This sweater is really special to me because it’s a sort-of hand-me-down from my late grandfather: a beautiful Christian Dior v-neck. When I feel like wearing something simple, classic and a bit elegant, this is my fall (and winter) go-to.
My grandfather always dressed really well, even as he got older. He was an incredibly frugal man (with a taste for Dior, so it seems!), but he had a sense for dressing in a classy, put-together way. I like to think that I get a bit of my taste from him.
When my mom was younger, she would come home from school and often he would throw her a package with a cool, of-the-minute outfit inside. She describes the gifts now as really mod clothing or accessories that nobody at her high school was wearing yet, like gauchos or a fringed bag.
I have distinct memories of him from my childhood: sitting in his chair in the living room, eating an apple (he would eat one every day). As I got older, I would engage him in long talks on politics and ideologies—we rarely agreed, but I enjoyed our debates just the same. He always went grocery shopping on Thursdays. Only Thursdays. He could easily crack us up with his dry humor or the goofy faces he would make. He always arrived early.
Here’s to grandfathers; the way they dress and the memories they leave us with.
Xoxo, H
Photographs by Tom Schelling.