TikTok Has the Kids Dressing Like "Coastal Grandmas"
Do you take leisurely strolls on the beach in your best linen? Does your heart flutter at the sight of a brand new Le Creuset pot? Is farm-to-table cooking your jam?
If you answered yes to any of the above, you might just be "Coastal Grandma Chic," TikTok's latest trending aesthetic.
Inspired by wealthy women of a certain age, the look revolves around anything you might find a well-to-do retiree wearing by the beaches of Nantucket or Maine: white button-downs, straight-leg jeans, cashmere pullovers, linen caftans, and pashmina shawls are some prime examples of Coastal Grandma fodder.
If you're still bewildered (TikTok has a tendency to be confusing, especially for us non-Gen Z'ers), look to women like Oprah and Ina Garten for clarification. There are fictional examples of chic Coastal Grandmas, too: namely, Erica Berry (Diane Keaton) in Something's Gotta Give and Jane Adler (Meryl Streep) of It's Complicated.
Astoundingly, Keaton — who's not even a grandmother! — posted a tribute to Coastal Grandma Chic on her Instagram.
Coined by TikTok-er Lex Nicoleta in March, Coastal Grandma Chic (CGC) isn't just a look — it's a lifestyle, nay, a mindset! The content creator boasts a veritable curriculum of CGC-related buys for anyone determined to manifest an early retirement and a beach home. She even made a Spotify playlist filled with tunes that will have you "standing on your porch in a cashmere cardigan, clutching onto your morning coffee for dear life."
While the trending aesthetic might seem random, there's more where it came from. CGC appears to be a natural extension of another popular TikTok look, "Old Money Aesthetic." (I know.) Swapping argyle cardigans and pleated mini-skirts for straw sunhats and luxurious bathrobes, CGC is essentially Old Money Aesthetic, matured.
For an app once filled with playfully anti-boomer content, the rise of chic grandmas marks a pretty sharp pivot. Of course, the beauty of TikTok is its ability — or rather its users' ability — to keep us on our toes.
