I will share my story as a third culture kid in a later moment, but i just wanted to say how much I loved this piece and learning about your style development and how it tied to the different contexts you were navigating. I also resonated so much with the experience (and the rejection of it) of a white father advising to “dress the part” to a POC child, as my white family did the same with myself, and the tension that came out of it really set off a search for my own interpretation of it. I honestly didn’t think about this so much until I read your experience, and I realized I had also gone through the same. Please do continue! Also I LOVE LOVE LOVE the group wedding picture, the colors!!!! The glam!!! I love it. 🫶🏽
Loved this read! I'm also a third-culture kid (US-born & raised, Salvadoran mom, Dutch dad) and hadn't considered how this aspect of my identity may have influenced my style. Thank you for this!
Super glad my story resonated with you. I think we forget a lot how belinging to many cultures impact the way we dress because the world is so much influenced by Western standards. Discussing the way we dress as third-culture kids is often a nice way to disover more things about ourselves and our parents' cultures.
I relate to this so much, thanks for sharing your thoughts! I'd love to read more of your perspectives on this if you decide to make it a regular feature.
I also identify as a third-culture kid (my mother is Vietnamese, my father is American Jewish, I'm living in France). I’ve felt the push and pull of these multitudes shaping not just my worldview but the way I dress. I like pulling elements from my different cultures, sometimes consciously, sometimes instinctively. I'll pair a Vietnamese ao dai tunic with '70s Levi's jeans and an oversized men's trench coat—something my dad might have worn when heading out to play piano at jazz bars in the evening when I was a kid. There are these images from my childhood etched in my mind, moments of joy or maybe of curiosity that I think I now try to relive in my everyday style.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I'll definitely make this feature a regular as I see how it resonates with many people.
So beautiful that you blend your two cultures together.
Isn't it funny how growing up we go back to our childhood in terms of style? It can be something that we loved or even hated. I tried to avoid so much that preppy style when I was a teen, yet I am finding myself loving some of its codes now I am an adult.
I loved this exploration! I’m also a TCK. My mom is Kenyan, my dad is Ghanaian, and I moved between the US and the Continent multiple times before I was 9.
It’s interesting because I don’t feel like I had a style, or it was a bad one 😆. Even through college I wore things like t-shirts with cartoon characters that made me look juvenile. In my twenties I had a South African friend who is a fashion designer. She would tease me for wearing the same worn out, drab brown cardigan all the time. It wasn’t until my early thirties that I started cultivating personal style.
On reflection, it may have connections of feeling both invisible when I was a kid and like a late bloomer. Now I love using style as a way of adorning and expressing myself.
Thank you so much for telling about your experience! This is so fascinating. Do you think moving around a lot made you a late bloomer in terms of personal style? I moved around a lot too as a child, and clothes were the last thing I thought about because I always had to create a new set of friends. Socialising was more important than looking cool until we settled permanently.
That's a good question. I think because I moved around a lot I was shy and wasn't as comfortable with who I was then, so in turn I didn't even think about style. I very much was a fade into the background / wallflower kind of kid!
Moving and personal style are a combination we don't think about often and how it impacts children. I feel your words because I was a reserved child myself and I wanted to blend in more than standing out.
It’s so true. Personal style is a form of creative expression, and it’s a symbol of confidence as it makes one stand out. It makes sense that as reserved children who moved often we may not have felt grounded enough in our identities to show a personally style.
I am so happy this piece resonated with you! And thank you so much about my style and writing. The latter is really flattering because I am always amazed by your writing productivity. It feels like you can write pieces on the spur of the moment when there is a topic in the news and more in-depth pieces that take more time. I can only do option 2 because I am a very slow writer!
I love your writing, it’s so fantastic. I’ve wanted to write all my life but was never allowed to. I tried to work at newspapers and on television and I was told I was not the right skin colour. Now with Substack, I can finally be my full self. It gives me the opportunity to express myself. I’m so grateful for it.
I loved seeing photos of your family. You see their influence in your personal style. Your love of classic silhouettes, color, and mixing patterns. In addition to being super cute, it tells the story of who you are, and that's fashion at it's best.
Thank you Kate! My family definitely has a significant impact on my style. As a teen, I used to hate the way my parents dressed me so much, but now I have come to appreciate the subtleties of some outfits and include some bits of the things I didn't like in my style now. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree as they say, right?
I didn’t know that the paisley motif was originally Turkish - I knew that Paisley (where I was born) produced knockoff cashmere scarves with paisleys on them, but I hadn’t looked deep enough at where the shape originated from.
In fashion, many motifs or techniques come from elsewhere, and we forget it because fashion is mainly perceived as something Western when really it is global. It's fascinating that being from Paisley, you knew about the motif without knowing about it. It shows how much fashion is used to take from different parts of the world and have people forget where something originated from.
I will share my story as a third culture kid in a later moment, but i just wanted to say how much I loved this piece and learning about your style development and how it tied to the different contexts you were navigating. I also resonated so much with the experience (and the rejection of it) of a white father advising to “dress the part” to a POC child, as my white family did the same with myself, and the tension that came out of it really set off a search for my own interpretation of it. I honestly didn’t think about this so much until I read your experience, and I realized I had also gone through the same. Please do continue! Also I LOVE LOVE LOVE the group wedding picture, the colors!!!! The glam!!! I love it. 🫶🏽
Loved this read! I'm also a third-culture kid (US-born & raised, Salvadoran mom, Dutch dad) and hadn't considered how this aspect of my identity may have influenced my style. Thank you for this!
Hello Kayla,
Super glad my story resonated with you. I think we forget a lot how belinging to many cultures impact the way we dress because the world is so much influenced by Western standards. Discussing the way we dress as third-culture kids is often a nice way to disover more things about ourselves and our parents' cultures.
I relate to this so much, thanks for sharing your thoughts! I'd love to read more of your perspectives on this if you decide to make it a regular feature.
I also identify as a third-culture kid (my mother is Vietnamese, my father is American Jewish, I'm living in France). I’ve felt the push and pull of these multitudes shaping not just my worldview but the way I dress. I like pulling elements from my different cultures, sometimes consciously, sometimes instinctively. I'll pair a Vietnamese ao dai tunic with '70s Levi's jeans and an oversized men's trench coat—something my dad might have worn when heading out to play piano at jazz bars in the evening when I was a kid. There are these images from my childhood etched in my mind, moments of joy or maybe of curiosity that I think I now try to relive in my everyday style.
Hello Shana,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I'll definitely make this feature a regular as I see how it resonates with many people.
So beautiful that you blend your two cultures together.
Isn't it funny how growing up we go back to our childhood in terms of style? It can be something that we loved or even hated. I tried to avoid so much that preppy style when I was a teen, yet I am finding myself loving some of its codes now I am an adult.
I loved this exploration! I’m also a TCK. My mom is Kenyan, my dad is Ghanaian, and I moved between the US and the Continent multiple times before I was 9.
It’s interesting because I don’t feel like I had a style, or it was a bad one 😆. Even through college I wore things like t-shirts with cartoon characters that made me look juvenile. In my twenties I had a South African friend who is a fashion designer. She would tease me for wearing the same worn out, drab brown cardigan all the time. It wasn’t until my early thirties that I started cultivating personal style.
On reflection, it may have connections of feeling both invisible when I was a kid and like a late bloomer. Now I love using style as a way of adorning and expressing myself.
Hello Nyamwathi,
Thank you so much for telling about your experience! This is so fascinating. Do you think moving around a lot made you a late bloomer in terms of personal style? I moved around a lot too as a child, and clothes were the last thing I thought about because I always had to create a new set of friends. Socialising was more important than looking cool until we settled permanently.
That's a good question. I think because I moved around a lot I was shy and wasn't as comfortable with who I was then, so in turn I didn't even think about style. I very much was a fade into the background / wallflower kind of kid!
Moving and personal style are a combination we don't think about often and how it impacts children. I feel your words because I was a reserved child myself and I wanted to blend in more than standing out.
It’s so true. Personal style is a form of creative expression, and it’s a symbol of confidence as it makes one stand out. It makes sense that as reserved children who moved often we may not have felt grounded enough in our identities to show a personally style.
Really excellent piece - I learnt so much. I love your dress style and your writing style. Vraiment top! Merci.
Hello Zuri,
I am so happy this piece resonated with you! And thank you so much about my style and writing. The latter is really flattering because I am always amazed by your writing productivity. It feels like you can write pieces on the spur of the moment when there is a topic in the news and more in-depth pieces that take more time. I can only do option 2 because I am a very slow writer!
I love your writing, it’s so fantastic. I’ve wanted to write all my life but was never allowed to. I tried to work at newspapers and on television and I was told I was not the right skin colour. Now with Substack, I can finally be my full self. It gives me the opportunity to express myself. I’m so grateful for it.
I loved seeing photos of your family. You see their influence in your personal style. Your love of classic silhouettes, color, and mixing patterns. In addition to being super cute, it tells the story of who you are, and that's fashion at it's best.
Thank you Kate! My family definitely has a significant impact on my style. As a teen, I used to hate the way my parents dressed me so much, but now I have come to appreciate the subtleties of some outfits and include some bits of the things I didn't like in my style now. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree as they say, right?
I didn’t know that the paisley motif was originally Turkish - I knew that Paisley (where I was born) produced knockoff cashmere scarves with paisleys on them, but I hadn’t looked deep enough at where the shape originated from.
Hello Louise,
In fashion, many motifs or techniques come from elsewhere, and we forget it because fashion is mainly perceived as something Western when really it is global. It's fascinating that being from Paisley, you knew about the motif without knowing about it. It shows how much fashion is used to take from different parts of the world and have people forget where something originated from.
It’s very true! I guess I had just thought the motif came from Kashmir, like the scarves!
I'm so glad you wrote about this! That Valentino dress is stunning on you 💛
Hello Dacy,
I am glad you enjoyed the piece. Let's see if I can go further and have other people tell their style stories through that lens.
And thank you!
Absolutely love that dress and that shade of yellow is just to die for.
Thank you Kate!
Your outfits are so cute! You look so pretty!
Thank you!