Now she’s the world’s sixth richest star under 30 with a £30million fortune but she shuns designer outfits for a good rummage at car boot sales.
Before she was famous, hard-up Adele used to like rummaging for clothes at street markets… and comfy underwear.
Now she’s the world’s sixth richest star under 30 with a £30million fortune – but instead of going all posh designer, the Rolling In The Deep star still loves a bargain.
Only these days she gets her stylist Gaelle Paul to do the market stall rummaging for her. And Gaelle reveals the size 16 superstar singer’s biggest fashion secret – good old-fashioned granny pants.
“She always wears Spanx on the red carpet,” says Gaelle. “Good underwear is really important, it smoothes you out.
“And Adele loves vintage.
“I get clothes for her from Camden Lock. There’s one store owner there who goes to car boot sales and picks out stuff that’s right for her.”
To the untrained eye, Adele’s wardrobe looks like an endless supply of black lace – but rather than being the safe choice, Gaelle, 39, says it’s a deliberate statement… linked to hero worship.
“Adele always wants to wear black because she loves Johnny Cash and he wore black,” she explains.
“She also loves June Carter Cash because she and Johnny were so much in love and they had this wonderful marriage. Sometimes she’ll look at herself in the mirror and say, ‘Oh I look like her, Gaelle!’”
Glamour
But when it comes to big events, it’s glamour all the way. For this year’s Hollywood “trilogy” – the Golden Globes, the Oscars and the Grammys – Gaelle worked with top fashion houses to create one-off gowns for the Skyfall singer to choose from. Not all were put before the star.
“One designer wanted Adele in this tight mesh mermaid dress tight to the ankles with a little slit,” said Gaelle. “I was horrified.”
For the big occasions, Gaelle picks the ones she thinks Adele, 25, will like and gets them made to order before the star picks her favourite.
It sounds like every girl’s dream – but even that can go wrong when it turns out the one you’ve picked weighs the same as a four-year-old child.
Adele’s Burberry crystal-encrusted dress for this year’s Oscars weighed 33lbs and needed two security guards to lift it into the building. “That dress was pretty scary,” admits Gaelle. “But once she’d chosen it she had to wear it.”
Essex girl Gaelle, who lives in LA, first met Adele when she was shooting a video. Now she’s the first port of call for her wardrobe needs. The freedom of styling slimmer celebs can be fun, Gaelle says, but few can match Adele for self-confidence.
“Adele is really OK with how she looks. I don’t think she ever lacked confidence,” says Gaelle. “She doesn’t have that insecurity that a lot of other people I dress have.”