Frankie Bridge On Thomas Sabo, Fame And Her Biggest Fashion Regrets

Frankie Bridge rose to fame in the early noughties after bagging a spot in pop group S Club Juniors before the singer later went on to become part of one of the UK's biggest girl bands, The Saturdays.

Fast-forward a couple of years and she's married ex-footballer Wayne Bridge and become the mother of two boys, all whilst venturing into the fashion sphere.

After being named the first UK brand ambassador for cult jewellery company Thomas Sabo, Grazia caught up with Frankie to talk her favourite pieces from the collection, her days in S Club Juniors and her biggest fashion regrets...

How did your role as brand ambassador come about?

I’ve always loved the brand so when they asked me I was really flattered. I'm their first UK ambassador so I was really excited because I've always worn their jewellery, particularly pieces with skulls.

It's been really nice to spend time properly discovering their ranges. They have everything from delicate jewellery to pieces you can stack - things that I'm really into at the moment. So it was really nice to do a shoot with them.

What are your favourite pieces from the collection?

They have these lovely bracelets from a range called 'Love Bridges' which you can have engraved with your initials or a little saying. I have a few of them and all of the girls love them too because you can stack them up in all different colours. So they're definitely my favourite pieces.

Who do you think is the Thomas Sabo woman?

It's anyone really. It’s a really wearable brand so you can swap and change the pieces depending on whatever you wearing. As I've mentioned, a lot of my friends love Thomas Sabo and it's really affordable. They even use real diamonds. Although they can be quite luxurious pieces, it's not too expensive. Great for Christmas presents!

Do you have any fond memories of jewellery from when you were a child?

My nan always had lots of jewellery and I remember she had these little pots that she kept on the dressing table. I would sit in front of the mirror and try it all on.

When I was a kid, I thought everything was real diamonds or real pearls. It was amazing. When she passed away she actually gave me one of her rings so that’s really special to me. I never take it off.

If a woman can only wear three pieces of jewellery, what do you think they should be?

I love bracelets. You can just put them all on especially with the whole stacking. You can wear them all the time and add in different pieces depending on your outfit. Then earrings. I think most people have their ears pierced (other than Mollie), she’s the only person I know who doesn’t!

I really like wearing earrings but when I had short hair I never used to. It’s nice to be able to play around a little more with them now. And then rings. I have a really nice one from Thomas Sabo and every time I wear it someone always comments on it.

If you could only wear one piece of jewellery for the rest of your life what would it be?

My nan's ring. I never take it off.

Do you have any fashion regrets from your time in the music industry?

Well this is the thing, everyone can google any fashion mistakes I’ve made in the past 15 years, it’s really unfair. Anyone else can just forget about theirs. In The Saturdays we went to a premiere once and we wore these dresses and all I can describe them as is colourful bin bags with bows on.

And I knew they were bad at the time and remember saying that I really didn’t want to wear them but it was the only option we had. I still look back and I think, ‘I knew it at the time’. Instead of wearing a brightly coloured one, I ended up in a black one which is probably worse.

Did you have a stylist when you were in The Saturdays?

It’s hard in a band because you have to look good as a collective. Which is difficult because it’s not always necessarily your style or a look that you would go for. Obviously you all want to look good together but everyone else might like it whereas you might not.

You can make it work but there was the odd time where you think, 'I really don't like this'. The only good reason for it is because it does push you to try things that you wouldn’t otherwise.

What was it like being thrust into the limelight at such a young age?

Back when I was in S Club Juniors we didn't have social media so people didn't know as much about us. And because we were so young, we were really well looked after. When I was in The Saturdays obviously there was more of that [social media]. There are pros and cons but I've just grown up with it so I'm used to it. But I have friends and family who make sure that my feet are firmly on the ground.

What would you say are the life lessons you've taken away from your music career?

When I look back at S Club Juniors, there is quite a lot that I can't remember because we were so young. For me it felt normal at the time and you don't think about the memories you'll have when you're older.

I always knew that S Club Juniors would come to an end but then I was in The Saturdays so it all worked out for me. But now I always think that this experience will end one day in the back of my mind so I have to remember to enjoy I can.

Do you have any regrets looking back at your career?

No, not really. I’m not a big believer in looking back and regretting things. You just have to learn from everything that you do. Sometimes you just have to think, 'oh well that happened'.

How do you balance motherhood with work?

It’s busier! You have to take a step back, especially with work. I just try and do things that I really believe in. So for example, with Thomas Sabo I know I like the brand so that was an easy decision for me. I just want to do jobs that feel worth spending the day away from my boys. Otherwise, I won’t.

Shop some of Frankie's favourite pieces from Thomas Sabo in the gallery below:

Frankie Bridge is the UK & Ireland ambassador for Thomas Sabo. The new AW16 collection is in store and online now.