Fashionable Family?

[Kohan]

Hello,

Thoroughly overfed and chilling out with family, I thought I'd pose a thoughtful topic:

Growing up, were your families fashionable/style-conscious? How do you think their approach to appearances has affected your sense of style, of what is/is not appropriate, etcetera? Did you learn anything essential to your style from parents?

I guess I should start: Parents are medical doctors, so to me professionalism requires mature dress and well-kept appearance--so at least a shirt & tie with a clean haircut and a shave. General maturity and respectability should show through one's self-maintenance and presentation, but not to the point of overt vanity. Mother has some style but Father doesn't care much beyond looking professional (though he has definitely picked up over the years), so I learn as I go along. After inheriting a pile of dad's old OCBDs they became, and still are, my favorite shirts, and I shine my shoes just as Dad taught me before college.

That's me, and you?

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

--Kohan

 

[SField]

Originally Posted by Kohan

Hello,

Thoroughly overfed and chilling out with family, I thought I'd pose a thoughtful topic:

Growing up, were your families fashionable/style-conscious? How do you think their approach to appearances has affected your sense of style, of what is/is not appropriate, etcetera? Did you learn anything essential to your style from parents?

I guess I should start: Parents are medical doctors, so to me professionalism requires mature dress and well-kept appearance--so at least a shirt & tie with a clean haircut and a shave. General maturity and respectability should show through one's self-maintenance and presentation, but not to the point of overt vanity. Mother has some style but Father doesn't care much beyond looking professional (though he has definitely picked up over the years), so I learn as I go along. After inheriting a pile of dad's old OCBDs they became, and still are, my favorite shirts, and I shine my shoes just as Dad taught me before college.

That's me, and you?

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

--Kohan

Yes I grew up in a family that was very conscious, but not outwardly so. My father has worn A&S for a long time, and John Lobb. My mother has long been into style, not as much fashion. I don't recall her having grotesque hair and massive shoulders in the 80s and 90s. A lot of Chanel suits and other classic things. I don't know much about women's clothing but I know that she's always been held in good regard by her colleagues and those who know something about that stuff. For me, I never cared as a kid. I just wore a lot of fred perry as a young kid, obviously bought for me and I never knew that the stuff was in fact so chic with certain subcultures. As a teen and college kid I was pretty simple, and quite frugal between the time of setting out on my own (grad school) and finally having an income. I think it just boiled down to always wearing things that fit well, is clean, of decent quality, and a modicum of taste when it comes to dressing for your skin tone and all that. I certainly didn't care about tailored clothing and while I admire my dad's style, he likes far more drape than I do and I think his tastes are either way, way too conservative (boring to me) or he takes it far in the other direction by wearing some whacked out kiton ties and some weird Pal Zileri jackets that lead me to believe that he's trying to keep his senses stimulated to ward of alzheimers or something. One thing that I learned from them is that no matter how much you are able to spend on clothes, that whatever you buy should be something you can see yourself wearing for years to come, and that you should treat it impecably well. People might think that one has spent too much money on clothes, when in reality, people like my parents for example, have had some of that stuff for a couple, maybe even three decades. It's actually, in some ways, really sensible.

 

[JoelF]

Originally Posted by SField

while I admire my dad's style, he likes far more drape than I do and I think his tastes are either way, way too conservative (boring to me) or he takes it far in the other direction by wearing some whacked out kiton ties and some weird Pal Zileri jackets that lead me to believe that he's trying to keep his senses stimulated to ward of alzheimers or something.

Poor old Dad, wearing Kiton & Pal Zileri to ward off Alzheimer's . . .

 

[SoCal2NYC]

Yes my family is fashionable.

 

[Flieger]

I believe it skipped a generation in my family on my fathers side. My grandfather (a businessman and owner of a factory) was quite a good dresser. I have some of his tweed suits, shirts and shoes (in photographs of him I observe he had a good eye for colour and texture)
My father is not that good with combinations and colours. I have given him some advice in the past and his suits are very nice now. (His budget is higher than mine...so there you go, he wears R. caruso and Regent now *I want those suits, aaargh*)

But his interest in clothing is only on the functional level. He sees the need for representative clothing, just like his position in his field of business requires.

My mother is quite playful in her stylistic choices. Very eclectic in her mix of chic and more sportive and trendy pieces.

Her father was dressed by the tailor of choice of his position as a civil servant (Police gala uniforms etc.) My mothers brother was dressed by the tailor of the military (very nice uniform as Adjudant of the Queen)
In their casual clothing both my uncle and grandfather are conservative dressers. Very preppy in their clothingchoice of colors and lots of blue, white and red. Loafers, monkstraps etc. Lots of doublebreasted blazers. Repp ties. Oxford shirts. Polo shirts. etc.

I am very fond of Italian clothing while the older generations in my family are more anglo oriented stylewise. Is this something other members also observe in their own families?

 

[SField]

Originally Posted by SoCal2NYC

Yes my family is fashionable.

then what happened with you? (edited to add a smiley face so that SoCal knows that I'm joking).

 

[Stazy]

It slays me to admit that my family is not very fashionable. I try my best to show them the light but they are unaccepting. With the exception of my younger brother, they all dress rather poorly.