High-maintenance mum Victoria Beckham

Jan 23, 2010, 6:03 GMT

Victoria Beckham used to spend two hours getting ready to take her sons to school.

The singer-turned-fashion designer - who has children Brooklyn, 10, Romeo, seven and four-year-old Cruz with her soccer star husband David Beckham - insisted on sticking to an elaborate grooming routine in order to look her best when performing everyday tasks in Los Angeles.

A source said: "She was spending over two hours getting ready, just to take the kids to school!"

However, the 35-year-old star has now embraced a more relaxed dress sense during the day time to help her avoid the constant media scrutiny.

The source explained: "You wouldn't believe what a difference it's made to her life. Cooling her love affair with high heels has been the latest big development. She still cares about her image, but it was becoming a real burden.

"At first, it was hard for her to accept that in Hollywood, A-list stars go out of their way to dress down to avoid attention. Only wannabes dress up to try and generate interest in themselves. In many ways, she was undermining her credibility with the locals. She just didn't fit in."

From now on, Victoria has vowed to take a more laid back approach to her appearance.

The friend added: "Victoria doesn't regret the way she looked, but by the same token she certainly doesn't want to repeat the mistakes of what she calls the 'Posh and Becks days.' "