The era of the hot, helpless woman - by Sabine Carys

It’s the summer of 2006, and England’s football team has just arrived in Germany for the World Cup. In the sleepy spa town of Baden-Baden, Victoria Beckham, Cheryl Cole, and twenty other WAGs—the “wives and girlfriends” of England’s footballers—have transformed the place into a tabloid circus. They’re dancing on tables, spending thousands at designer boutiques, and racking up bills of Legas Grand Cru champagne, vodka Red Bulls, and strawberry-syrup flavored Moet. The press was scandalized. The women were called “embarrassing,” “flashy,” and “immature.” But the public (and the cameras) couldn’t seem to look away. Their wild nights in Baden-Baden marked the birth of the “WAG era.” No one wanted to see “normal girlfriends”, they wanted a soap opera of big hair, high heels, and insanely expensive designer bags. Nearly twenty years later, the look has changed, but the performance hasn’t. From Victoria Beckham to Nara Smith, from Ballerina Farm to Taylor Swift, women have rediscovered that l

It’s the summer of 2006, and England’s football team has just arrived in Germany for the World Cup. In the sleepy spa town of Baden-Baden, Victoria Beckham, Cheryl Cole, and twenty other WAGs—the “wives and girlfriends” of England’s footballers—have transformed the place into a tabloid circus. They’re dancing on tables, spending thousands at designer boutiques, and racking up bills of Legas Grand Cru champagne, vodka Red Bulls, and strawberry-syrup flavored Moet. The press was scandalized. The women were called “embarrassing,” “flashy,” and “immature.” But the public (and the cameras) couldn’t