A surprising new style trend has hit the headlines – it’s called ‘Coastal Grandmother’ and it’s very close to some of our hearts.
As someone who has only ever described their clothing choices in one word – floral – there is very little in the world of fashion trends that has ever appealed to me.
That is until I heard about the new trend of ‘Coastal Grandmother’.
It’s a term that came from Tik Tok, a social media platform I still don’t understand have, from a 26-year-old American called Lex Nicoleta. Initially, Lex described this aesthetic mostly around the (stunning!!) movie Something’s Gotta Give, where Diane Keaton is a playwright who falls for Jack Nicholson AND Keanu Reeves while writing plays in her all-white Hamptons house, in her all-white linen outfits.
“If you love Nancy Meyers movies, coastal vibes, recipes and cooking, Ina Garten, interiors, and more, there is a good chance you might be a ‘coastal grandmother,'” Lex says.
Well, if that is so, sign me up. The Coastal Grandmother aesthetic has now been expanded to include the entire Nancy Meyers oeuvre, with a hard focus on the cooking-linen shirts-kitchen island holy trinity of the Meryl Streep movie It’s Complicated.
Like any good creative genius, Lex has quickly expanded her own Coastal Grandmother Multi-verse to include a Spotify playlist (banger), a Pinterest page, and several how-to Tik Tok reels on how to harness that Coastal Grandmother energy in your outfits, wine choices (pinot gris, but of course) and flower arranging.
What Makes A Coastal Grandmother?
(this is based on both Lex’s mind but also with my added input, because I really ***feel*** this theme in my soul so much.)
– Buying fresh flowers for your house
– Living by the sea ($$$$$$$$$$$).
– Cooking a roast chicken.
– Wearing a white linen shirt.
– LEMONS!
– Growing a herb garden.
– Going to the farmer’s market.
– Walking along the beach.
– Inherited family wealth.
– Cardigans.
– Getting Jack Nicholson to cut off your white turtleneck with scissors (this might be Diane Keaton specific).
– Grace & Frankie, obviously (Grace is a clear Coastal Grandmother with a law degree, Frankie is a Coastal Grandmother with an arts or communications degree).
– Conscious Uncoupling.
– Most of Gwyneth Paltrow’s repertoire.
– Buying a rundown villa in Italy on a whim.
– White throw blankets on every surface.
– Collecting shells.
– Oprah saying that ‘bathing is my hobby’ and all of her gardening posts.
– Nigella Lawson’s Nigella’s Summer cookbook.
– People that talk about hygge
Obviously this is all silly and fun but if I had to pick between Coastal Grandmother or the return of low-waisted jeans as a trend to talk about, I’m picking the CG. It’s so rare to get a fashion trend that doesn’t revolve around either youth or thinness and having a trend that includes the word ‘grandmother’ in it is surely a sign of progress, right??
A buttery chard or chamomile tea to all of you!
