ELIZABETH McGOVERN

If someone were to look into my wardrobe, they’d be appalled because I never throw anything away. There are clothes that have clearly been on the hanger for ten years. One of the jackets I’ve been wearing on tour was an Ann Demeulemeester black tuxedo circus jacket I bought in 1981. My earliest clothes memory is of a pink floor-length dress my granny made me for my confirmation. I was so thrilled. I remember thinking I was the cat’s meow. When I was little there was a lot of friction between my mother and me. She was very insistent that I should wear dresses and I wanted to wear what I call ‘pants’. There used to be a much greater divide between how you and your parents dressed. It would never have crossed my mind to go into my mother’s closet, but my daughters always help themselves. I should probably stop shopping in Topshop. My biggest fashion faux pas was a pair of gold Zoran trousers that I wore to my wedding party in New York. They were the only thing I could wear because the waist was elasticated and I was six months pregnant.

On my days off from Downton, I look like crap. I make absolutely no effort.

My early style icon was the hippie action hero Billy Jack from the 1970s film. I went as far as tie-dye T-shirts and ripped jeans. I depend a lot on my husband Simon [Curtis]’s fashion advice. He’s more style-conscious than me. I’ve been wearing a shimmery silver halter top that he bought me for when I’m performing with my band. Getting ready to film Downton is a lot easier now than it used to be. It used to take two hours and I would sometimes be wearing a corset for 12 hours while filming. It was torture. I think women did the right thing when we freed ourselves from the corset. The one thing I always have in my dressing room is my guitar. I used to jam with Michelle Dockery, Allen Leech and Tom Cullen. My best fancy dress outfit was my Woodstock look at Livia Firth’s birthday party. I wore a very short 1960s dress with a mod pattern and black tights and boots. If I’m lucky, I wear my husband to bed, but if I’m with the band on the road, I sleep in a cotton nightgown. Elizabeth McGovern’s band Sadie and the Hotheads’ new album is out on 10 March and they play Hammersmith Apollo on 16 March (sadieandthehotheads.com)