Styling My Parents' Clothes: How to Raid Your Mom & Dad's Wardrobe

1. Sleeveless shirt

First up, I have my mum’s sleeveless button-up shirt with a collar and a bit of a box fit. I really like this shirt and don’t feel like I have to style it in any particular way to make it look good, I could just wear it with a pair of jeans, and it would look trendy.

I styled the shirt with some faux leather pants and heeled boots for an all-black vibe and dressed it up a little bit with a white leather bag and a baker boy cap to give me a city-vlogger look. I envision wearing this outfit when out in the city, maybe shopping on Oxford street.

2. Sweatshirt

Next up, I have one of my dad’s Ralph Lauren sweatshirts. I have never even seen him wear this, and I love it.

To style it, I went with a super casual outfit because, I mean, it is a sweatshirt. I tucked the sweatshirt into a bralette to make it cropped but then pulled it out, so it’s still nice and baggy, and then I’m wearing a white denim mini skirt with a frayed effect. I also popped on my Doc Martens and a black leather backpack. I am really feeling this look.

3. Gold cardigan

Here I have my mum’s shimmery gold cardigan, which is in a thin material and has a sort of lettuce trim at the bottom.

The cardigan gave me a six-year-old’s birthday party vibes, but I like how I’ve styled it. Now, this outfit gives me day drinks with the girls' type vibes.

I popped on a pair of cute little kitten heels to match the straight-legged white jeans, and then to tie in with the white jeans, I’m wearing a lacy white bralette which is peaking out from the cardigan as a little bit of a tease.

I’ve tied the cardigan in the middle so it’s more cropped. I wasn’t keen on the three-quarter length sleeves, so I put hair ties on each of my upper arms and then tucked the cardigan under to create a short-sleeved effect.

I must admit I’m losing feeling in my arms, but for a good outfit, it’s worth it. Beauty is pain. I finished off the outfit with some black accessories with gold hardware.

4. Retro shirt

Next up, let’s go with something really retro. This shirt of my dad's is very 1980s, and I love the eighties style; I think it was such a cool era for fashion. This shirt is so cool with the oranges, blues, whites, and this crazy pattern.

I styled the shirt by popping on some white denim shorts, my Doc Martens, and the black backpack. I rolled up the sleeves because I think with them all the way down, it looked a bit too overwhelming with all that pattern on show.

I felt like I needed a bit of flesh to break it up. That’s also why I left the top buttons undone and went with a half-tuck which shows more of the shorts. I also love how the white in the shorts complements the white in the pattern; I think it looks so cool.

I left the back of the shirt untucked, and I love how it is longer at the back and looks a bit like a dress. I did initially want to wear the shirt as a dress, but as it is shorter at the front than the back, it wasn’t long enough to wear a dress. But I do like how it has the dress feel at the back. 

5. Dress

The penultimate item is this button-down red maxi dress that is my mum’s. This dress gives me primary school teacher vibes.

I’m going to style this dress in two ways. For the first outfit, I’m wearing my Doc Martens again as I think they look great when styled with a long skirt or dress.

I’ve got the lacy bralette on again, and I’ve undone the top two buttons and folded the dress inwards to give the illusion of a v-shaped neckline. I also shortened the length of the dress by hoisting it up and tucking it into the bralette.

The second way I’ve styled this dress is by undoing all the buttons, and I’m wearing it kind of as a robe. This outfit is giving me holiday dinner vibes. I’ve popped on a pair of red pointed-toe heels, and I’m wearing a white lace top which I’ve tucked into my white denim shorts. A black belt around the waist cinches me in.

6. Sweater vest

The final piece is one of my dad’s and looks like a bit of an old man’s vest. Let's see what I can do with it.

Here I’ve transformed the vest into a mini skirt. It’s quite bulky, and that’s because I’ve stuffed half the vest into itself. So it’s not so neat or comfortable, but it is a good idea, and you could always cut an old cardigan up and sew it into a skirt.

I styled the skirt with my white lacy top and draped a long coat over my shoulders. On my feet, I’m wearing my pointed-toe boots.

How to style your parents' clothes

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing how I’ve styled my parents' clothes, and maybe I’ve inspired you to try styling your parents’ clothes or old items you have in your closet.

I think that I’m going to have to steal all of these items from my parents' wardrobe, and they’re going to end up with no clothes left.