What I’ve Learned About Style From Spotting Celebrities at the Grocery Store

I need to tell you about the time I saw Olivia Colman at Tesco Metro in Clapham, because it completely changed how I think about real-world style versus what we see on Instagram. This was about three years ago – I was in my absolute worst “just popping out” outfit, you know? Those Levi’s with the hole in the knee that I keep meaning to donate but somehow never do, a navy jumper that shrunk slightly in the wash but not enough to justify replacing, and those slip-on trainers that have definitely seen better days. I’m standing there trying to decide between two bottles of wine that are basically identical except one has a slightly prettier label, when I glance over at the cheese counter and there she is. Olivia bloody Colman. The Crown. Oscar winner. Actual royalty in my mind.

And honestly? She looked almost exactly like I did. Better jeans, obviously – hers didn’t have a hole – but still that same faded denim, navy jumper (with what looked like a tiny coffee stain, which made me feel better about my own disaster), and white Superga trainers. She had a baseball cap pulled down, but even that looked like she’d just grabbed it from the hook by her front door as an afterthought rather than some carefully planned disguise.

That moment made me realize there’s this whole category of celebrity style that only exists in Britain – the “just need to grab milk and loo roll” look. It’s not the elaborate casual outfits American celebrities wear when they want to be photographed buying overpriced kale, and it’s not that effortless French chic thing either. It’s something much more honest and, frankly, shambolic. As someone who spends way too much time analyzing what people wear (occupational hazard of working in an image-conscious industry), I find this absolutely fascinating.

See, in LA, running errands is basically performance art. Celebrities get papped buying groceries in $300 workout sets and perfectly messy buns that probably took forty-five minutes to achieve. But British celebrities at Tesco? They genuinely look like they’ve thrown on whatever was nearest when they realized they were out of teabags. There’s something beautifully authentic about it – this unspoken acknowledgment that some tasks don’t warrant calling your stylist.

Take Adele, right? Before her whole transformation into red carpet goddess, she was constantly spotted at her West London Tesco wearing actual loungewear. Not the matching sets that influencers call athleisure – proper comfortable clothes that you’d sleep in. Oversized hoodies, joggers, hair that looked like she’d literally just rolled out of bed. I remember seeing paparazzi photos of her from 2012 where she’s clutching a packet of Digestives and looking properly annoyed at being photographed in what was clearly her pajama top and some random leggings. Relatable queen, honestly.

Then you’ve got Daniel Craig, who can make a Tom Ford suit look like it was sewn onto his body, regularly spotted at Tesco Express in completely anonymous clothes. Faded jeans, generic jumpers, sometimes even a flat cap – peak British dad energy. The contrast between James Bond and “man who’s run out of milk on Tuesday evening” is almost jarring, but also kind of reassuring? Like, even 007 has to deal with domestic admin.

British actresses seem to have developed this specific uniform for low-key supermarket runs. Carey Mulligan gets photographed outside Tesco wearing skinny jeans, Converse, an oversized coat, and what I can only describe as a “please don’t talk to me” expression that I completely understand when you just want to buy pasta sauce without being recognized. Emma Watson does the same thing – practical trainers, jeans, an anonymous jumper, maybe upgraded with a really good coat that’s the only hint of her actual budget. Both of them go for minimal makeup and genuinely messy buns, not the Instagram version that requires seventeen bobby pins.

The men tend to aim for complete invisibility. Tom Hardy, who can smolder in period costume like nobody’s business, becomes this totally unremarkable bloke in joggers, plain t-shirts, and the kind of practical waterproof jacket that suggests he’s checked the weather app before leaving the house. It’s brilliant, actually – being simultaneously a global sex symbol and the guy who lives three doors down.

What’s interesting is how different this is from American celebrity “caught being normal” photos, where the casual outfits still manage to showcase designer pieces and current trends. British celebrity Tesco runs feel genuinely spontaneous – like the clothes were chosen for function, not potential photo opportunities.

This authenticity extends to the actual shopping experience too. There’s this wonderful photo of Helen Mirren – literal dame, red carpet regular – looking completely baffled by a self-checkout machine at Waitrose while wearing reading glasses on a chain and an expression of technological confusion that transcends class boundaries. Or Idris Elba looking lost in the spice aisle at Sainsbury’s, dressed like he’d come straight from the gym when he realized he needed to cook dinner.

Weather plays a massive role in these looks, obviously. Unlike LA where celebrities can rely on perpetual sunshine for their errands, British stars have to deal with the same meteorological chaos as everyone else. This leads to very British styling choices – the layers, the “just in case” jacket, the shoes that work in both sunshine and surprise downpours. Kate Winslet gets photographed at Tesco in the kind of sensible raincoat that could come from any middle-class mum’s wardrobe, paired with wellies when necessary. She looks less like a Hollywood star and more like someone about to walk the dog.

The accessories are telling too. While American celebrities might tone down the glamour but still carry designer bags or wear statement sunglasses, British celebrities at Tesco are more likely to be clutching the same Bag for Life as everyone else, with minimal jewelry and sunglasses that serve an actual weather purpose (though let’s be honest, how often would you need them here?).

Younger British celebrities offer an interesting variation on the theme. Those who’ve grown up in the era of constant social media documentation seem slightly more conscious of their Tesco looks, though still within distinctly British parameters.

Tom Holland gets spotted at supermarkets in what I’d call “elevated basics” – good quality plain pieces that wouldn’t look out of place in COS or & Other Stories, but still fundamentally simple. It’s the kind of outfit that wouldn’t draw attention if he weren’t famous but also wouldn’t embarrass him in photos. Smart, really. Dua Lipa, before she became a total fashion plate, was photographed at a London Tesco in 2017 wearing an oversized hoodie as a dress with cycling shorts – fashion-forward but still with that thrown-together quality that defines British off-duty style.

What these outfits reveal goes beyond individual style preferences – there’s something profound about British attitudes to fame here. We have this unspoken agreement that everyone, regardless of how famous they are, has the right to pop to the shops looking less than perfect. It’s almost a point of pride, this rejection of the idea that being in the public eye means performing constantly. Very British, actually – this tacit acknowledgment that some tasks are too mundane for a styling session.

This extends to what they buy too. Unlike American celebrities with their carefully curated farmers’ market baskets (always kale, berries, something artisanal and photogenic), British celebrities seem to buy the same random stuff as everyone else. There are photos of Andrew Garfield at Tesco Express with a basket containing white bread, Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, and what looks like a multipack of crisps – the kind of nutritionally questionable but perfectly normal selection most of us have made at some point.

My friend Laura swears she once saw Judi Dench comparing fabric softeners in Tesco, dressed exactly like her nan would be for the weekly shop – comfortable trousers, fleece, practical slip-on shoes. There’s something wonderfully grounding about imagining a Dame of the British Empire caring enough about fabric softener to read the labels while dressed for comfort over style.

Some British celebrities do make more effort, obviously. Victoria Beckham is rarely seen looking anything less than immaculate, though even she’s been photographed in considerably more casual outfits than usual – flat shoes instead of heels, jeans instead of structured dresses. Her version of “casual” still looks more polished than most people’s best efforts, but that probably reflects her position as a fashion designer as much as personal preference.

Alexa Chung does this interesting thing where her supermarket style maintains elements of her signature look – good denim, slightly retro touches – but relaxed for practicality. It’s like a casual cover version of her usual style, recognizably her but turned down several notches.

What I find most endearing about these celebrity Tesco looks is how they humanize people who seem untouchable in their professional appearances. There’s something deeply relatable about seeing someone who dazzles on screen looking slightly harassed while trying to remember if they need pasta. It’s a reminder that beneath the glamour, there’s a person who sometimes runs out of toilet paper or suddenly needs baking ingredients at 8pm on Sunday.

These glimpses also offer genuinely useful style inspiration. Unlike red carpet looks involving stylists and budgets most of us can’t relate to, these supermarket outfits are made up of accessible pieces that most of us already own or could easily buy. They show how basic items can be worn in ways that are unfussy but put-together, practical but not completely style-free.

If there’s a lesson here, it’s the value of having a reliable “nipping out” uniform – those grab-and-go pieces that require zero thought but still make you feel presentable. The comfort of knowing you have decent jeans, a good quality plain jumper, and reliable trainers that can be thrown on for impromptu errands is massively underrated. I’ve definitely invested more in my casual basics since that Olivia Colman encounter, understanding that these pieces probably get more wear than anything else in my wardrobe.

In my finance job, I spend so much time thinking about professional dressing and making the right impression, but these celebrity Tesco moments remind me that authenticity has its own appeal. Sometimes the most relatable, human thing you can do is admit that you also throw on whatever’s clean when you need milk and you’re running late.

So next time you find yourself rushing to Tesco in yesterday’s jeans and a jumper with questionable stains, remember that somewhere in Britain, a Grammy winner or Oscar recipient is doing exactly the same thing. There’s something rather wonderful about that shared experience – the great British grocery dash that unites us all, dressed not for Instagram but for the simple necessity of buying teabags before the shop closes.