Your Dad's Style - YouLookFab Forum

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Dressing

About: Happy Father's Day

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Your Dad's Style

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I didn't talk about my Papa's style on the blog today because I had other things to say that felt more appropriate. But I do want to complement the post with a forum thread.

My 84 year old Dad likes to wear jeans, checked shirts, leather shoes, comfy socks and bright pullovers. It's a uniform - and his entire wardrobe comes from J.Crew, Levis, the Gap, Banana Republic and Nordstrom. He usually wears a hat, and has always worn fab eyewear. He never wears sneakers, shorts, tees, sweatshirts or any type of gear. He's a casual Modern Classic.

Isabelle (Skylurker) reminded me of the style interview I posted about my Dad six years ago. It's hilarious, so I've reposted it here, if you feel like a chuckle:

https://youlookfab.com/2011/06.....thers-day/

Feel free to share your Dad's current style. Pics welcome. I'm working with a client all day, so shan't be able to check in on the thread and reply. But know that I will read, absorb and enjoy what you share. Happy Father's Day. xo

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Dressing

49 replies

Latest reply was from April

Lisa

Veteran

My father is no longer here, but his favorite footwear was a two strap velcro sneaker. I rarely see them around now-a-days but when I do they always remind me of my darling dad. Your Papa's smile matches is brighter colored knitwear perfectly!

JAileen

Veteran

To work, my father wore suits and bow ties. I never saw him wearing any other kind. I used to make them for him. When he retired he had several hundred. He enjoyed pattern mixing!

Anonymous

Your dad has great casual style!
Our dads have similar style:
I'm not sure what your call the "Kagol" cap...I always refer to it as a "golf cap" but my dad wears that every day. Occasionally a fedora type of hat (the non-dramatic type).

He also likes checked shirts with a wool or cotton sweater, and often also a tie.

He wears those thick-soled leather shoes too.

He always wears polyester or wool trousers. He lives in Victoria so never gets too hot.

The only time I saw my dad ever wear jeans was at the cottage. He calls them "dungarees". He is 90 years old and I think he is just not of the jean-wearing generation.

My dad is COLOUR BLIND and doesn't seem to get much help from his lady friend with clothing, so there are some interesting outfits that are borne of that!

Thank you for sharing your dad's style with us!

Anonymous

Ah Lisa, my Scottish uncle (no longer with us) also enjoyed the two-strap Velcro shoe in his retirement! I should include him here because he was very dear to me. He wore a lot of cords with suspenders and an Ascot (?). One of those western cowboy lace tie things.

He was very Scottish in attitude, but like my Dutch mother, adored the wide open space in Canada!

Anonymous

My father's no longer here, either. When he was younger, he wore a starched white shirt, a tie, dress trousers, and polished black shoes every day. His hair was black, so he was handsome. All the time I was growing up, he wore suits to church and polo shirts with trousers to work (he owned his own company by the time I was born). I can't think of a time that I saw him in anything other than a button-down dress shirt or a polo shirts, and he always wore trousers and nice shoes.

pil

Veteran

Your papa is so dapper!
My dad is no longer here either, But some memories of his clothes crack me up.
1. His, what he called, 'knockin' around' boots - those cognac lace up boots with thick crepe soles. Who knows why this humors me so.
2. The time he mixed plaids and wore a different plaid shirt with his plaid shorts to golf.
3. The white fishnet tee shirt - yikes!

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BrieN

Veteran

My dad definitely has his own style. He often wears white suede lace up shoes, the ones with the reddish soles. He favors drab colors, and will top most any outfit with an army green fishing vest - the ones with all the mesh lined pockets.

Anonymous

My Father is deceased. Deceased a long time ago.

My only memory of him is wearing jeans. Always jeans. He worked for the railroad as a "car" repairman. Jeans just seemed right. I think there might have been a white tee shirt involved as well.

What I remember most about my Father was his work ethic. No matter what, no matter the Minnesota weather, he made it to work on time (every single day). In his case, he was "on call" seven days a week/twenty-four hours a day.

I remember him getting up early so he could walk to work on those Minnesota days he could not get out of the neighborhood due to snow.

Summer

Veteran

I loved the interview, Angie! Your papa's ideas on style is so like my own father's (alas, he is no longer with us). The only difference is that my own father never owned a pair of jeans in his entire life. He also loved to see women wear dresses and skirts rather than trousers, and was completely bemused by high fashion - he just couldn't understand it!

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Do you mean a bolo, smittie?

My dad is also color blind, so my mom intervenes with some of his color combos. He wore a suit and tie to work for many years, but has gone casual preppy in his retirement. He's quite active, gardening and restoring antique cars, so he's gotten to really like those wicking shirts - usually a polo rather than a tshirt. Practical yet always appropriate is how I would describe his style.

He's also very observant about women's fashion and gives my mom great feedback.

Anonymous

Here is a favourite picture of my dad, who died 17 years ago at the age of 64. So young. He was a golf pro and dressed as you would imagine . . His " off duty" looks didn't vary much from his working clothes so it was all about shoes - beautifully made lace-ups from Alan Edmonds were worn with dress pants and a golf shirt. My dad was quite the sartorialist.

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krishnidoux

Veteran

The smell of tweed humid with rainy weather...
I have to be indulgent towards my father's style: the poor guy was in his prime during the 60's /70's, but he had the style, body and demanor of an 80's child. My avant-garde, dreamy, artistic father's ideal style would have been goth, full on Marylin Manson fashion, with pointy booties and eye-liner and jet black hair down his face. I mean, he naturally already had the palid skin and necessary lankiness associated with it. Instead, the universe placed him a university professor in the 1970's. So of course, you get a somewhat narrow-built dude popping out of a slightly oversized tweed jacket, paired with mustard bell-bottom corduroys and a mushy-color print short sleeves shirt. He sported the beard as his intellectual-artsy-rebel-yet-academic membership card. Dishiveled, indescript short do was unintended, yet added to the general picture: as if he was walking right out of a David Lodge novel.

But he was happy.
I adored him.
Since he passed away, 10 years ago this year, he visited me a few times in my dreams. To my surprise, it must have been in 2013 or 2014, he once appeared excited and eager to tell me he now had a new passion and I would never guess what it was: fashion! And he showed me a cowboy hat and pink boots. Needless to say I woke up from that dream very perplexed.

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Anonymous

LisaP -- I see your Father in you.

skylurker

Veteran

My father had good looks, but no style.
He looks down on fashion as something irrational and feminine.
He used to wear suits to work.
Now he's retired and wear gear - things must be comfy (read : 2 sizes too big) and have lots of capacious pockets to earn his approval.

Laura1975

My 71 year old dad bought his first pair of jeans in 1990 when he and my mum divorced. Prior to that he wore what he calls 'slacks' which just look like men's dress trousers (pants!) to me. Hevwore these throughout my childhood. He's been known to wear cords too but always with a crease ironed in!

Shoe wise, always leather slip ons or leather sandals for holidays to hot places.

Dress shirts sometimes with a round neck jumper over the top and a waterproof anorak.

He wears all of these until they fall apart. Hates shops, shopping and other shoppers. Unfortunately I think he still has the 1990 jeans!

rebekahphoto

Veteran

My dad personifies the classic working man style. He is a 73yr old "retired" carpenter/gardener/hunter/builder/winemaker. His wardrobe is practical/gear and comes from mostly LL bean, Sierra Trading Post and Nordstrom. He prefers blues, (to match his eyes) neutrals, and pops of brights. Does not care for black much

His typical outfit: Carhartts or other double front work pants, long sleeve t-shirt--often from a microbrewery, plaid shirt-jacket & boots. He has a huge (100+) collection of baseball hats, and wears one almost every day.

He appreciates quality and well made garments. He has Agave Lux
cotton shirts and JW Hulme bags. Comfort is a huge
factor. I rarely have seen him wear sweaters but he loves micro-fleece. This winter he went on a watch "binge" and purchased several Tag Heuer watches.

We lived in Hawaii in the early 70s, and have always worn Hawaiian aloha style for fun. A few years ago he discovered silk aloha print shirts from Tommy Bahama online and purchased maybe 10. That is his "dressy" wear now. He got rid of most all of his button down/sunday shirts, and said suits reminded him of funerals

He also wears camo, neon, and bandanas--sometimes all together. German clothes for our annual Oktoberfest,

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Style Fan

Veteran

What fun. My father passed away in 1991. He was 68. He was extremely neat and tidy. He cleaned a lot. He probably suffered from PTSD from WWII. He was very intelligent and an introvert.
He wore very conservative clothing. He did not draw attention to himself. He had a construction company but when he went to work he wore work clothes because he thought nothing of jumping into a ditch and helping the labourers. The workers did not realize he was the owner.
He loved well made suits. My parents would go to England to visit their family and he had his suits made in England. He also wore earth tones.
He was blonde and had sparkling blue eyes.

Anonymous

Rebekah - your dad looks like quite the character! And that's interesting to hear Sterling - thanks for the comment!

rebekahphoto

Veteran

Lisap, oh he is! Quite the character, always the hit at the party. Can do or build almost anything, or he will learn to do it (bake bread, make sausage, weld)

Last summer he bought a black leather harley biker vest from a garage sale on a whim...he wore it around our fire pit at a bbq shirtless! He considered going back for the rear-less chaps, and we are thankful he did not!!

I love reading and seeing the "style stories" from everyone! from professional to working class it's interesting seeing men that are so different from what I grew up with.

Joy

Veteran

Angie, your dad has amazing style. My dad is no longer with us but was an intellectual and lived through the Great Depression so was very frugal. He was a college professor and always dressed the part in a suit, dress shoes, tie and crisp white shirt. Even if he were out digging a garden or mowing the lawn, this is what he would wear. He and his generation believed in uniforms and a suit and tie was his. He refused to wear jeans or knit shirts because jeans were part of a cowboy or farmer uniform and knit shirts were underwear. He did not know what casual wear was except to wear is older suits when doing yard work.

The Cat

Veteran

My father is 87, and his everyday style is about the same as your Dad's. And he never wears T-shirts, high neck sweaters, sweatshirts or sweatpants. He sometimes wears sneakers, and he has a dressy pair of shorts. At least twice a week, he attends meetings where he will wear one of his suits, a dress shirt, one of his many ties, and, of course, smart shoes.

Interestingly, today my aunt showed us a family photo from a 6 hours walk in the woods in 1968. I couldn't help smiling when I noticed that my father was wearing a formal dark suit, a white shirt, a tie and an elegant hat. Times certainly have changed, and even my father dresses more relaxed nowadays, at least for casual purposes.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Style fan, your dad and mine had a lot in common.

DonnaF

Veteran

My dad was born in 1923 and died in early 1995. He was a child of the Depression and grew up on a farm on an island so was frugal in the extreme. He was a scientist so probably wore a lab coat a lot. But somehow, I remember he had pocket protectors. He would wear his cheapy zori (flip-flops) until the heels wore through. And recycle the elastic from his old Jockey shorts in his workshop. My dad liked comfort, and often his clothes looked a bit big. But maybe that was because he was only about 5' 4" and 130 pounds. He loved hardware stores but hated any other shopping with a passion. My mom bought all his clothes without him; he even made her take an old shoe as a sample to buy new ones.

Style? What style?

Staysfit

Veteran

My dad is 80 and recently retired from his law practice because he had both knees replaced and his spinal arthritis was interfering with his ability to get around quickly enough at work. My dad is also a product of the depression, and grew up in a household where his father was unable to get work despite being well educated as an electrical engineer. He hated that his mother would make him wear dress pants to school when his classmates wore jeans and he says he rebelled in college and became very trendy. He always knows what's most in style, and in the past might have been wearing it, but now his style would be described as more modern classic. My dad always knows what is going on in the world, and is right in touch with the latest in popular culture. He enjoys technology, games, and science. He loves history and politics. He is curious and genuine and I think this adds charm and charisma to his personal style. He continues to be very active socially, He has good color sense and knows how to highlight one of his best features, his big sparkly bright blue eyes. He still has a full head of hair, which used to be very dark brown, but now is silvery white. My dad dresses in the proper clothes for each situation. He wears gear for exercise, jeans if it is informal, khakis for semi casual, and trousers/suit pants if it is more formal. He has an excellent collection of plaid shirts, solid shirts, ties and jackets to complement his coloring. He also has a nice collection of sweaters. I think his shoes are fairly basic at this point, mostly because he needs good support since he has had knee replacement, but in the past he had some beautiful shoes to wear with his suits. I think my dads personal style is all about making connections with people, doing things that bring joy to himself and others, and taking action. He is not one to sit idle even if he is in pain.

I almost forgot! My dad has collected science fiction novels since he was in elementary school. He developed a love of whimsical dragons at some point, and he has a large collection of dragon themed tee shirts, and belt buckles. I think he may still have some western boots tooled with dragons. He has a dragon ring which he loves and wears regularly. The other dragon themed items only come out when he goes to science fiction conventions.

cindysmith

Veteran

My dad passed away in 1984, but I recall his style as being his work uniform (firefighter) or jeans and a white T-shirt most days, with Sundays seeing him in trousers and a button-up shirt for church sometimes with sport coat and tie added (of course, he changed into his jeans and white T-shirt ASAP LOL). So I'd say my dad had a classic style, sort of a James Dean type of Americana.

I'm sitting here remembering my father (who knows how accurate my memories are, since I was just a few days from 14 when he died), and I remember him stopping the truck on the way home from somewhere because a kudzu field has caught on fire, and he ran to help the volunteer firefighters in his jeans and white T-shirt. I'm remembering him drinking coffee in the afternoon during summer because "it cools me down" (I think his logic was it made him sweat so it cooled him down, which sounds like some coffee addict logic to me as far back as the 70s and 80s LOL)

Thank you for bringing some pleasant memories of my father to the forefront of my mind. He was sick for a lot of years before he died, and this helps me remember him as he was before that time. That's important, and I'm grateful.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

What a wonderful thread. I've been laughing and smiling and brushing away tears by turns. Krishnadoux, what an amazing dream! Love it! LisaP, that photo never fails to make me smile -- your dad embodies a certain kind of athletic youthfulness.

My father died in 2010, at the age of 85. At work, he wore a lab coat, usually over a grey or blue suit, or (in the 70s) a brown one --- although my mother hated him in brown and went on a campaign to eliminate all ties and shirts that went with that suit so he would have nothing to wear with it! She was right, too -- his colouring was very cool, like mine, and he looked far better in blues and greys.

He grew up poor in the Depression. In later years he could have afforded expensive clothing, but his suits were always off-the-rack from mid-range Canadian retailers. Was this because he'd grown up wearing hand-made suits and thought nothing could compare with those? (His mother was a seamstress.) Or was it just an example of his frugality? I don't know. His shoes were another matter; he always had a weakness for fine Italian loafers and would pay for those, as well as for leather jackets, of which he had quite a collection over the years. From late middle age onward, he always wore some type of hat -- a golf cap in summer or a small fedora.

On weekends and after a retirement he favoured corduroy shirts in winter (he ran cold while my mother ran hot); and in summer he would wear short sleeved button fronts. I never saw him in a tee shirt in my life, though he did come to love stretchy pajamas.

The Cat

Veteran

Interesting to read about others' Dad's style. In view of how different lifestyles our fathers have had around the globe, it actually has surprised me to see how much men born before WW2 have in common. I think many of them grew up with few clothes, and later, in their adult life, they were used to, and more or less pleased with, just having a small wardrobe.

My own father seldom felt that he needed anything, but was happy to let my mother and us children buy items he knew we wanted, if he could afford it. He has never enjoyed shopping clothes for himself, but has been grateful for gifts. We sometimes have had to (mildly) force him to buy something new for himself. But old people can change, too! To my surprise, last year, he asked if I would help him to get a new suit. And a couple of months ago, he bought his first pair of stretch jeans, which he now happily uses a lot. He finds the prices of most jeans incredibly high, though. To him all jeans are basicly "workwear" and therefore should be rather inexpensive.

Sal

Veteran

Great thread, I enjoyed these stories and photos.

My Dad is 77 and still a full time sheep and beef farmer. He has a practical work wardrobe and is not particularly interested in clothes. He wears a range of colours but probably often in the autumnal range - olive, butter yellow, brown, green. He actually can wear most colours. Casually he wears either polo shirts or button down shirts - never a collarless tee. He wears shorts, corduroy pants, chinos and dress pants - he tried jeans once but never really adapted.

He is smartly dressed when needed but never cutting edge - while born in 1939 he did live through WWII he was possibly too young to be affected greatly, and NZ was isolated and his Dad stayed home to farm the land. He has always lived and worked on the family farm except for four years at Boarding School:)

Anonymous

The Cat - yes, the pre-War men do share a certain way of comporting themselves, don't they? Interesting observation . I'm intrigued by lab-coat wearing population too.......

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