POP star Claire Richards is best known for being the lead vocalist of Nineties group Steps.
But the 47-year-old also has a lucrative side hustle selling her old clobber on Vinted – including pieces she’s worn on-stage and as costumes in music videos.
Claire Richards is best known for being the lead vocalist of Noughties group Steps[/caption]
She set up the account in April 2023, having since sold 588 items and gained 4219 followers[/caption]
The mum-of-two has sold nearly 600 outfits on the second-hand resale site, with 5-star reviews across the board.
It comes as a slew of celebrities, including Tyson and Paris Fury’s 15-year-old daughter Venezuela, are turning to the platform to clear out their designer wardrobes.
Claire, selling under the username princessclarabella, has a bio that reads: “I am a 47-year-old mother-of-two and I sing for my supper.
“I love clothes but never seem to throw any of them away when I should.
“So, it’s time to make space.”
She set up the account in April 2023 and has made more than £10,000 selling 588 items, totting up 4219 followers in the process.
Most of her items are priced between £15 and £100.
The Vinted algorithm has even given Claire’s profile a badge for being a frequent uploader, stating that she regularly lists five or more items at a time.
Among her active listings are a two-piece set, complete with a House of CB jacket, which she wore in a 2021 Steps music video.
It is priced at £250, with the description reading: “This was adjusted for part of my costume in the Heartbreak in This City video with Michelle Visage.
“There are a few snips and raw edges to make it work for the outfit.”
Claire is also selling an evening dress from TFNC for £60 which she wore to a charity event, as well as a green fringed dress from PrettyLittleThing for £100.
The PLT dress was featured in Steps’ 25th Anniversary Summer Tour posters, with Claire describing it as “Steps memorabilia”.
Claire is selling this evening dress from TFNC on Vinted for £60 which she wore to a charity event[/caption]
She is also selling this two-piece set, complete with a House of CB jacket, which she wore in a 2021 Steps music video[/caption]
It’s not just clothes on her profile, though.
Claire is also flogging posh Jellycat teddies priced between £10 and £40, and some kitchenware items, priced around £30.
Steps — originally launched as a line-dancing group with their infectious 1997 debut, 5, 6, 7, 8 — became an instant hit.
And despite a nine-year break in the Noughties, Claire and bandmates Lee Latchford-Evans, 48, Lisa Scott-Lee, 47, Faye Tozer, 47, and Ian “H” Watkins, 47, are still going strong, scoring four UK No. 1 albums in their 25-year career.
It was a polished pop group – everyone had their own idea of what people should look like. It was as close to perfect as anyone could get
Claire Richards
In an exclusive interview with Fabulous in 2023, Claire revealed she was told upon joining the band: “We love you, we want you to be in the band, but we need you to lose weight if you want to be in it.”
She opened up: “It wasn’t right then and it absolutely isn’t right now.
“But when you are young and you’re being offered that kind of opportunity – and the only stipulation is that you lose half a stone – I think any young girl would.”
Desperate to be included in the line-up, she caved in and agreed to shed the pounds – to the point where she became “dangerously thin”.
Steps have scored four UK No. 1 albums in their 25-year career[/caption]
Claire, pictured in 2001, believes her early experiences of being body-shamed in the music industry have made her stronger[/caption]
Claire added: “I wasn’t fat or big, I was a size ten or 12, but I got skinny for the band.
“It was a polished pop group – everyone had their own idea of what people should look like.
“It was as close to perfect as anyone could get.
“But the older I get and the more I think about it, of course it affected me because it just sent me on a spiral for years.”
Now older and wiser, Claire believes her early experiences of being body-shamed in the music industry have made her stronger.
She said: “I think if I hadn’t experienced everything that I experienced back then, I wouldn’t be the person who I am now.”
