Victoria Beckham gets a lot of stick, and I fully expect this to be a bit of a controversial choice, but truth is I’ve been a fan of Victoria Beckham since her Spice Girl days. I think you can probably tell that from this picture taken while getting ready to go out on New Years Eve in 1997!

Truth is that despite her sulky, pouty, stupid reputation, everytime I have seen or heard Victoria Beckham being interviewed she has come across as funny, intelligent, warm and friendly. And, of course, she has a killer wardrobe.

I mean, if I had several million pounds I would have a killer wardrobe too, but what I like is that most of the time I don’t get the feeling that Victoria Beckham owes her look to a stylist.

She makes mistakes and experiments, just like the rest of us, except no one is following me to document my epic fashion failures in excruciating detail on film. This matchy matchy grey military outfit, complete with cap, for instance, is a little too much for my taste. Ok, a lot too much.

Despite her reputation for never repeating an outfit and being an icon of disposable fashion she has a couple of times been photographed in repeat outfits, leaving vintage stores and admitted to shopping in Oxfam and Claires Accessories.

Over all her lifestyle might have the Carbon Footprint of a small developing nation. But I think that the image and idea of Victoria Beckham and who she is has started to overtake the reality, and that’s that she’s a normal girl who got lucky, made a lot of money and loves to shop.

I’ve nominated her as a Retro Chick Style Icon as I love her classic style with a twist, and I love that she’s not afraid to experiment, even in the glare of the paparazzi cameras. I do think that she’s often far too thin, but so are most models and celebrities, that doesn’t stop me admiring their style, their determination, or their dignity in the face of a whole lot of bad, and often incredibly insulting press.