Mother Dearest

I am fascinated by Mother-Daughter style lately.  Especially when the daughter in question is the offspring of a fashion icon.  They have no choice but to be fabulous.  Having a fashion designer for a mom, I also have no excuse for slacky style.  It would be like growing up in a family of firefighters and then burning candles near curtains.  You just know better.

Carine Roitfeld and her daughter Julia Restoin Roitfeld.
Carine is the editor Vogue Paris, arguably the most innovative and influential of all Vogue editions. Which reminds me, the new issue just arrived at the Yorkville newsstand I frequent. A copy is on hold in my name. It’s a necessary precaution, you see. They only get 10 at a time.  A month late.  It's torture.

Carine’s daughther, Julia, is the face of Tom Ford’s Black Orchid fragrance. Not too shabby. She is also a graphic designer and NYC party hopper.

Roitfeld senior is known for her edgy style—loads of black and leather in conceptual silhouettes, always sharply feminine, never soft. Fetishistic footwear and slick straight hair is de rigueur.

Roitfeld Junior has inherited her penchant for noir, but has a slightly more girly style. Nonetheless, the influence is clear.




Next we have the Birkin Sisters, daughters to the inimitable Jane, though neither share their mum’s last name. Ms. Birkin didn’t limit her lovers. Charlotte is a Gainsborough; her father is the singer/French icon Serge. She has the same simplistic style as her mother. Both women make jeans, a cashmere sweater (probably from Zadig and Voltaire, Gerald Darel or Lucien Pellet Finet) and sneakers look much chicer than I ever could. And I’ve tried.

The younger daughter, Lou Doillon, is an actress/model/fashionista/whatever of my own heart. Her main style influence is—get this—“the artful dodger”. Only a fille raised in Paris by France’s sweetheart…You should hear her accent. It reeks of boho jet-set. She has adopted her mother’s love of menswear and slouchy soigné.

I saw Jane in concert recently and was enchanted. She is a true artiste.

And then we have Ms. Anna Wintour with her daughter Bee Shaffer.
Bee has inherited her mother’s smug polished style and hyper-groomed hair.
Kind of predictable. She’s a bit of a show pony.

Got me thinking what I have acquired from my lovely mummy:
*Blonde. Bangs.
*Never enough gold. Silver just doesn’t do it for me, coming from a family of Scandinavian gold miners. Although I love an artful mix of silver and gold.
*Diamonds Fornever. I really don’t get diamonds. I already know what I want for my eventual union. The Cartier Rolling Ring—same as Mom. Simple, classic, and stackable for marriages 1 through 3.
*Ivory. Head to toe.  In the winter.
*Out-of-income-bracket footwear. In the 70's, my mother let a rent cheque bounce for eggplant over the knee suede boots. What a tart.
*Sensational Showstopper Coats. A given, really. The first and last impression counts.
*One-piece ski suits. I will never live this one down. But they are so much warmer. Kate Moss wears them. Does that make it okay yet?
*Intermission hemlines. Shorter in the front, longer in the back.

*Cinched Waist.

* Oversize sunglasses. Icelandic people have large craniums I hear.

What have you picked up from your mum?

x M.