{"id":1969980,"date":"2026-06-03T12:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T09:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1969980"},"modified":"2026-06-03T12:00:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T09:00:24","slug":"how-family-lives-on-through-fashion-heirlooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1969980","title":{"rendered":"How Family Lives On Through Fashion Heirlooms"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Inherited Style)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How Family Lives On Through Fashion Heirlooms<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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Tastemakers on the generations of well-dressed women who shaped them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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by Alison Syrett<\/a><\/address>\n
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The Zoe Report’s Personal Style Issue<\/a><\/div>\n
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The term \u201cpersonal style\u201d is a slightly misleading one, as if the way one gets dressed is a fixed, intractable quality they\u2019re born with. The truth, though, is that while some people certainly possess a natural aptitude for wearing clothing with flair, it takes a lot of outside shaping to realize one\u2019s full potential. Coming from a fashion-minded family helps a lot<\/em>, as it means you\u2019re surrounded by a treasure trove of interesting garments as well as intel on pulling them off. Case in point: Nicole Kidman\u2019s daughter Sunday Rose looked amazing at the Met Ball a few weeks ago, but do you think she\u2019d know how to work a Dior gown at age 17 without the help of her mom? Not likely.<\/p>\n

Kit Keenan<\/a>, a lifestyle influencer and the author of the cookbook In Good Taste<\/em>, can\u2019t remember a time when style wasn\u2019t a defining force in her home. \u201cWatching my mom get dressed in the morning was always a moment,\u201d she says. As the daughter of prolific New York fashion designer Cynthia Rowley, she and her younger sister, Gigi Powers<\/a>, learned the ins and outs of expressing themselves with clothes from the earliest age: which pieces worked with what, which rules to follow and which to break, how to alter any item to suit their needs. As she points out, a fashion perspective is something you craft for yourself out of myriad references throughout your life, but \u201cgrowing up around someone with such a strong sense of style definitely makes you more aware of individuality.\u201d To that end, she continues, her approach to pulling together outfits is \u201calways in conversation with my mom, but also entirely my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking valuable style cues from one\u2019s predecessors is, of course, nothing new. Women have been borrowing from their mothers\u2019, grandmothers\u2019, and aunties\u2019 closets since the beginning of time. The difference is that now, in the age of social media, many girls are taking to the internet to share the treasures and advice they\u2019ve been surrounded by since birth \u2014 oftentimes bringing their family along for the ride. Meanwhile, a fresh wave of style-minded moms are documenting the ways their wardrobes are shifting through parenthood, and fostering love for fashion in their own children along the way.<\/p>\n

Ahead, TZR has spoken to fashion and culture insiders from multiple generations for whom fashion is not just an interest, or even a passion, but a way of connecting with the other women in their families. <\/p>\n

An Archival Bond <\/h2>\n

Throughout Kara Mendelsohn<\/a>\u2019s many decades working at mega-brands like Calvin Klein (Carolyn Bessette Kennedy was her coworker, NBD) and Michael Kors \u2014 as well as her own line, Cooper & Ella \u2014 she amassed quite the luxury clothing archive. \u201cEach designer [in my closet is from] a different stage of my life,\u201d she says. \u201cMy 20s, then 30s, and then 40s were all lived while at different design houses.\u201d <\/p>\n

This gold mine of vintage is something Mendelsohn\u2019s daughter, influencer Ella Mendelsohn<\/a>, 21, is more than happy to take advantage of now, both personally and professionally. She and her mother, who has recently pivoted to professional content creation as well, have turned the hand-me-down process into a shared video series in which Kara, 51, styles Ella in decades-old designs from her personal collection \u2014\u00a0complete with sage insider advice on how to pull off each item. <\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s so funny because I\u2019m carrying the bags my mom went out to dinners and partied with in NYC; I now do the same,\u201d says the younger Mendelsohn, who loves reinventing a piece from over 20 years ago by combining it with new season designs. \u201cI\u2019ve even had fashion girls come up to me and ask if my bag is vintage Marc Jacobs, etc. I love that I can give my mom\u2019s pieces a new life by styling them in a different way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonding over archival style \u2014 and high fashion in general \u2014 has not always been a part of the duo\u2019s relationship. \u201cWhen I was in middle school, all the girls were wearing Justice, and my mom refused to shop there,\u201d Ella Mendelsohn recalls, noting she wore a lot of Zara and Bonpoint instead and \u201cnever felt on trend.\u201d Much to her mother\u2019s chagrin, she eventually shifted toward crop tops and sweatpants in high school. \u201cI finally did a major closet purge and elevated my style [between the ages of 18 and 20],\u201d she says. \u201cLooking back, I can appreciate my mom\u2019s advice and what she was trying to do \u2014 but back then I didn\u2019t get it!\u201d<\/p>\n

A Reimagined Legacy<\/h2>\n

Olivia Galli<\/a>, 28, always knew her grandmother \u2014 the late Joan Johnson, who founded Johnson Cosmetics with her husband, George \u2014 had a fabulous wardrobe. \u201cAnytime I\u2019d visit my grandmother, I would play hide-and-go-seek in her closet,\u201d she remembers. \u201cI\u2019d see and admire all the clothes and try on her heels even though I was tiny. So [style] really just has always been part of my life.\u201d But the photographer and model didn\u2019t fully realize how big or special Johnson\u2019s collection was until she began digging into near-endless boxes of styles her grandmother left to her: an opulent archive spanning Chanel bags, Dior jeans, and Jean Paul Gaultier outerwear, all of which she\u2019s been unboxing and sharing through a series of buzzy online videos. <\/p>\n

To her, these incredible pieces are both reminders of a person she loved dearly and clues to a side of Johnson she never really knew. \u201cI recently visited my grandfather\u2019s apartment in Chicago and was rummaging through this bin of photos and found all these pictures of my grandmother and her style,\u201d she says, recalling that while she always knew her grandmother to be perfectly pulled together, she missed out on decades of dramatic outfits from before she was born. \u201cI wish I was older, and I could have seen it all firsthand.\u201d <\/p>\n

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At first, Galli was unsure how best to pay homage to the abundance of fashion riches she had received. Not everything fit her body properly or felt true to her personality. \u201cI was mesmerized by my grandmother\u2019s clothing, but then I\u2019d try to wear it… and it was just not hitting,\u201d she says, noting the push-pull she felt between giving each piece its proper due and exploring her own personal style \u2014 which, she points out, is a constant work in progress. Over the years, it\u2019s gone from being quite formal (think pencil skirts, blazers, and button-downs) to far more experimental and playful; she loves pairing a more casual piece, or jeans or a T-shirt, with something more opulent, such as printed pants or an evening jacket.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look back at some of my old videos when I was starting out, and I\u2019m like, \u2018What is this outfit?\u2019\u201d she says. \u201c[It wouldn\u2019t be] properly tailored or make any sense. I think taking a step back and being able to wear one thing of my grandmother\u2019s, but then the rest can be what I purchased myself, is a good balance between the two.\u201d Case in point: a decades-old chocolate brown Chanel bag she shows off during her interview that works with just about everything \u2014 including her preferred off-duty combination of a relaxed Ralph Lauren teddy bear sweater and wide-leg jeans. <\/p>\n

Like Mother, Like Daughters<\/h2>\n

Born in a tiny Midwest town to a scientist father and artist mother, NYC-based designer Cynthia Rowley<\/a>, 67, says her childhood was imbued with \u201can unusual combination of creativity and inventiveness.\u201d So it was only natural that she\u2019d encourage her own daughters \u2014 cookbook author and entrepreneur Kit Keenan<\/a>, 27, and influencer Gigi Powers<\/a>, 21 \u2014 to experiment with fashion. Keenan says she has fond early memories of her mother encouraging them to dress with imagination. \u201cFor a full year, I wore my birthday crown to school, and on Gigi\u2019s first day of kindergarten, she wore a Barbie life jacket,\u201d she says. \u201cThere were never really any boundaries, and she always encouraged self-expression.\u201d<\/p>\n

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These days, Keenan and Powers have established their own specific ways of getting dressed, but still constantly borrow from their mom. \u201cWe have a company archive full of decades-old runway and archival pieces they love to raid,\u201d says Rowley. \u201cMy closet is unfortunately fair game too.\u201d And while Rowley certainly has plenty of sentimental items stashed away, she doesn\u2019t get too precious about allowing her girls to wear them however and wherever they want. \u201cWhat I love about fashion is that it\u2019s always evolving,\u201d she says, pointing out that a closet can feel like a scrapbook of memories, and she enjoys sharing the stories behind each garment with her girls. \u201cBut more than anything, I\u2019m excited to see how Kit and Gigi take some of my archival pieces and make them their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

One item in Rowley\u2019s wardrobe that\u2019s always in demand? \u201cMy mom has a pair of vintage Levi\u2019s from when she was in high school that Gigi and I fight over to this day,\u201d says Keenan. \u201cThey\u2019re completely ripped and patched up, but somehow they have the perfect wash and fit. We\u2019re constantly borrowing them from one another because they\u2019re one of those pieces that just can\u2019t be re-created.\u201d<\/p>\n

Future Heirlooms<\/h2>\n

Although Gina Bruno<\/a>, 34, is best known for hosting the chef-centric interview show Campers<\/a><\/em> as well as private dinners at her event space This Is Frank\u2019s House<\/a>, she\u2019s also cultivated an artsy-cool minimalist look for all her professional appearances; think blousy tops, relaxed Bermuda shorts, and playful earrings. Her appreciation for a well-put-together outfit is something she hopes to hand down to her young daughter, Mars. It\u2019s a bit of a shift from the dynamic she had with her own mother, who had excellent taste but preferred an understated look. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re either someone who gives a sh*t about what you wear, or you\u2019re not \u2014 that part is wired from the jump,\u201d she says, noting that her mom is not a \u201cfashion person,\u201d but she has always been obsessed with clothes and the narratives you can create with them. So far, it seems that Mars might be following the same path. \u201cShe\u2019s only 2 and already has strong opinions about what matches and what doesn\u2019t,\u201d says Bruno. \u201cNobody handed any of us that \u2014 we just have it!\u201d<\/p>\n

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She may be a toddler, but Mars seems to have a strong penchant for purses. \u201cI\u2019m not a huge bag girl, but I have a few that I worked and saved for,\u201d says Bruno. She\u2019s been daydreaming about the styles her toddler might carry one day, and how she might style them. \u201cIt almost makes me want to buy one or two more from my wish list, so I can enjoy them for a moment and save them for her \u2014 really, it\u2019s a win-win!\u201d<\/p>\n

Bruno is also holding on to a few cherished garments from her grandmother that she plans to pass down as well. The first is a clear-bedazzled coin purse that she coveted as a child; the second is a handmade purple and white cotton dress that was passed down to her mother before her. \u201cThree generations in one handmade dress,\u201d she says. \u201cHopefully I\u2019ll pass it to Mars one day and make it four.\u201d<\/p>\n