I owe so much of my love for fashion to my grandmother Diana. From the pristine string of pearls she loves to wear around her neck to the crisply-pleated trousers that have never seen a wrinkle in their lives, I grew up looking to her as the epitome of all things chic and truly, have her to thank for my own taste in clothes.
Now, years later, I’ve developed my own sense of personal style and it’s not without her influence—or the influence of my own mom. While the three of us have categorically very different styles‚ my grandma’s is classic, my mom’s eccentric, and my own trend-forward—I recently came to the realization that we actually do share a number of style staples. Thanks to fashion’s cyclical nature, many of the items my mom and grandma love are starting to come bursting back on the fashion front (hello “grandma” trends).
So I thought it would be fun to share which items are so valuable that they’ve managed to transcend three generations and earn their keep in all of our closets. Without further ado, keep scrolling to find out why my mom, grandma, and I all agree upon these six spring wardrobe staples and then shop my picks within each.
These elegant shirts have just recently made an appearance in my own closet after seeing the cool styling trick fashion girls are doing where they leave the collar outside their blazer lapels. But upon further inspection, I realized they’ve been a thing for a while now (disco collars were especially defining in the ’70s) and both of the matriarchal women in my life have been wearing them all along.
My grandmother has an undying love for cashmere sweaters, which she’s passed down to all three of her daughters, and ultimately, to my cousins and I. In fact, I’ll never forget how one Christmas my grandma gifted everyone in our family a version of the luxurious knit and ever since then we started referring to that year as the “Cashmere Christmas”. What can I say, it’s the ultimate investment buy. (And yes, Nanni, if you’re reading this I still wear mine constantly!)
Okay, so admittedly the pearls that I’m into and the ones that my mom and grandma wear aren’t the exact same. Thanks to the jewelry’s “of-the-momentness”, designers have been putting modern spins on the classics that help them feel fresh and not the least bit dated, thanks to elements like baroque pearls and mixing them with trendy chain links.
I didn’t fully realize that all three of us had this jacket style in common until I looked back at some old photos on my phone while putting this story together. These thin quilted jackets have never really gone anywhere thanks to the O.G. versions from Burberry and Barbour that have made them into mainstays and I can distinctly remember a powder blue jacket my grandma wore constantly when I was growing up. I, myself, own an army green liner jacket that I love.
I’m pretty sure that loafers are what you’ll find if you look up classic shoes in the dictionary. They’ve been a staple in my grandmother’s closet and years later, now in mine, too. I used to think they were a tad boring of a shoe, but fashion girls have inspired me to partake and I have to say, my only regret is not having tried them sooner.
Wide-leg pants, especially those with a high rise, are the fashion world’s alternative to jeans right now. But lo and behold, my mom and grandma have been stockpiling the trousers for as long as I can remember because, well, it just doesn’t get more sophisticated than these.
Speaking of timeless trends, Hailey Bieber wore the “boring” spring trend that’s about to be everywhere.
