COASTAL GRANDMOTHER

 

Hellooo!

We had a little bit of a vacation there for a second. But we’re back in action now (it’s a beast) so HERE U GO:

On the first day of 7th grade at my brand new school, where I knew only my sister, who is 6 years older than me, I wore khaki pants, a flowing white blouse, a loose gauzy white t-shirt, and lavender platform J. Crew flip flops. I also had a short bob, acne, and braces. If this explains anything about who I am as a person today, you’re very welcome.

I bring this trauma up is

  1. to make you laugh

  2. luckily for me, I can now just say I was “ahead of my time” and not “a lil dweeb” (I was that too though).

The reality is that my MOM was highly influencing what I was wearing in the early days of 7th grade (which is a therapy session waiting to happen, I can feel it brewing) which makes sense because despite what my peers informed me that day which is “oh no baby, what is you doing??” she had me believing I looked CHIC as hell. And, duh, that’s because she was a chic as hell 50-year-old Coastal New England mom. The early days of… Coastal Grandmother.

Let’s dive deep, SHALL WE?

You’ve maybe heard this around town. It’s hip, it’s out there, it’s having its moment, but what does Coastal Grandmother really ~MEAN?~ And from where does it hail? And why was my mom dressing me like this when she claimed to love me?

 

If you didn’t know, Coastal Grandmother was born decades ago when women like Diane Keaton, Ina Garten, and Martha Stewart seemed to actively embody a wistful Elin Hilderbrand novel before she was even waxing poetic about the Atlantic shores. But their distinct styles all had one core element - it wasn’t about the male gaze. They weren’t centering their sexuality in their style. This is interesting when we dig a little deeper into this trend and why it’s coming back with such vengeance in 2022 (and when we think about blogs like Man Repeller who have been touting this type of anti-male gaze aesthetic since before the downfall).

Most styles are born from something else, and especially in this case, Coastal Grandmother has been around, sure sure sure. But it’s never been widely accepted as mainstream. After 1 singular day at my new school, I immediately realized the error of my ways and demanded I be allowed to wear low-rise jeans and polo shirts that were so tight that one once cut off the circulation to my arm (I don’t want to talk about it). At the time, the style my peers deemed “lame” was widely worn by a fringe community that simply wasn’t receiving the same type of representation then that they receive today - the queer community. Sure, Diane Keaton and her cronies can claim they were doing it first, but they’re famous. Queer people were wearing these outfits because what was mainstream popular did not fit into their definition of how they chose to define their style. Simply put — they weren’t ALL ABOUT THE MALE GAZE.

I went to the source to dig a little deeper into the queer community, and one of my favorite Havas Humans, Vic Kelman, graciously provided one queer human’s feelings about the resurgence of Coastal Grandmother. LET’S DEW THIS:

JULIET: Do you know what Coastal Grandmother is?

 

VIC: I didn’t until you told me about it. Like… in the Teams message when you asked me to do this.

JULIET: Right, right right okay, but now that you’ve heard me talk about it ad nauseam, what do you think about it?

 

VIC: It looks like outfits I see all the time. It looks pretty standard. I feel like every bisexual queen I know wears high-waisted jeans and a baggy button-up with an undershirt?

JULIET: But tell me more about “every bisexual queen” what does this mean to you?

 

VIC: I don’t know!

JULIET: VIC! CMON!

 

VIC: Ok, ok! I feel like those women sit in that grey area between feminine and masculine where it isn’t quite defined what they should or shouldn't wear. And those people tend to be trendiest first. Like they were the first to wear jumpsuits! I don’t know; I think those people are more focused on being comfortable overall and not really subscribing to wearing tight stuff or stupid clothes that aren't comfortable or make them feel not like themselves. Also… queer people are the ones like… out foraging in the woods. You have to be able to bend at the waist and not have your jeans fall off when you’re queer.

JULIET: Who were some of your style icons growing up?

 

VIC: The easy answer is Alyson Stoner. She was the tomboy little girl in a bunch of movies. And I used to hardcore identify with her. Beyond that, I didn’t pay attention to style growing up. I didn’t “care” because I didn’t feel like I fit in anywhere. Which is so sad, but I didn’t know I was queer. But I knew I didn’t want to dress like my peers. And I hid my body growing up, but it wasn’t a style choice. It was because I was athletic, and I felt good in that kind of attire. And when it came to dressing fancy, that was always really tough. I would pull out pants and button-ups while my parents pulled out dresses. And it became uncomfortable to even go shopping.

JULIET: Can we unpack that a little?

You’re talking about comfort and practicality as part of your style inspiration. And you never felt “comfortable” in what was popular. Do you think styles like Coastal Grandmother allow for a door to be opened for younger queer people today? Maybe one you didn’t have?

 

VIC: I think there’s a door opening in general. Even the word “grandma” lets us expand what we’re calling “style.” I think slightly less gender-conforming clothing is great. It’s more gender-bending. For example, the sweater over a button-up is something I have always associated with queer people but to see that more mainstream is awesome.

JULIET: When you think about the queer community what aspects of modern culture make you laugh cuz you’ve all BEEN doing it or you’ve seen these examples in queer-coded characters and BEEN knowing?

 

I think there are a lot of examples, there was an article recently calling out that lesbian style is now mainstream cuz a couple of celebs wore blazers on the red carpet. I don’t agree that their style is overtly lesbian just because they’re wearing a blazer. But there are straight female celebs wearing masculine clothing and redefining what’s okay. Workwear and Carhartt and utility wear. That was standard for masculine queer women and now is mainstream. Everyone wears Carhartt.

JULIET: So in your personal opinion are you looking at trends like Coastal Grandmother, and even some of these more utility-centric trends, and seeing more representation and opportunity for the queer community or more appropriation?

 

VIC: I feel like I lean more opportunity. The queer community will always find new ways to be creative with their style. At least it’s more accessible to younger queer people and there are more options. It’s opened up for them to see what’s available.

JULIET: Anything else you might want the ATH… community about Coastal Grandmother, Chessy or queer style?

 

VIC: One other style thing I was going to mention was thrifting! As a queer person, thrifting has been a big part of finding the clothes you want to fit the way you need. And these Gen-Zers need to leave those grandpa button-ups WHERE THEY FOUND THEM THANK YOU!

HERE’S THE REST

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KLOVEYOUBYE

JT