POST v NOT-SO POSH
After we revealed how Victoria Beckham and her sister run VERY different fashion boutiques, SARAH RAINEY tried out both. So which won – chic or cheap?
AS SISTERS go, they couldn’t be more different. one is a popstar-turned-fashion designer with a celebrity footballer for a husband, luxury homes in London and Los Angeles and a net worth estimated at £209 million.
The other is a twice married mum-offour who lives with her parents in a fourbedroomed house off the M25.
But as we revealed in the Mail a few days ago, Victoria Beckham, 41, and her sister Louise Adams, 39, have one interest in common: fashion.
For both own ladies’ clothing boutiques — Victoria’s in upmarket Mayfair and Louise’s in rural Hertfordshire.
At face value, the shops are about as unlike one another as their owners: Victoria’s is a flagship store for her global fashion empire, with heiresses and A- listers for customers, while Louise’s sells cut- price clothes to middle-aged locals.
But an undercover shopping trip to both revealed surprising similarities.
From shop assistants to security, price tags to popularity, we put the two Beckham boutiques head-to-head . . .
POSH’S MAYFAIR FASHION TEMPLE
First impressions
IT’S been dubbed a ‘temple of fashion’ — and on arrival at Victoria Beckham Ltd, on London’s Dover Street, it’s not hard to see why. The cream-fronted building has imposing columns down either side and the designer’s name is engraved above the door.
There’s no obvious way in. I stand outside for several minutes before realising that a solid-looking concrete block to the right is, in fact, a sliding door. Handles are clearly so last season.
On the door
THERE’S not one but two burly security guards, greeting customers with a smile that simultaneously welcomes you in and sizes you up.
Though tourists are encouraged — Posh admits she knows people visit ‘just to look’ — they’re here to stop unsavoury (or scruffy) types.
Absent owner
WHEN her flagship opened in 2014, Posh promised to be a hands-on proprietor. ‘I’ll be on the till, David will be on the door, with Brooklyn [the couple’s now 16-year-old son] as a Saturday boy,’ she said.
Disappointingly, there was no sign of any of the family when I visited this week. But shop assistant Katy tells me: ‘Victoria always pops in when she’s in London — we see her a lot.’
The neighbours
ROUND the corner from Buckingham Palace and The Ritz, Dover Street is home to a row of expensive clothing boutiques, art galleries and star-studded restaurants. Victoria’s shop, formerly a fishing supplier, is sandwiched between a Jimmy Choo shoe emporium and an antiques store.
Rent for the 7,000-sq ft space is said to be £267,000 a year.
Tempting wares
SILKS, cashmere, buttery leather and delicate lace — the clothes from Victoria’s 2016 Spring/Summer collection are a feast for the eyes.
There is a rainbow of colours, and styles to suit all tastes, including floaty dresses, fitted blouses and faded denims.
I linger over a knitted black dress for £660, try not to laugh at the prospect of spending £720 on pyjamas and covertly run my fingers over a £325 crisp white shirt. All hang from golden chains and there are no more than three of each item, most in a teeny-tiny size six.
Price tags
EXPECT to pay £200 to £300 for a pair of trousers, £150 to £350 for a blouse and upwards of £800 for a dress. Her signature shopper bag, made from python skin, costs £1,850, while a pair of 18-carat gold-mirrored sunglasses are £625.
The price tags, made from thick card, are tucked inside the clothes rather than on display, meaning you can’t cast a subtle glance before trying them on.
The most expensive item is a floor- length gown in green satin, costing £3,120, while the cheapest is a £150 card holder, handcrafted in Italy from calf skin and faux crocodile hide.
It’s just 9cm long — a staggering £16.60 per centimetre.
In the end, that’s all I end up buying.
Designer decor
DESIGNED by trendy British architect Farshid Moussavi, it’s more like an art installation than a shop. The floors are grey tile, the cabinets are all made from the same American walnut wood and everywhere you look there are mirrors.
‘A lot of work has gone into making it look quite minimal,’ Victoria explained.
It’s certainly that. So cavernous, in fact, that my footsteps echo as I walk. The concrete staircase between the three storeys proves so tricky to navigate that surely only nimble- footed Louboutin-wearers will be able to make it out unscathed.
Creating ambience
THE store’s signature scent comes from the £180 Feu du Bois candles by exclusive brand Diptyque dotted around the shop floor. I count at least £1,000 worth of burning wax.
There’s a chirpy pop soundtrack and several of the assistants are surreptitiously tapping their feet.
It’s not warm — I keep my coat and scarf on and still leave with numb hands.
Smiling staff
My RECEPTION is far less chilly. There are no fewer than six assistants, four male and two female, all young, trendy and impeccably dressed in black and white.
The 100 staff across the brand have been handpicked by Victoria and they’re friendly, knowledgeable and polite.
But this is not a place for browsing alone. I’m pounced upon near the door by an eager salesman, while another follows me upstairs and loiters at my heels.
If a shopper is deemed particularly special — I wasn’t — they’ll offer you a glass of Champagne.
Changing rooms
SAID to be Victoria’s favourite area, the changing rooms are separated from the shop by a green glass wall.
Inside, they’re bigger than my kitchen — acres of soft grey carpet, flattering mirrors and a bench (chiselled from that same walnut again).
‘They are very, very generous,’ admits Victoria. ‘Whenever I’m shopping, I always have at least one child, and I need somewhere to put the shopping bags.’
Busy day?
APART from an elderly couple,