Like Mother, Like Daughter
As a girl, Mika Zusak wasn’t that fussed about clothing. “I never put much thought into it, I was something of a tomboy,” she says. Her daughter Kitty, 15, is different. “She’s very decisive about what she will and won’t wear, and has been from about the age of two – from the moment when she could remove any clothing she didn’t like,” Mika laughs.
Our children may inherit a lot from us, but often their sense of style is their own, and it shows up at an early age. “It was obvious to me from a young age that Maya was going to do something creative, and that was partly about the way she dressed. She was never into conforming,” says Annette McKenzie. It was an accurate assessment. Maya, 19, is a singer-songwriter, who has contracts with Atlantic Records and Sony Music.
That doesn’t mean our daughters have abandoned that time-honoured-ritual, the raiding of your mother’s wardrobe. “It switched when Grace hit her teens – suddenly she was borrowing designer pieces from my wardrobe,” says Aileen Marr. As a stylist, Aileen has watched her daughter’s style evolution with interest. “Her generation is becoming very conscious about ethical practices in fashion, and I’ve found that fascinating to watch.”
Tanya Linney says that she and her 12-year-old daughter, Luella, have a synergy when it comes to style. “I have a lot of stuff I’ve outgrown – I’m not a size 8 anymore like I was in my 20s – and she’s drawn to them. It’s not just clothes – she’s often drawn to songs that I used to love, too. It’s almost as if it’s passed on genetically.”
In the spirit of family fun, we invited four mothers and daughters to play dress-ups with a difference: they had to work with clothes from each other’s wardrobes. The results? See for yourself.
Annette & Maya, above
A I used to be very into fashion when I was younger, but having children changes the way you dress. I don’t have time to search things out. I’ll go to Zara, COS or H&M but I’ll play with proportion – I’ll buy a size 14 top and wear it as a dress. Maya is very androgynous, very rock’n’roll, but she plays with proportion, too – she might team a corset top with a big shirt over the top of it.
M Fashion is fun to experiment with. Sometimes I’ll fall heavily on the masculine side, sometimes more feminine, other times I’ll mesh them. Second-hand shops are a favourite because there is more individuality, less mass market.
“I have a lot of stuff I’ve outgrown – I’m not a size 8 anymore – and she’s drawn to them. It’s not just clothes, it’s songs that I used to love, too. It’s almost as if it’s passed on genetically.”
Luella & Tanya
T We may not be the same size but we do have the same style, so we had fun choosing outfits for each other. This jumpsuit she’s wearing I wore a lot in my 20s; the roller skates I’m wearing came from the same era.
L Dressing-up was really fun. My mum’s style is rock’n’roll and I can’t wait to grow up and have my mum’s clothes.
Grace & Aileen
A Grace went straight for my Celine pants because they’re pink – Harry Styles wore pink pants on his album cover, so obviously pink is cool. I have to cuff those pants twice, but she can wear them full length. She has teamed them with my Fendi top and her grandmother’s pearls.
G I thought my bold floral print dress by Glasson would look good on Mum because it’s not too girlie but still feminine. The layers of silver rings, chain necklaces take it down a level. The Doc Martens are my essential boot to wear winter or summer, though Mum says she did that look years ago.
Mika & Kitty
M Kitty and I have differing tastes, but she is strong in her convictions and knows who she is – much more than I ever did at that age. In choosing an outfit, it was a compromise between clothes that represent her wardrobe and something I am willing to be photographed wearing!
K Since my mum and I have very different tastes, I enjoyed the challenge of finding clothes from her wardrobe, and piecing them into an outfit that she wouldn’t normally wear.
Words_ Ute Junker
Photos_ Carlotta Moye