I don’t claim to know much about football, but what I do know is that it’s a source—a rich tapestry in fact—of iconic fashion and beauty looks. Yes, we had David Beckham’s hair bands, and nowadays the perfect curtain bangs of Manchester City’s Jack Grealish, but a golden era of female beauty came and went during the ’90s and early ’00s. It’s when the WAGS were really giving.
Say what you like about the wives and girlfriends of football players at that time, but their luminous tans and high-octane highlights were pretty much perfection. We laugh now—of course, we do—because a “natural” look is de rigueur, but back then over-plucking your eyebrows was cool! Ultra-glam everything was cool! We did the Macarena at parties, guys. Anything went.
In fact, I would argue that things haven’t actually changed that much. The WAGs of today are just as polished and preened as the likes of Victoria Beckham, Abbey Clancy, Cheryl Cole, and Coleen Rooney were back then—we’re just more likely to see them on Instagram or TikTok and not beside the pitch. Big bombshell blow-outs have made their return, and our love of bronzer is eternal—not to mention the fact that the French manicure is one of the hottest nail trends of the past few years. Don’t knock a WAG beauty signature until you’ve tried it.
And, as the Euros 2024 kicks off, it’s a great time to reminisce over some excellent age-old WAG beauty moments—enjoy.