The real secrets of great mother-daughter style
For these mothers and daughters, great style is inherited. Whether they intended to or not, every one of the daughters featured here has gleaned something from mum – be it a collection of great Gucci bags, a passion for old-Hollywood style icons, or a nose for buying the best vintage.
From Jerry Hall and her daughter Georgia May Jagger co-ordinating in Chloé during Paris Fashion Week, to Reese Witherspoon and her beauty doppelganger Ava Phillippe on the red carpet, even the celebrities have proved how it pays to sync your style with your ultimate plus-one.
Here, three duos share the secrets of their mother-daughter style act and their ageless fashion tips – whether you are in your 20s or your 80s.
Justine Tabak and Daisy Shackleton, 60 and 22
A great dress is the item that unites designer Justine Tabak and her daughter Daisy – even if they might style the same piece rather differently.
“Daisy will tend to dress something up whereas I will tend to dress it down,” Justine explains. “Yesterday she had a linen dress on and she made it look really glossy with red lipstick and satin pumps. I wouldn’t have thought of that; I would have worn it with trainers.”
Justine launched her own fashion brand in 2016, when Daisy was in her teens, but she had always worked for other labels. Daisy grew up “surrounded by textiles” – the Tabak family loft is insulated with clothing.
“I really hang on to things,” admits Justine. “There are clothes up there that I’ve kept from when I was 16, maybe younger. I’ve got my 1990s Comme des Gar?ons T-shirts and my Agnès B leather jeans. In the 1980s I wore a lot of white Victorian dresses, but with basketball boots. I suppose I was quite grungy, and I’ve always liked to take something pretty and knock it back a bit.”
For Daisy, raiding her mum’s wardrobe is even cheaper than buying on Vinted like her friends do.
“I literally shop in the attic,” she laughs. “I remember mum putting me in itchy Aran knits when I was young, but now I can appreciate them, they are gorgeous.”
The pair now treat their wardrobes as almost interchangeable – Daisy says that she can make her mother fall in love all over again with an old favourite, just by styling it in a fresh way.
Daisy now also works with her mother on her brand, designing clothes that they know are truly ageless because they have passed the test for both the mother in her 60s and the daughter in her 20s. On the brand’s website, you’ll see pieces like the raspberry colour Midhurst dress worn loose by Justine with a cardigan and Adidas suede trainers, while Daisy has it belted and with leather clogs.
“I think beautiful sleeves are the essential feature that makes a dress work for both of us,” says Justine. “Dresses that nail that shape sell really well. That and we often like to offer the option to tie a ribbon or belt at the smallest part of the ribcage. Simple silhouettes that either of us, or any woman, could put their stamp on.”
Paula and Daisy Sutton, 54 and 20
Being 20, Daisy could have been influenced by the Kardashians. She might have turned into a fast-fashion addict, as so many from her generation have. She investigated, she’ll admit, but ultimately came around to the thinking that her mother really did know best when it came to fashion. They now share a passion for nostalgia-tinged 1940s, Fifties and Sixties silhouettes.
“I love the Forties – the pin-up look, but with a modern Dita Von Teese take on it,” Daisy says. “I’ve always been on social media, so I’ve seen trends come and go and experimented as a teenager, but it’s funny that my style has ultimately come back to this look.”
Paula’s passion for the retro is well documented. The Hill House Vintage blogger and novelist (The Potting Shed Murder is out next month) documents her outfits for more than half a million followers on Instagram.
“I remember walking down Carnaby Street when I was 16 wearing a black polo neck, leggings and ballet slippers – it was my Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face phase,” she details. “I’ve always taken inspiration from style in films – Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet was another favourite. Even when I buy a dress from Emilia Wickstead, for instance, it will always have an air of the past, even when it’s new.”
Rixo and O Pioneers are two other contemporary labels that unite this mother and daughter – the balance of sweetheart necklines and pretty sleeves across the collections means that they can each find something to suit. They each love a cardigan – Paula’s might come from Brora, layered over a frilly blouse, while Daisy’s could be Vivienne Westwood, with a silk camisole underneath. “I’ve always been more playful, whereas she’s got a va-va-voom figure,” says Paula of her daughter’s pin-up look. “I do envy your sexiness; I never had that.”
Daisy will be back from university, where she’s studying fashion marketing, this Mother’s Day, at the family home in Norfolk, which gives the pair a chance to hit the local antique shops.
“My tip to find the best pieces is to look in general antique stores rather than clothing thrift emporiums,” says Daisy. “I found my favourite military jacket on a rail of clothes behind all the furniture.”
Mother and daughter can also agree on their beauty must-have: red lipstick.
“If I’ve not got my lipstick on, I feel like I’m not dressed,” says Paula. “The only time I didn’t wear red was when we first moved to Norfolk [from South London in 2010] and I was feeling a bit low. On reflection, you could tell just by looking at me.”
Paula’s colour of choice is Mac’s Ruby Woo; Daisy prefers a deeper tone. “I’ve only recently started to do this,” she says, “But now I’m the same, I wear it every day.”
Ann and Julietta Dexter, 86 and 54
Julietta Dexter grew up in Milan in the 1970s, a time when “everyone had a dressmaker, it was the norm”. Watching her mother, Ann, commission beautiful bespoke clothing gave her an appreciation for quality and materials – principles that guide how she shops to this day.
“Mummy taught me how to sew, to embroider and repair, and to really look after my clothes,” she explains. “It was a treat to take a page from a fashion magazine to a local seamstress to get a dress made up – and you understood how special that was.” Mother-daughter trips to Como to source materials are some of her favourite childhood memories. When Ann once returned home from England with three Marks & Spencer evening dresses for Julietta and her sisters, it was seen as momentous. “M&S felt exotic – it was exciting,” she remembers.
“When I was little I would wait for Mummy to go out to dinner, and then sneak into her room to try on her shoes,” Julietta admits. “It was quite naughty but very tempting – she had beautiful green satin shoes with brooches on.” Julietta has since inherited some of her mother’s Gucci bags and Italian silk scarves too – all classics which can be added to any current-day outfit to add a truly personal touch.
As the chair of the charity Smart Works, which helps British women back into employment via interview coaching and dressing services, Julietta understands how the right outfit can transform one’s confidence and prompt success. The charity hosts regular fashion sales to raise funds, and both Julietta and her mother now boast wardrobes full of designer bargains they have bought over the years.
“All of the family comes to the sales, there’s something for everyone,” Julietta says. “In the past I’ve bought Victoria Beckham hot pants for my daughter, and pieces by Needle & Thread, Me+Em and Cefinn for me.”
Clothes are gamely passed around in this family. Ann is a matriarch of many women – she has three daughters, plus seven grandchildren and one great grandchild. There’s only one boy in the mix.
“These days, the most worn pieces in my wardrobe are floral shirts, cashmere and alpaca jerseys and smart trousers,” Ann says. “I appreciate nice colours and textures, as I always have. But mostly I want to keep warm.”
While the pair have a shared interest in well-made clothing, they differ in their approach to beauty.
“Mummy was strict about hair and make-up,” remembers Juleitta, “I think she has always wanted us to look classic and smart, not experimental. She doesn’t do make-up – she’d say a hot flannel and washing your face properly is what’s needed.”
Julietta, in contrast, loves make-up. “I’m the opposite,” she laughs. “Bobbi Brown’s Pot Rouge would be my desert-island product.”
Five ageless style buys
Cashmere cardigan, ￡295, Brora; Bloom shirt dress, ￡265, Rixo
Printed silk scarf, ￡220, Prada; Knot bracelet, ￡125, Missoma; Gazele shoes, ￡85, Adidas