Christmas Belle: Mariah Carey

In December’s of years past I have featured some pop queens who have produced songs which mean they always have an association with Christmas. Kim Wilde, Kate Bush and Chrissie Hynde have all produced Christmas classics (and, in Kate’s case a full Christmas TV special in 1979), but today I focus on the lady who had the most iconic of all Christmas hits, one that we still love and listen to endlessly every time the festive season comes around again. I am talking, of course, about Mariah Carey.

I have to say I have never been a fan of Mariah’s style of singing, but I love ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’. It harks back to the era of Phil Spector and The Ronettes and is just the most upbeat song that you have to sing along to at the top of your voice. Try to not dance around when this song is on, it is truly infectious and features in most people’s list of fave Christmas songs. It also has an iconic video, with Mariah messing around in the snow in a sort of home movie. The song is charm personified and evergreen with numerous cover versions including a slowed down version by Michael Buble, and it sounds as good this year as it did when it was first released in 1994.

When I was planning this post, I got to thinking about Mariah’s personal style, which is often looked at as a little OTT and ostentatious. But when we actually look back at her 1990’s days, there is a lot of inspiration to be found. The 90’s are known for style that often bordered on minimalistic, and Mariah often adopted that, with a wardrobe of tiny mini dresses worn with minimal adornment and a pair of the strappiest sandals. She looked great, with a sort of ‘aint broke don’t fix it’ attitude. Her fabulous hair was all the accessories she needed.

In recent years our appreciation of the 90’s as a decade of style has grown, and with it an appreciation that Mariah looked great in the 90’s, glossy, groomed and with a fantastic diva attitude that was totally backed up with her talent. Each year we see the echoes of the 90’s in High Street stores and catwalks – the tank tops and camisoles, barely there dresses teamed with barely there shoes. Mariah’s style of that decade is definitely worth a revaluation.