV show – a model search dubbed Colleen’s Real Women. It followed in the footsteps of WAG World, WAGs Boutique, and of course, Footballers’ Wives.
I miss peak WAG. pic.twitter.com/yQD0c2BDHV
— And I’m Victoria, Malcolm... ✌🏻🐑 (@husseybyname) June 13, 2021
Y2K ICONS
The WAG is truly a relic of contemporary history – there is simply no way she could exist today. Most of the red tops and tabloids that once captured their every move are no longer in circulation, Instagram would have diluted the demand for paparazzi coverage, and contemporary feminism (namely its cosying up to capitalism) would not allow for a group of women to be known merely for their association to their partners. Plus, we have the Kardashians. But just as culture killed the WAG, it will learn to love them again – in much the same way it has embraced other misogynistic stereotypes – like the bimbo, or the hapless hun. And, between the behemoth Y2K revival and Collen Rooney’s sleuthing, it won’t be long before the WAG’s impact on style will circle back around.