Writing an article on my mother’s experience in the GDR brought me closer to understand how my mother developed her style and attitude towards fashion. Quality over quantity, subtle basics paired with eye-catching pieces define the style of the woman that taught me to love what I wear, and to only wear what I love. Throughout the decades and especially the last few years, this has developed my mother’s closet into a melting pot of style, in which items from different countries, years and ages of life mix to form a homogenous style.


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Mountain View

Invisibility or political rebellion: fashion in the GDR

It was only natural for me to commence on the journey of digging for gems in the treasure-chest of my mum’s closet, styling some wearable looks and then forcing myself into uncomfortable positions in an attempt at a self-timer photoshoot.

 

Ballet Studio meets Berlin Gallery

Isabel Sebode

Pinning a skirt with hair pins to temporarily make it my size, throwing on the oversized black cardigan with ~scandalously~ nothing underneath, I find myself channelling some serious “Berlin gallery owner meets Parisian ballet dancer” energy. The heavy textile of the nude skirt remains structured as falls around my legs, whilst the cardigan loosely slips off of my shoulder – this is your mum’s knit cardigan, but 'seductive'. As the antithesis to the trend of overly tight, cropped cardigans, I am reversing the craze of wearing children’s clothes 2+ sizes too small by wearing my mum’s knit, 2+ sizes too large (the F in ‘fashion’ is for ‘family’). I myself love huge clothing that buries me underneath the contrasting textures and colours, without a definable silhouette but a shape nonetheless. The rich textures and heavy fabric of each item achieves precisely that, in the perfect, casually chic look.

Isabel Sebode
Isabel Sebode

Skirt: COS
Cardigan: Zara

 

“You can find me in the boudoir with a paintbrush”

Isabel Sebode

This subdued Vivienne Westwood-esque look is based around the navy-blue silk skirt wrapped tightly around my waist with a sea of fabric lightly touching my legs and the cropped tank top hugging the chest. Throwing on the blouse transforms the figure from a body-con meets flowy bottom juxtaposition to a bulkier, less traditionally feminine silhouette. The fun, but not too fun, polka-dots communicate a confidence, as I channel my inner “stylish artist that doesn’t try but still looks effortlessly fashionable”. Except I did try. Oh, the struggles.

Isabel Sebode
Isabel Sebode

White tank-top: (mine) H&M, cropped

Skirt: Adolfo Dominguez

Blouse: Magazzino Berlin (found at a last-season store)

 

Bikes, Beer and a funky 80s shirt.

Isabel Sebode

Look, this one is a small cheat because the top is actually my dad’s from the 80s, and the leggings are my own from when my school still forced us to do PE. Yet, between childhood-me and 80s dad I see myself wearing this look in a park, sipping a beer in the sun, listening to music and wearing groovy sunglasses. Alternatively, throwing my fanny pack over my shoulders, biking to the nearest lake, feeling the breeze whilst sipping on said beer and smiling with some Reggae in the background. I honestly love this top, for one because of its good quality (the tag even promising that it is "Made in West-Berlin") and the fact that it is such a striking, slightly odd piece, just cool enough to be found in the Urban Renewal section at UO, where I would have been forced to pay a ridiculous amount for something my dad has buried in the depths of his wardrobe.

Isabel Sebode

Top: HEROES by Peitscher

Short Leggings: Nike

 

Mum meets Matrix

Isabel Sebode

As the love child of Miranda Priestley and a Matrix character, I am living my Sci-Fi office job dreams. I am wearing the leather dress open as a coat, to provide a dark contrast against the shining material of the skirt. The rose-cold mosaic pattern spices up the skirts simple line and makes the outfit into a chameleon, appropriate to a work environment or a bar. Whilst my mum’s choice of shoe would most likely be a heel, I would pair this with a sneaker, such as my worn Air Force Ones for a casual yet stylish ensemble. I love this outfit and would definitely wear it if 1) I had somewhere to go, and 2) the skirt would fit me without any awkward pinning. A stunning, versatile look playing with colours, materials and lengths, which provide a texture to the elongated silhouette.

Isabel Sebode
Isabel Sebode
Isabel Sebode

Skirt: ODEEH

Coat/Dress: Twinset

Blouse: A small shop in Spain

Style -  a medium for time travel, role-play and imagination

Writing up this article whilst wearing clothes found in my closet rather than my mum’s, I’ve come to the realisation and acceptance that style simply isn’t fixed but fluid. Why commit to one fashion-persona when you could shift from Berlin to Paris, child to adult and dancer to cyclist in the change of a look? Go take a look at someone else’s closet and try wearing the items you have not curated yourself at the moment of purchase, some time in the past. Perhaps you’ll discover not only your mum’s style, but your own.