Ginger Spice explains why she decided to ’sell everything,’ including her iconic Union Jack dress, after she left the band

RIP Ginger Spice's Union Jack dress

ginger spice in union jack dress
(Image credit: Getty Images)

In a new video for Vogue, Ginger Spice - aka Geri Halliwell - said why she decided to auction off all of her old wardrobe to Sotheby's after her divorce from the Spice Girls, including her iconic Union Jack dress.

Geri Halliwell, more commonly known as her alter ego "Ginger Spice" from the Spice Girls, recently gave a cheeky interview with Vogue, in which she broke down 11 of her most iconic fashion looks of all time - and of course, you can't think about Ginger Spice without immediately conjuring an image of her legendary Union Jack mini dress. 

She revealed some interesting information, however - after she separated from the band in her mid-twenties, she made the rash decision to sell every piece of clothing and memorabilia she collected while in the group. 

Photo of SPICE GIRLS, Group performing live on stage L-R Melanie Chisholm (Mel C), Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown (Mel B), Geri Halliwell (Union Jack Dress) and Victoria Adams (Beckham)

(Image credit: Getty Images)

"It was like a divorce," she said of her split from the Spice Girls in the video. "And what happens when we get divorced ladies? Some of us cut our hair, some of us sell everything. And I thought, right, I'm going to sell everything."

From there, Geri says she auctioned off many of her most memorable items from her time in the Spice Girls with Sotheby's. "I wanted to do some good at the same time," she said, "so I got all of my clothes, including that Union Jack dress, and I did a charity auction, and we sold it - which was great for the charity, so I was rather pleased about it."

In the video, she also explained how that iconic Union Jack dress came to be, especially after her stylist told her that it wasn't a good wardrobe choice for Ginger.

She said that Union Jack dress, for her, is a good reminder to have "follow-your-gut instinct." After all, Ginger Spice's hair is *pretty much* the origin of the money piece hairstyle - just look at that amazing blonde streak in front of her blazing red hair - so we'd trust her style opinions. 

"At the time, the stylist said to me, 'I don't think you should wear that,'" referencing a Union jack tea towel that Geri wanted to put over her Gucci dress that she was meant to be wearing for the BRIT Awards in 1997. 

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

(Image credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Although her stylist said no initially, Geri obviously ended up winning that battle - as the Union Jack dress, still to this day, is one of the most iconic fashion looks of all time, really. For her red platform boots, she revealed that she actually ended up using a can of spray paint to make them that bright red hue. "They were slightly chipping a bit," she said, referencing the spray paint on the boots. 

Madeline Merinuk
US Lifestyle News Writer

Madeline Merinuk is woman&home's US lifestyle news writer, covering celebrity, entertainment, fashion, and beauty news.

She graduated in 2021 with a B.A. in Journalism from Hofstra University, winning multiple student journalism awards, including a National Hearst Award, during her time there. After graduating, she worked at today.com, the digital site for the Today Show, where she wrote pop culture news and interviewed big-name personalities like Emily Ratajkowski, Haley Lu Richardson, Emma Corrin, and more.

Her personal interests, in no particular order, are: cheese, Joni Mitchell, reading, hot yoga, traveling, having multiple chapsticks in every handbag at all times, and dancing to ABBA songs as if she were in the Mamma Mia movies.