Straight off the bat I have to admit one thing. For years, I have had the biggest girl-crush on presenter/journalist/style icon/fellow beef Hula Hoops lover Claudia Winkleman and I feel massively miffed about everyone jumping on the Claude train because I don’t like to share.
My Claudia is now so famous her signature look – OTT turtle-necks, smudged kohl pencil, finger-less mittens, white lip-stick and Iron Bru tan – has been endlessly dissected, discussed and duped by serious fashion journalists.
While she’s worn some cracking combos – jumpers embellished with squirrels and a disco fringe gold kaftan – on her other presenting gigs ‘The Piano’ and ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, Claudia’s elevation from hilarious telly person to serious style icon owes everything to the Princess Anne with bondage buckles ensembles worn to crank up the dramatic tension on The Traitors (BBC1).
This season (series 3) featured her finest fashion moments yet. When she sashayed out of The Traitors’ castle in tweed, Spanx, suede and wedge-heels, the contestants were not the only ones screaming ‘Oh my god, oh my god – it’s Claudia.’
And just like that 24 outfits from The Traitors spawned thousands of column inches, fawning blog posts (guilty) and in-depth discussions on Mumsnet about how to imitate Claudia’s countrywoman look without looking like something ‘put in top field to scare t’crows.’ (thanks for that image Mumsnet contributor NunyaBeeswax).
‘Hi Claudia’ – a brief introduction to the woman behind the fringe
Claudia may be this year’s muse for the ‘older fashionista’ (a term I’m stealing from celeb stylist Caroline Baxter who coined it when asked which age group has fallen hardest for Claudia’s clothes) and she is also the saviour of certain fogey-ish fashion staples like the kilt, the fingerless glove and the cape but you should not say this to her face.
Claudia is notoriously, adorably humble.
If there’s one thing Claudia hates more than a gelatinous soft-boiled egg (in Claudia’s home, they have to be hard boiled), it’s flattery. Praise her and she’ll instantly deflect it. Say you enjoy her clever retorts and she’ll counter with clever retort laced with self-deprecation.
‘What I do is not hard,’ she told journalist Sarah Carson in January. ‘It’s just reading out loud.’
Sarah, a culture editor, promptly dismisses this modesty. She dubs Claudia ‘The last great TV presenter.’
‘Her self-deprecation is charming, but it’s codswallop,’ Sarah observes. ‘Because Winkleman’s reign over British television is no stroke of luck.’
Claudia (53), is the daughter of tabloid powerhouse Eve Pollard and publisher Barry Winkleman (they split when she was three). Claudia grew up in Hampstead, London, surrounded by clever, bookish people and it’s clear this was a ‘noisy household’ which championed wit and intellect above beauty.
Tellingly, there were no mirrors in the house.
“My parents brought me up to believe that appearance was not the thing,” Claudia told Style Magazine in 2010.
‘What you had to do was go to dinner and be funny or interested or, finger’s crossed, interesting.”
There are still no mirrors in the London home she shares with husband of 25 years Kris Thykier, a film producer, and their three children Jake (21), Matlida (18), and 13-year-old Arthur as ‘appearance is a waste of time, it’s not the least bit important’.
Claudia has a genuine aversion to vanity. She will slip into bashful denial should anyone attempt to praise her wit, wisdom or beauty. This is a woman who really doesn’t want to be defined by how good she looks in a blazer.
She also tries very, very hard to avoid coming across as a try-hard.
‘I don’t drink but my whole shtick, if you like, is ramshackle and a bit ‘is she hammered’?’ Claudia revealed to her old pal Mark Wogan on his podcast Spooning with Mark Wogan.
‘I’m all a bit like messy and woooo.’
When Mark counters with ‘…you are a very intelligent, worldly, very wise and incredible woman.’ Claudia shoots this down with a – ‘NO! But you’re very sweet.’
Claudia is much happier taking about her fashion fails…she will still remind reporters of the night she put her kohl pencil on in the car, without a mirror (naturally), and went to a red carpet do looking like ‘Gene Simmons after a bad weekend’.
When asked her to describe her look on series 3 of Traitors – Claudia offered the following quip to Vogue magazine.
“It’s a bit woman on the verge of something ugly in a castle left with just a bottle of spray tan and eyeliner. That’s what we’re going for.’
If pushed about her sartorial fabulousness, she’ll shove all the credit onto her stylist of 20+ years Sinead McKeefry. Sinead may be in charge of the wardrobe selections (see below) but – without what she calls ‘the Claudia effect’ – those chunky knits, tweed jackets and wrist warmers would be more bird woman from Home Alone than a woman serving ‘farmhouse chic delights’ (The Standard).
‘Claudia really naturally makes the clothes look quite cool,’ Sinead told County and Town House magazine
‘Sometimes I can afford to put her in things that are a bit more traditional.
‘She carries it. She makes it work.’
The mission – to find something like….
Ignoring everything I’ve just said about how horribly embarrassed Claudia would feel to think she’s this year’s ‘style icon’ (she often describes herself as looking as though she’s ‘slept in a skip’) we are going to grant her screen goddess status and forge ahead with our mission….to become a copy cat Claudia on a charity shop budget.
I’ve spent a few delightful hours looking at all the core elements of Claudia’s looks (see above) and I am thrilled to tell you – I know as I’ve been buying mostly preloved since 2019 – that English country casual is one of the easiest looks to pull together from secondhand sources (eBay, Vinted etc) and charity shops.
Regrettably, it is also one of the hardest to get right, especially for the older fashionista (OF). Claudia may be able to pull off looking like a cross between Princess Anne, Ronnie Corbett and Madonna in her lamb-hugging Guy Ritchie days (all quoted as her style inspirations for Traitors) but the average OF will throw on a ginormous grey sweater or long-line camel cardie and feel aged by approximately 250 years.
Which means all that you should digest this list of seven key elements of Claudia’s style…you adapt everything to suit your shape, disposition, colouring and lack of a fringe thicker than a broom head.
Remember the fear of our Mumsnet commentator above. When you try on your clothes, ask yourself the stark question;-
Is this tank top and padded gilet combo giving ‘supermodel or scarecrow?’
Seven key elements to help you live life as a copy-cat Claudia
One – a list
Your first task is to watch The Traitors on i-player. Never mind the 22 players, the one Gothic castle and the £120,000 potential prize pot…your mission is to study the 24 outfits (my favourite are always the knits Claudia wears at breakfast) and pop your favourite outfits/items onto a list which you carry everywhere.
Next, hop over to the Instagram account of Claudia’s stylist Sinead McKeefry. Sinead has posted brand details for more than a dozen of her finest Traitors ensembles.
Don’t panic. The majority of the labels loved by Sinead will prove a tad expensive for the OF. Bear in mind that Sinead (on a tight BBC budget) had to ‘beg, borrow and steal’ some of the more high ticket items and – shudder – Claudia was forced to kiss them and give them back*.
You may not be able to afford the exact items as seen on our screen goddess Claudia (Sinead does throw in a few high street fashions like items from Zara and Amazon) but this homework will help you to;-
- get to know the sort of items you’re looking for, the style and the material ie: you need to know your Aran from your entirely polyester.
- make peace with the price you have to pay for luxe fabrics like cashmere or designer labels. Even in a charity shop these items will command a higher ticket price.
The mission isn’t to put every item in your prize pot – it’s to try on to see if faux fur is yummy or yeti
As you can see from my print-outs (I’ve added graphics to the ones reproduced here but just drew on my real ones with a Sharpie). I was looking for the following;-
- capes, poncho, shawls
- kilts
- plaid/patterned trousers
- green or brown leggings
- chunky jumpers, preferably a white cable knit or Fair Isle
- a white retro style blouse with a tie neck
- absolutely anything made from tweed.
Preparation is everything. When you enter a charity shop and have to navigate your around people, over-stuffed rails and 140 piece tea services, you will forget your own name, never mind what pullover Claudia was wearing in episode 4 of Traitors.
Tip; if it’s not right, no matter how much of a bargain it is – put it back. The thrill of charity shopping is in the chase. If you don’t find the exact thing you’re looking for, go home. Try another shop, town, day. It’s a strategy which has not failed me yet.
*By the way, if you can afford £640 to buy the olive green cotton/cashmere tank top as worn by Claudia – pop over to the Purdey website. If you can support a traditional British clothing brand, you have my sincerest blessing and eternal envy.
Two – the perfect blazer
Traitors stylist Sinead McKeefry loves a scene-stealing blazer; whether it’s the classic Bella Freud herringbone (now on offer at a mere £437.50) worn for Claudia’s dramatic entrance on Traitors (series 3) or a tailored velvet Saint Laurent version worn in the final ep’ (see above).
The good news is charity shops are fertile hunting grounds for blazers. However, if something is in plentiful supply at the pre-loved store, it means it gets discarded a lot.
It’s not the blazer’s fault; an unloved blazer’s usual crime will be that it wasn’t quite the right fit. Getting one to suit you is like finding the perfect porridge…a blazer should not be too loose, or too tight; too long or too short. It should have room across the shoulders without making you look like a corporate throwback from the 80s. You should be able to button it up and the perfect arm length is to the wrist bone so you can show your Fagin-style wrist warmers.
According to stylist Sinead, once found, the perfect blazer is a keeper; ‘When a blazer looks really great on you, get the brown, navy and black and then put them away and know that you’ve got them. They’re forever pieces.’
Tip: men’s blazers tend to be much better quality; the women’s blazers I found were mostly synthetic, all the men’s blazer I have featured (above) were pure wool.
Three – clothes in any colour, as long as they’re black
Claudia is clearly no fan of colour. Her wardrobe choices are mainly monochrome. Black principally or the photo negative – a white trouser suit with black shirt. This fascination with dark colours perhaps reflects she’s a self-confessed winter person. She is ‘allergic to summer’ and once called summer clothes ‘a disgrace’.
‘Wear what you always wear, wear what you’re comfy in, wear what you like,’ Claudia wrote in the Stylist.
‘A black jumper with black jeans…and be done.’
However, if you’re an OF be careful of wearing black too close to your face. It might be slimming but it’s also draining. Unless you are about to wed Dracula; don’t go all black. Even Claudia dabbles with colour – yellow, jades and those pops of red – and she expertly brings variety to her mostly monochrome wardrobe by wearing patterns (she’s a fan of a black and white stripe) and layering different textures; a thick black jacquard blazer worn over a black satin shirt.
Proceed into the dark side with caution; does an all black ensemble render you rock chick or professional mourner?
Tip; you’ll find tonnes of black clothes in charity shops but check for fading.
Four – a kilt (or a kilt simulacrum)
Claudia’s stylist Sinead McKeefry thinks kilts are so good, she used them twice in the latest Traitors series (both made by Le Kilt in Perthshire).
Like me, a lot of people started to wonder if they had enough derring-do to venture out to M&S food hall in a kilt. Never mind the conundrum of what, or not, to wear under your kilt; it’s all that wrapping and faffing with pins that scares me. I’m not the only one who is in two minds…
‘Ok I’ve bought a kilt,’ commented Lisa Maxted on Sinead’s Instagram account.
‘This could be a total disaster!’
Tip; most charity shops have changing rooms so you can see whether a kilt turns you into Lorna Doone or a reject from the military tattoo. If a kilt is really not your thing, try tweed. I bought a wonderful Joules mini skirt on eBay may moons ago and I still love it.
Four – an outsized jumper – the more OTT, the better
Some of Claudia’s knits are so humungous, it’s clear they are so much more than garments to keep her cosy on those outside scenes on Traitors.
Like the fringe, those huge necks – cowl, turtle, polo, funnel and roll – are perfect hiding places for someone who loves performing but hates the limelight. Small wonder Claudia can ride the London tube up to four times a day without being recognised, If you consider the length of the fringe (something she calls her ‘armour’) and the height of the jumpers; there’s very little of Claudia’s face on show…
Her stylist Sinead McKeefry advises people to look for traditional when it comes to knitwear. ‘Because those things never go out of fashion,’ she told the Independent.
‘Definitely stay away from logos. I love anything with a pattern on it, I love Fair Isle, I love Argyle.’
My favourite knit inTraitors series 3 was the black, white and heather Fair Isle number Claudia wore in Episode 7 with the grey kilt (Brora, above bottom left – the black has sold out but it’s available in navy). The sheer beauty of it left me was desperate to find a Fair Isle in the charity shop and bingo – I did track a gorgeous one down in Oxfam (Belper, Derbyshire). The label said large but it was way too tight across my boobs.
A gamine Claudia look-a-like would have suited it perfectly and it sold within the week.
Tip; if you are slightly bigger boned than Claudia; try the XL jumpers in the men’s section. Before purchasing any knitwear, check for holes, bobbles and piling – especially under the arms and make sure it has not gone baggy (or shrunken) in the wash.
Five – skinny jeans
The mussed-up hair, the smudgy kohl, and the skinny jeans make up the holy trinity of Claudia’s look and were all inspired by an unlikely celeb – Aerosmith frontman Steve Tyler.
In an interview with Red magazine, Claudia said: ‘I have a photograph of him from about 20 years ago and he’s just wearing a black shirt, a bit of kohl, skinny jeans, hair all in his face. I thought, “That’s me! That’s what I want to look like!’
Sinead McKeefry believes skinny jeans (or skin-tight Spanx) will elevate even the most twee country outfit. Together with edgy boots and fingerless gloves, skinny jeans bring a ‘little punk aesthetic’ into the look.
Skinny jeans and leggings are ridiculously easy to find in charity shops. I tried on five pairs in total (see above) and ended up plumping for a slightly roomier, soft green jean from M&S (£4.75).
Tip: leggings and skinny jeans rely on a lot of elastin or Lycra for their shape and, like the Turin Shroud, the trousers may retain the outline of the last owner. Try them on – make sure there are no ghostly bump-y bits or saggy knees before you buy.
Six – you’re going to need bigger boots
Claudia caused a veritable stampede for ‘Docs/DMs/bovver boots’ when she appeared on Traitors in a pair of bespoke brown Dr Martens (they were 2976 hi boots; here’s the link but don’t rush at once as they are completely out of stock).
Claudia sports a selection of boots including suede block heels, knee highs, Chelsea, biker with buckles and cute Hunter wellies but Dr Marten are her go-to brand; she calls them ‘The best boot of all time’.
You can’t move for black boots in charity shop but I have yet to see a pair of Dr Martens. A lot of the more renown and luxe brands tend to be siphoned off for online sales. But here’s a confession – I haven’t really looked. I have never bought secondhand footwear. I have suffered with my feet for years and I can’t bear the thought someone else’s foot issue – bunions/left leaning gait etc – being inherited with the boots.
Tip; you can find new shoes in charity shops; I was in the British Heart Foundation charity shop (Ashbourne) when they received a very general donation from a very posh shoe shoe nearby; sadly none in my size.
Seven – THE SP or statement piece
For a more granular look at how to wear a statement piece or SP, let’s examine the Claudia collage (above). Whilst the bulk of Claudia’s off-camera outfits often feature her ‘uniform’ of black jeans and big jumper (let’s label these items B for boring) she will invariably add at least one big or bold item or accessory which is A (for ‘Attention!’).
Perhaps Claudia Winkleman is the best person to sum up the art of elevating your outfit with an SP.
‘Do you like restrained? Do you like subtle? Do you liked muted? I have no time for any of it..I’m too old, too short-sighted, too impatient, too hormonally-challenged for just a dab of this a soupçon of that…I want an unashamedly show-off explosion, not something meek and bland and blah.’ she wrote in The Times.
It is an attitude she brings to her clothing choices. There she might spend her days in snuggly sweaters and skinny jeans but there will always, always be something kooky, quirky, OTT and outlandish in the mix ‘Perhaps some feathers and heels that will give you blisters,’ she laughs.
So, even when you are in the charity shop, your mission is to ignore the grey and beige knits and look for an SP that screams – in Claudia’s words – ‘an ‘Hello!’ that you cannot ignore’.
‘Why aim for Bs when you could get As’ she asks.
You may find your attention-grabbing ‘As’ in the jewellery section of the charity shop. I was amazed by how many gorgeous vintage brooches and chunky bits of costume bracelets etc there are, seemingly unwanted, in the charity shops; no one seems to realise they are back in fashion (don’t tell them).
Tip; look for crazy patterns, beads, fringes, lace embellishments, ribbons, bright buttons or hurt-your-eyes day-glo colours (for better advice, follow this link). Stick colours together your mum said should never be seen. Buy the orange jumpsuit and green woollen hat. What the heck…you only live once.
Moreover, if you’ve invested a few pounds and your ‘experiment’ doesn’t work out…you’ve lost neither face nor fortune as you can discreetly return the purple muumuu kaftan from whence it came.
Mission accomplished?
Judge for yourself. Here’s two copy cat Claudia looks I was able to put together after two afternoon visits to charity shops in Belper and Ashbourne, Derbyshire.
