EMMA JOHNSON
I HAVE never been ‘up in court’. I have been in court a few times in my early days as a young reporter. Stressful days I like not to think about.
But, thankfully, I’ve never found myself having to take to the witness box to affect the outcome of my own or somebody else’s future.
Which is just as well because I don’t think my wardrobe is up to it. I appear to be seriously lacking in the sort of ‘take me seriously’ tailoring demanded.
Fortunately Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney have no such closet conundrums.
The footballers’ wives are currently making headlines as their infamous ‘Wagatha Christie’ saga reaches the High Court.
If you have somehow managed to avoid the whole drama, Rebekah, wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, is suing Wayne Rooney’s missus for libel after Coleen accused her of leaking stories to the press, following a social media ‘sting’ in 2019.
It is estimated the women have already spent almost £1m in legal fees between them.
They have also splashed a few quid on clothes by the looks of it, because the sombre neutral and navy ensembles we have seen the pair in this week are a far cry from the ‘look-at-me’ outfits we typically associate with wags – the oh-so charming term we have been using to denote the female-identifying other halves of high profile sports people since the mid-Noughties.
I can only imagine the hours of planning that went in to pulling together their outfits for day one of the trial.
And befitting two women whose husbands take home multi-million pound pay cheques, they did not come cheap.
Coleen’s power-shouldered black Mugler blazer is said to have cost £1,565, while she toted not one but two expensive-looking handbags. On the 36-year-old mum-of-four’s left foot was a £560 Gucci loafer – the right was encased in a medical boot, said to be due to a foot fracture.
Rebekah, meanwhile, appeared to be channelling the Duchess of Cambridge in an £890 navy dress from Canadian designer Edeline Lee, which she paired with £650 Gianvito Rossi white stilettos and oversized sunglasses.
The 40-year-old served up an even more expensive look on day two. She styled a long black belted £1,800 Prada dress with a £1,245 Alexander McQueen blazer and a £1,650 Givenchy black handbag.
Perhaps sensing pricy outfits may not play well with a public crippled by the cost-of-living crisis, the second day brought a change of tack from Coleen who stepped out in a monochrome £32.99 high street dress.
I felt the ‘I’m rich but I shop at Zara, just like you’ vibe was tempered somewhat by the Chanel flats.
With the trial set to run well into next week, it will be interesting to see what other looks the pair have up their designer sleeves.
I think it is unlikely we will see them aping each other’s outfits, as actress Amber Heard has been accused of doing to ex-husband Johnny Depp in their ongoing libel trial.
As for whether either woman will wear anything that makes me want to ‘order, order’, the jury’s out.