Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell Tells the Story of Her Iconic Union Jack Flag Dress from 1997

Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell is talking a stroll down memory lane.

Halliwell, a.k.a. Ginger Spice, stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon earlier this week to promote her new children’s book, Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen.

While chatting on the show, she had to dive into her iconic Spice Girls look — the famous Union Jack flag dress she wore at the 1997 Brit Awards. The one she made herself.

[RELATED: Spice Girls to Spice Up ‘Spiceworld’ for 25th Anniversary Release]

“I always like making things. And they gave us different clothes. It was a Gucci dress, it was like a Marilyn Monroe swimming costume, like, ’50s shape,” Halliwell said. “And I was thinking — Americans, you know how you always celebrate your country, and I was thinking, ‘It’s the Brits. I should put a flag on it.’”

“The only way I could find a flag was a tea towel,” she continued. “So I cut out a tea towel and sewed it on the Gucci dress.”

The dress was memorable, of course, but so were the very shiny boots. So shiny, in fact, because they had some special help from an unexpected product. “Those boots, they’re with car spray, ’cause my father was a mechanic.”

The Spice Girls did reunite last year to celebrate Halliwell’s 50th birthday, which actually doubled as the 25th anniversary of the group’s second album, Spiceworld, originally released in 1997. For those hoping for a reunion tour or new album, unfortunately there are no plans at the moment — but never say never, right? *NSYNC just made their comeback, after all.

In the meantime, the former girl-group member is enjoying life with her husband and being a mother to her daughter, Bluebell. Halliwell’s new book, Rosie Frost & The Falcon Queen, just released on October 3 and is available to purchase now.

Photo by JMEnternational/Redferns