Stefani : I was a style stealer

Gwen Stefani was “a big copycat” when she was younger.

The No Doubt singer is known for her fashion sense as much as her music, and recently showed her latest L.A.M.B collection at New York Fashion Week. While many see the 44-year-old as a cool individual, she admits it wasn’t always the case.

“I think when I discovered music in eighth grade, that was when it really hit me… like, who am I?” she revealed to Teen Vogue. “I was actually a big copycat! I would see all these girls who had cool style and were just different, and I knew I wanted to be like that. I’d see something I liked and then sort of make it my own – you keep doing that and it becomes a sort of evolution of your style.”

Gwen was also influenced by anything from cartoons to “chola gangster girls” who hung around near where she grew up in Orange County. Old-school Hollywood pizzazz also came onto her radar, with two stars in particular captivating the blonde beauty.

“Even being close to LA, I was always inspired by old movies and Marilyn Monroe and the glamour of Hollywood,” Gwen said. “I even remember the day I discovered James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. I don’t know why it affected me so strongly, but I walked down to the corner store and bought every poster of them, and I did my whole room up. Overnight.”

It wasn’t long before Gwen dyed her own hair blonde, like her idol. For the mother-of-three, it was a turning point in her life and her career.

“It was a big moment for me when I did my whole head. I remember my boyfriend and I had just broken up, and I was like, ‘I don’t care how much it costs, I’m getting my hair bleached!’” she laughed. “That’s really when everything changed. We had already written all the Tragic Kingdom songs, and that was the moment that sort of started the next chapter.