Fab40s: channeling our childhood pop idols

This month it was my turn to choose the Fab40s theme. Last month, we styled Candy Crush. After giving it some thought, I decided we should try channeling our childhood pop idols and style an outfit inspired by them. An odd theme, perhaps, but we do like a challenge!

The challenge, for me, wasn’t so much styling an outfit inspired by my childhood pop idol but it was styling it for today. I didn’t want to look like a fancy dress version of the woman I adored as a child. I wanted to use some of her style and make it suitable for 2021.

So, let’s rewind time. Say to, 1984? Can you remember that far back? I was eight years old and a particular American singer was fast becoming a huge star in her own right. She was unlike anyone I’d ever seen before and her music just made me want to dance and sing to my heart’s content. I started a scrapbook dedicated entirely to this woman. I would carefully cut out any mention of her from my dad’s newspapers and my mum’s magazines and glue each article and picture into this book. It was like my very own little pop bible. And the singer? Well, it was Madonna, of course.

I loved everything about her. Her music, her spunkiness, her fashion style, the way she did her hair. I just wanted to be her (well, I did say I was eight!). This carried on for a few years but when we moved to Portugal in 1986, even though she was still my idol, I wasn’t able to take the scrapbook with me. Plus, it wasn’t so easy to get hold of English magazines at the time. But I continued to love her and her songs. I even loved her movies lol. Desperately Seeking Susan and Who’s That Girl were my absolute favourites. My obsession faded with time, even though I continued to love her old music…I began to lose interest in her newer stuff. The last album I enjoyed was Ray of Light. Most of what came later disappointed me a little. But I was a different person by then, anyway. And so was she.

But back to the outfit I styled for our childhood pop idols theme. As mentioned previously, I didn’t want to look like a fancy dress version of Madonna, so I decided to take her love of lots of jewellery (1980s style) and make it my own. Now, before you say anything, you might notice I haven’t gone overboard with the necklaces because it’s just not me to wear so many! I’m actually only wearing two here (one from Bijou Brigitte and the other was a gift from MIL). I am, however, wearing several bracelets to make up for it. Again, I feel ok with this amount. Any more, and I would have felt too OTT.

OTT certainly isn’t a phrase I would use for this outfit though! It’s probably one of the most simple Fab40s outfits I’ve ever styled. After reminding myself of the kind of thing Madonna wore back in the 80s, I believe this has elements of that. In the early days, she favoured plain t-shirts with jean shorts, or high waisted tapered trousers with lace vests (tank tops). I found a few pictures of her wearing simple ballerina shoes too. She sometimes wore this style of jacket—although hers weren’t necessarily denim. I would have preferred to wear a lace top here, but would you believe that I don’t have any?! The only one I could find was more goth (long sleeves, high neckline), so I opted for a plain vest instead.

What she did like to wear were lace gloves, which I do happen to own (!), but I decided against wearing them because I simply wouldn’t wear them myself to go out. I bought them for a fancy dress outfit years ago lol! I also decided against the big bow in my hair. I did try a tamer version but it just looked wrong, so I opted out. I like the result though. It’s a super simple Madonna-inspired outfit for my 45-year-old-self in 2021. Do you see my inspiration?

Let’s see what the other Fab40s gals wore for this fun childhood pop idols theme. Ada isn’t joining us this month because she’s taking a much needed and well deserved break to spend some quality time with her family. But she’ll be back soon!

Daenel, Living Outside the Stacks

Daenel struggled with this theme because she wasn’t able to listen to pop music as a child, but when she got her first walkman, things changed! She adored Lisa Stansfield and I can totally see her inspiration in this picture! And what a stunningly beautiful photo it is. I loved Lisa Stansfield too. If I ever hear that song, All Around The World…it stays in my head for ages. Oh dear….I think I’ve done it again!

Mireille, Chez Mireille

Mireille also struggled a bit with this theme, because, growing up in France at that time, she wasn’t able to listen to all the mainstream pop music. So, she chose French singer, Patrick Bruel to inspire her. I’d never actually heard of him, but I can totally see 80’s/90s rocker in this look! And what a cool backdrop, right?!

Shelbee, Shelbee on the Edge

I had a feeling that Shelbee would also be styling Madonna and I wasn’t wrong! I love that we had the same pop idol as kids. It’s just something else to add to our ‘lots in common list’! I also love that she’s showing off her brand new Doc Martens for this fabulous Madonna-esque look! She looks absolutely fabulous.

And me…with Rocky from down the road, who decided to jump on the sun bed with me while I was taking photos!