What is a Coastal Grandmother?
By Mette Krebs
“Coastal grandmother” what is that?
Maybe you also follow us on Facebook or Instagram, maybe you've wondered why we often use #coastalgrandmother or #coastalliving.
It all started last spring, when a good friend of the house came to the store on Ærø and said, "Hey, it's YOU who have the "coastal grandmother" style."
She is originally an American woman who was in the media a lot over there last year, with her sharp observations of fashion, or should we say “non-fashion”…
Come with me on a little journey, it's a pretty nice (a bit long) story.
But hey, I think you'll be able to feel the atmosphere and recognize the more or less fictional films. And YES, it's us who fit right in, I'll give you a hint at the end.
Have a nice trip ;-)
Imagine you've just settled in front of a good movie.
Probably a movie you've already seen several times, because it's from the 90s. It could be several different movies, but there are some common features.
The action is something along the lines of:
Adult lady, around 50, maybe she's a writer, maybe she's divorced. Maybe the marriage needs some new inspiration. The children have flown the nest and she has to try to find herself, in her new age and in her new life.
She lives beautifully, calm colors, good style, but not flashy, always with fresh flowers on the table, she listens to nice, familiar and pleasant music, perhaps in French.
She cooks wonderful food, from scratch, only buying from the market or at the barn door. She bakes beautiful pies and makes a wonderful onion soup.
Are you with me?.......
The actress is probably Emma Thompson, Meryl Streep, Mary Steenburgen, Diane Keaton or Jane Fonda.
Regardless of which one of them has the role, and regardless of which 90s movie you've seen, she's just always been there and always just looked lovely, in all her calm, in the lovely surroundings.
You know her, you might, like me, feel for her.
I felt them when I was in my 20s, 30s and 40s, I feel them extremely much now that I'm in my 50s.
Meeeen, do you remember what they wore in the movie?
The style that the different beautiful ladies had, in the different movies. The one where “I remember it looking nice and comfortable, but I don't remember exactly what she was wearing.”
It's #coastalgrandmother.
In other words, the style that often symbolizes the adult woman we would like to identify with. Lives beautifully, appreciates fresh flowers, enjoys gardening, loves good ingredients, perhaps listens more to familiar music from her youth than to "new-fashioned music."
The style has come from the youth in recent years. Look on the street and see how many modern young women dress casually and "not" modern.
They might go into their mother's or grandmother's closet to find the classics from the 90s.
And as is so often the case, fashion is spreading to those of us who are a little more grown-up.
So now we are actually "in fashion" when we wear clothes that have been hanging in the closet for many years.
We are "in fashion" when we look relaxed, in classic and timeless clothes.
This is where our "friend of the house" thinks that we, at Linen By Krebs, fit right in.
We can also see that our customers are getting younger. Or that the age range of our customers now goes from 16 to 102 years.
Previously, most were probably from 40-102 years old.
We can easily identify with #coastalliving, #coastalgrandmother or #coastalbest
And style has NOTHING to do with age, or whether you live by the coast, are a writer, or have grandchildren. It's just a style that is currently shaping the fashion scene, or should we call it the non-fashion scene.
If only I could be part of the costume department!
To complete my story, which this edition of HØRPOSTEN is about, I would also like to give my opinion on what I would have given the beautiful ladies if the films were to be shot today - and I was allowed to be part of the costume department:
Diane Keaton – scene 342
(Goes to the stand in Hampton)
NANA pants in natural
ERNA reversible shirt in white
Bucket straw hat
KEEN sandals in hand
Jane Fonda – scene 38
(first chance meeting with his younger, future girlfriend.
In the parking lot outside her yoga studio)
Classic timeless light jeans
ELINOR shirt in Natural
Scarf in the hair
Classic ballerina shoes.
Mary Steenburgen - Scene 672
(On the way to the summer party at the new neighbors)
SILLE dress in ROSE
Small scarf in hair
Emma Thompson - Scene 1.342
(At a book signing in a small cafe in Riverside)
ETTA culotte skirt in Brown
EMMA blouse also in Brown
Square scarf around the neck
A classic braided brown sandal
Meryl Streep - scene 27
(At the farmer's market)
A basket over the arm
The YRSA dress in Lightblue melange
BUCKET straw hat
White Superga rubber shoes