The Real Housewives of Cheshire Are the British Version of Orange County

The Real Housewives of Cheshire premiered on Saturday at midnight. Since I’m assuming that, like me, you weren’t staying up and staying in specifically to watch it then, let’s talk about it now.

The ladies of the Golden Triangle were represented quite accurately in the show’s trailer. There are tacky discussions about wealth, massive amounts of plastic surgery, and—just like the Real Housewives of Melbourne—these women are constantly dressed like they’re going to a bachelorette party in Las Vegas.

Basically, the Real Housewives of Cheshire are to the Ladies of London what the Real Housewives of Orange County are to Beverly Hills.

It’s always been pretty clear that even though Orange County and Beverly Hills are only about seventy miles apart, the worlds are very different. Bravo has found their British equivalents. You could probably make the same comparison with New York and New Jersey, but as much as I love them, I’m not sure that the taste level of our Manhattan gals is much to write home about.

If you weren’t watching Ladies of London (I highly suggest you waste a weekend catching up since pretty much all the episodes are online), the series is one of those semi-Real Housewives shows but with a more specific theme. For the women in London, much of the focus is on social climbing. You get the sense that like Beverly Hills, most of the women in London have been wealthy for most of their lives because they rarely talk about money—its such a constant that there’s no need to mention it.

The women of the Real Housewives of Cheshire are very fond of describing their villages as “one of the wealthiest in Cheshire,” and announcing the prices of diamond earrings they’re going to buy. (There’s a reason Dana and her $25,000 sunglasses were never seen in Beverly Hills again)

Most of the women in Cheshire are married to soccer players, which, as we learned on WAGS, is a whole different kind of animal when it comes to wealth and status. The Old Money/New Money dynamic is obvious.

On Ladies of London, the cast are often seen visiting legit castles.

In Cheshire, we have Dawn Ward, who built her house ten years ago to look like a castle (I assume).

Even if these two groups of women are working with the same amounts of money, clearly the taste levels are, well, different. In Cheshire there is so. much. crushed. velvet., mirrored surfaces and opulent headboards. It’s incredibly garish and also sort of amazing.

London keeps their lines a bit cleaner.

The Ladies of London are incredibly chic and every one of them has the most incredible winter wardrobe I’ve ever seen—just beautiful furs and tasteful knits abound. To contrast, the Cheshire girls love their dressy blouses.

A show about rich ladies isn’t complete with a formal event. Like Orange County, Cheshire women seem to be fans of questionable prints and embellishments that would make the plastic gem aisle of Michael’s cringe.

In one episode of Ladies of London, a borrowed Alexander McQueen gown makes an appearance.

It’s reality television, so clearly some work has been done on a nose or pair of lips here and there, but for the most part London keeps things pretty minimal.

In Cheshire the women have no problem referring to themselves as lovers of plastic surgery, which, yeah.

I for one love this duality, mostly because these shows would be incredibly boring if all the women skewed one way or the other. You can get your taste for beautiful clothes and somewhat snooty fanciness from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Ladies of London and then your girls in Cheshire and Orange County can brighten things up a bit with their gowns and eyeshadow alone. Truly, it takes all kinds.