Meet the mothers with more style than their daughters

Bip Ling with her mother, Tanya Ling Credit: Toby Coulson 

How times have changed. Where once a girl would roll her eyes at her mother’s wardrobe, shuddering at the prospect of frumpy shoes and bad skirt lengths, now fashion is, thankfully, ageless. Why shouldn’t women of any age be charmed by the latest jean cut (a cropped flare, FYI), a glittery Gucci loafer or a dress by brand-du-jour Vetements? In fact, we’d argue that the older you get, the wiser your fashion choices are; less victim, more, ‘me’. We know what works and what doesn’t, what we feel comfortable in.
Here, four sets of style-savvy mothers and daughters explain how they have shaped each other’s look. If ever you needed proof that fashion is for all ages, surely this is it.

Bip Ling, 25, musician and model and Tanya Ling, 49, artist

Bip: My mummy is the coolest. She had me while in her final year studying fashion at Central St Martins, so I’ve been around fashion since I was a baby. She used to wear this cool pink fluffy dress and was quite punky. She has absolutely influenced the way I dress. I look forward to mooching in a new look every day. We both love Prada and like to wear brights. When I had a tomboy phase growing up, Mummy would always ask me to wear a dress for church on Sundays and I’d have a strop. She loves how I dress now, though. At Christmas she told me that she loved my white nails and I haven’t changed the colour since. The cashmere jumpers she designs are the bomb. I have this cool Veryta dress that she designed and then painted on. I don’t know if she knows that I have it, actually…

Bip’s wish-list: Dotcom bag, £1,870, Fendi, Wrap dress, £32, Topshop

Tanya: I always told my children, ‘Every day is a style day’: whatever you do, you  can do it stylishly. Bipasha took that and ran with  it. She has always looked effortless in what she wears, and her hair is always very groomed and her make-up immaculate. I found my signature scatty-elegant style in my 20s. It was quite art house, but not in-your-face. We share an ability to mish-mash colours together and both of us never say never. When Bipasha was nine, I bought her a gorgeous gingham Cacharel shirt from New York; she didn’t like it  – you can’t impose your world on others. However, she rediscovered it as a teenager and has now worn it to death. I also bought her a navy-blue Austrian boiled-wool jacket that she never wore. Then in her late teens, that was the jacket she never took off. 

Tanya’s wish-list: Embroidered linen shirt, £918, Vita Kin, Cashmere wrap, £670, Queene and Belle 

Lisa Armstrong, 54, Telegraph  fashion director and Kitty Hadaway, 23, student

Lisa Armstrong and Kitty Hadaway Credit: Toby Coulson 

Lisa: I use my daughters as a yardstick as to how I won’t dress any more. I don’t want to be a sad old tribute act and if we like the same things, we wear them differently. Kitty has a black leather jacket; mine is a tan Marni one. She’s really honest with me. I will ask if something is ‘a bit mutton’. No one else will tell me.  Kitty won’t follow trends. I’m not a trend-chaser, but it’s important for me to look as if my style is evolving. She likes a sexier look, whereas  I’m more androgynous. She has borrowed my Louboutins for about six months. Although I used to ban her as she trashed everything – and I don’t think a Chanel handbag is right for a teenage girl. But I think Kitty will end up dressing like me. She has been delving into my wardrobe more and wants my input. There’s less of the curled lip and scorn. 

Lisa’s wish-list: Silk-georgette dress, £425, m.i.h jeans, Pink Tourmaline Double Flower Earrings, £2,200, Pippa Small

Kitty: I don’t think my mother’s career as a fashion editor has influenced the way I dress. There’s only been two times when she has taken complete control of my outfit: my school leavers’ dinner (a black lace dress from French Connection) and my undergraduate graduation (a dress from Self-Portrait). She put a lot of thought into both outfits; I knew that I would look good. Mother dresses on-trend, while never losing sight of her style. I don’t follow trends – my ususal style is jeans, T-shirts and trainers. Hand-me-downs are gladly accepted, though, and I’ll make  a piece more my style by introducing it into an otherwise very ‘me’ outfit.  Mum has no interest in borrowing my clothes, although I once noticed a necklace of mine had worked its way into her collection – possibly the highest praise one could receive.

 

 Kitty's wish-list: Printed dress, £35.99, Mango, Suede pumps, £425, Christian Louboutin

Sienna Guillory, 40, actress and Tina Guillory, 71, designer

Sienna: I’ve always loved that Mum looked more powerful than other mums; she had really toned arms from gardening, wild hair and an ear cuff. Everybody always looked at her a lot. They still do. She is usually dressed in an ancient sailor’s slop, 501s and DMs. She’s much more adventurous with colour than me, and as a student she used to paint silk scarves and sell them. Mum wears more of the old family jewellery now; big diamonds look wicked on older skin. I like to dress like a boy. I wear menswear but I’m quite feminine with it; I like the contrast. Mum designed me a pair of trousers I can wear every day. If there’s something I keep stealing from her, like an old pair of shorts, we work on creating a more modern version of it. Nothing gets thrown out; it gets mended till it’s worn out, then makes its way into the dressing-up box. Then I know it’s mine. 

Sienna’s wish-list: Silk-mix top, £285, Paper London, Embroidered jeans, £168, Aries

 Tina: Sienna and I have kind of morphed together style-wise. She has great ideas, and together we make what we need and wear it! When I need to dress up for an event, I’ll raid her cupboards. I wear what I feel like ‘me’ in, which are pieces from my workwear label, Carrier Company, as well as Dr Martens boots and long jumpers – probably not far off from my art-student days. It was the early 1960s then, so I wore beatnik attire: long black jumpers over short black skirts, black tights, flat shoes and lots of smudged eye make-up.  When Sien was small, there wasn’t a lot of money for fancy brands. While her school friends were dressed in camel coats and white tights, she wore a blanket coat and striped tights, not always happily! Sometimes I recognise her clothes and I know she raids the dressing-up chest. We all do from time to time. 

Tina’s wish-list: Pocketed skirt, £92, Carrier Company, Tweed trainers, £189, Diemme

Tamara Cincik, 46, fashion stylist and Marilyn Cincik, 65, retired

Tamara Cincik and Marilyn Cincik Credit: Toby Coulson 

Tamara: My mum was a rocker in the ’60s. She had me when she was young and my boyfriends would ask why I didn’t dress more like her. She had long dark hair and would wear Scholl sandals with flared jeans, white T-shirts and amazing make-up. To rebel, I didn’t wear make-up or jeans. My look is bohemian. I think my fascination with colour and texture comes from having a Turkish father. When I started styling, I used costumes from around the world. Mum thought styling suited me as a career. I’d long worn vintage ’60s dresses with Victoriana boots and dinner jackets, or ’30s ballgowns with adidas Gazelles. But she didn’t like my nose ring. I have more expensive taste than her: she has worn the same grey skinny jeans for years.  Her long white hair is a part of her look – I can’t ever see her cutting it.

Tamara’s wish-list: Silk-chiffon dress, £2,490, Erdem, Suede shoes, £428, Gucci

Marilyn: Day-to-day, I wear jeans with plain T-shirts and a scarf. I remember trying to look like a beatnik as  a teenager and my mum knitted me a big, baggy red jumper. I also wore a red velvet Beatles cap and black socks with buttons up the sides. My mother was under instruction never to wash my Levi’s – they’d been shrunk by my sitting in a very hot bath.  I realised Tamara would be different when we went down Watford High Street and her outfit included a pair of tights where one leg was black and the other fuchsia – she still has them.  I have some of her cast-offs: a leather jacket and  a flare-skirted raincoat, and she gave me a classic Nicole Farhi shift dress.  I wore it at Christmas with a Cacharel blouse underneath – something I’d never have thought to do until seeing Tamara in something similar. She has a knack! 

 Marilyn’s wish-list: Wool and silk trousers, £495, Joseph, Pebble-chain clutch, £85, Whistles