5 Third-Culture Kids About Their Personal Style
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When I decided to write about my style as a third-culture kid, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. What I knew, though, is that in the mainstream fashion media, I didn’t see anything that talked about personal style from the point of view of “children born to foreign parents raised in one or more countries, [and who consequently had] a third culture that [didn’t] completely fall within their parents’ home country and the country their family immigrated to.”1 To top it all off, I’d say that no DEI efforts allowed for an in-depth discussion of fashion and personal style outside of Western spaces when creatives who are third-culture kids got their moment in that short-lived and fragile openness to diversity that came after George Floyd’s assassination.
We exist, yet the way we purposefully or clumsily craft our personal style is yet to be documented. From time to time, you will read the story of a multicultural fashion creative with hints of their story about their non-western culture, yet when it is time to talk about their style, they will tell you about Saint Laurent, the heydays of John Galliano at Dior or Marc Jacobs, or they’ll mention about European or American fashion icons as if their other culture(s) never impacted or influenced the way they dress today. This is not to say that no fashion designers explored their multifaceted identity through style. Fashion designers Bianca Saunders, Grace Wales Bonner, and Martine Rose come to mind as creatives who seamlessly blend their British and Jamaican heritage in their work. And it isn’t a case I mention these three women as London and the UK used to be a fertile ground for brands with such a vision to develop. London’s fashion scene may not be what it once was - and Brexit didn’t help - but besides being the beacon of a fascinating unpolished fashion creativity, it was/is a place where social class and different cultures are an integral part of fashion. I deliberately chose the word ‘cultures’ in the plural form because this term goes beyond race, which I find reductive - in addition to being a social construct. ‘Cultures’ instead encompass race while expanding on all the things that make identity, such as the social class, the place(s) where we grew up, the language(s) spoken, the people surrounding us, and how the mix of all these things contribute to building our style.
More recently, New York has become a place where third-culture kids who are now creatives use fashion as a tool to proudly express a style that is a reflection of their apparently ‘dominated’ culture. Case in point with Latino and Latin American fashion designers Willy Chavarria, Raul Lopez, and Patricio Campillo, whose recent collections proudly reflect their Latinidad2 in a country that dehumanises Latin Americans without realising it owes a big part of its cultural and economic richness to them. About the topic,
wrote an insightful piece that I advise you all to read.
Oh, did I mention that all the aforementioned designers propose a vision of fashion that looks to subcultures specific to their background or/and how people in their respective communities dress rather than looking at the white fashion elite? A bottom-to-top approach that clearly shows that fashion and, by extension, personal style are not the prerogative of whiteness. Hence why, even if they make luxury clothing, they speak a language people of their diaspora can relate to and create conversation beyond their communities.
’s piece about Willy Chavarria’s América is another great read I advise you to peruse on the topic.
As much as I enjoy these fashion designers' approach to style, I’d like to hear more about the process behind how third-culture kids like you and me cultivate our personal style. To this end, I ran a survey — which I will let open — to ask you about your style as a third-culture kid.
Before getting to the point, I will offer every free subscriber taking part in this survey three months of free access to Le Journal Curioso as a token of my appreciation. By the way, I forgot to include the option to ask for your name and email in the survey, so my anonymous participants, please DM me or reply to this email with your name, email address, and don’t forget to tell me which survey is yours!
Anonymous, 36
Were you familiar with the expression "third-culture kid?"
Yes.
Do you recognize yourself in that expression?
Yes.
Where were you born, and where did you grow up?
I was born in Fort Benning, Georgia, but my parents are from St. Kitts. I grew up in Germany.
What is your first style (not fashion!) memory? A clue: mine was my grandmother wearing every day a traditional navy Cameroonian dress called kaba. Navy is the colour of widowed women in my culture.
My mom has always been fashionable, and I have always loved how she styled her hair and clothes. When I was growing up, she had a stylish short haircut with a swoop bang that I was obsessed with and always wore minimal yet stylish makeup. My uncle was a jeweller in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, and I loved his high-top fade, his blouses, and, of course, all his jewellery. He gave me my first set of jewellery (a rite of passage for all West Indian babies), and they are locked in a safe for safekeeping.
How did the place you were born and the place you grew up shape your style?
We stayed in Georgia for only the first year of my life and moved to Germany. German style didn’t really suit my fashion sense, but I do remember all the older women had the same kind of purple-red hair, and my swim instructors had their nipples pierced! I remember being shocked at their piercings and thinking they were so cool. I don’t have nipple piercings, but I have multiple nose and ear piercings, and I think that early memory had a lasting impact on my understanding of piercing possibilities!
Who were the people who inspired/influenced/nourished your style?
Every single alt-Black girl had a hand in shaping who I am, whether it was as big as Fefe Dobson or a random girl I passed in the hallways in high school. They are my blueprint. Japanese Pop (J-Pop), Harajuku, and Fruits Mag also had major influences on my style. I spent so many hours in high school scouring the internet for scans from Fruits Mag and on message boards about Utada Hikaru.
, 34
Were you familiar with the expression "third-culture kid?"
Yes.
Do you recognize yourself in that expression?
No.
If you answered no, can you tell why you don't feel you are a third-culture kid?
I am first-generation, meaning I am the first person in my Croatian family born in America.
Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Southern California.
What is your first style (not fashion!) memory? A clue: mine was my grandmother wearing every day a traditional navy Cameroonian dress called kaba. Navy is the colour of widowed women in my culture.
It's difficult for me to pinpoint any one memory because all the women in my family were so interested in fashion—particularly my mother. She had considered studying fashion design in Croatia but ultimately decided on architecture and interior design. But she never lost her fervour for fashion and style. Every runway season, she would buy the special edition Vogue Collection, one for all the designers that showed in Paris and another for the designers that showed in Milan. When we would go to Croatia in the summer, we always stocked up at the airport duty-free and bought all the international editions of Vogue and Elle or Harper's. So, British Vogue, French Vogue, Italian Vogue, you name it. She also knew a lot about fashion history, which she taught me about (i.e., YSL's 1966 A/W collection where he debuted Le Smoking, or his 1967 S/S collection inspired by his travels to Africa and featuring exclusively black models). My grandmothers were not as invested as my mother, but one of them was an excellent seamstress, so she knew a lot about fit and proportion. The other was even less interested in fashion, but she was a master at crochet. When I was born, she bought Vogue Bambino and crocheted me a bunch of amazing outfits.
How did the place you were born and the place you grew up shape your style?
I went to a very white and affluent high school in Orange County, where the aesthetic was very feminine, logo-heavy, and skewed more cutesy-preppy. Mischa Barton's character from The OC, Marissa Cooper, was the archetype. Think low-rise skinny jeans with chiffon camis and ballet flats, denim mini skirts with Uggs, and metallic Marc Jacobs dresses with Vans. There's a great article in Vogue where they talk to the fashion designer for the show. You can find it here.
Who were the people who inspired/influenced/nourished your style?
My peers influenced my style at the time, but it wasn't a natural fit, and I used to subvert trends in ways that felt more like me. The look of the early Aughts was hyper-feminine, which made me uncomfortable. Androgynous icons like Patti Smith and David Bowie would become my saving grace. Growing up, I was very conscious about my looks, but I found the only time I didn't care what others thought of my appearance was when I was having fun at shows. So, music and musicians were and continue to influence my style significantly. I had a classic rock phase, a punk phase, a downtown Velvet Underground phase, etc. I also pulled lots of inspiration from movies, books, and even politics/social justice movements: Diana Ross's outfits in Mahogany, Lauren Hutton's suits in American Gigolo, Angela Davis' uniform of black turtlenecks and denim, etc. Looking back, there are looks I'd never wear today and styles and colours I've since learned are not my thing. But my mother always emphasized buying quality pieces over quantity, so there are items like a black Marni leather jacket I found at a thrift store or a Burberry trench coat I got on consignment that I've had since I was a teenager.
Anonymous, 54
Were you familiar with the expression "third-culture kid?"
No.
Do you recognize yourself in that expression?
Yes.
Where were you born and where did you grow up?
Guyana / Canada
What is your first style (not fashion!) memory? A clue: mine was my grandmother wearing every day a traditional navy Cameroonian dress called kaba. Navy is the colour of widowed women in my culture.
Watching Rod Stewart wearing leopard print leggings and starting to wonder about gendered clothing.
How did the place you were born and the place you grew up shape your style?
It was largely a subconscious yearning to want to fit in, followed by rebellion and wanting to stand out as better than my peers. It was a defence mechanism because I didn't want to be bullied or invisible.
Who were the people who inspired/influenced/nourished your style?
Musicians, and vocalists from European bands sourced from iD magazine, The Face, NME, and Melody Maker. Music was my entire world for decades.
FOR THE MOST CURIOUS: A THREAD ABOUT JAWARA ALLEYNE
As I was writing the introduction for this piece, I recalled a
’s podcast episode with creative director and fashion designer Jawara Alleyne. His upbringing between Jamaica and the Cayman Islands reminded me of my interview with Dutch Antillean artist Goldiie for Naïfs Magazine. Like Jawara, she grew up between two islands, Bonaire and Curaçao, and it was fascinating to observe how different the islands they grew up in are. In the episode, Jawara also talked about how the clothes he makes are steeped in the Caribbean culture. I was particularly intrigued by how he depicted how people in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands perceived their bodies. It is an insightful episode that provides eye-opening cultural references about personal style for Carribeans in their countries and Caribbeans outside their home countries.
, 34
Were you familiar with the expression "third-culture kid?"
Yes.
Do you recognize yourself in that expression?
Yes.
Where were you born and where did you grow up?
USA, Maryland.
What is your first style (not fashion!) memory? A clue: mine was my grandmother wearing every day a traditional navy Cameroonian dress called kaba. Navy is the colour of widowed women in my culture.
My mom wearing a Vietnamese outfit called ao dai; it's black silk with gorgeous embroidery.
How did the place you were born and the place you grew up shape your style?
Growing up on the East Coast in the USA, near the Atlantic and the Chesapeake Bay, but also close to Washington, D.C., exposed me to a mix of influences. I saw professionals in sharply tailored suits every day, which likely sparked my love for tailored blazers and menswear (I identify as a woman and a good chunk of my closet is menswear). At the same time, the area's boating culture influenced me to have a slightly nautical touch - things like blue, stripes, and the type of things I saw my grandfather wearing on his boat are staples in my wardrobe.
Who were the people who inspired/influenced/nourished your style?
My style is also deeply shaped by vintage pieces passed down from my mom, who is Vietnamese, and my grandma on my father’s side, who is American-Jewish. Their wardrobes introduced me to timeless silhouettes and textures. Things that I see coming up as "trends" each year are already many of the hand-me-down pieces I have from my family. A big influence, too, was my father and grandfather—their hobbies and work lives shaped the types of cuts and materials I gravitate toward, especially for outerwear, pants, and shoes.
Anonymous, 46
Were you familiar with the expression "third-culture kid?"
Yes.
Do you recognize yourself in that expression?
Yes.
Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Germany and lived there until I was 9. Then I moved to Cyprus and moved again to England when I was 16.
What is your first style (not fashion!) memory? A clue: mine was my grandmother wearing every day a traditional navy Cameroonian dress called kaba. Navy is the colour of widowed women in my culture.
My mother’s handmade mohair knitwear from the 80s.
How did the place you were born and the place you grew up shape your style?
I associate winters with Germany and summers with Cyprus. I feel I am supposed to wear big coats and sturdy boots, and I can handle the cold. On the other hand, when it’s warm, I am in my element wearing summer clothes, natural cotton, and flip-flops — an easy Mediterranean wardrobe. The juxtaposition of my style comes from the two parts of my upbringing.
Who were the people who inspired/influenced/nourished your style?
My mother used to make her clothes and ours. In Cyprus in the '90s, shopping was limited, so my sister and I learnt to adapt our old clothes, make skirts and dresses, paint trainers, change laces, and steal our brothers’ clothes. You had to do with what you could find rather than shop. In my early 20s, I met my Australian friend Kass, who had travelled so much and whose style was littered with her travels. She taught me to dress up, mix and match, and indulge yourself in the country/culture you’re visiting/living in.
The American sociologist and anthropologist couple John and Ruth Hill Useem coined the ‘third-culture kid’ concept in the 50s.
In the context of his 1985 study on Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Chicago, sociologist Felix Padilla used the term Latinidad. This concept, intended in the US context, can refer to the idea of pan-Latino solidarity or describe, according to Queer Latinidad’s author and Berkley Ethnic Studies and Gender and Women’s Studies professor Juana Maria Rodriguez "a particular geopolitical experience [that] also contains within it the complexities and contradictions of immigration, (post)(neo)colonialism, race, colour, legal status, class, nation, language and the politics of location.”
So inspiring and beautiful it makes me mad to think of the dominance of Kering et al as though that’s the only fashion reference worthy of knowing!
Just submitted the form! From this third-culture kid, thank you! ❤️