Few daughters can resist exploring their mothers’ wardrobes, but celebrity offspring often have access to a collection of custom couture most of us can only dream about.
Harper Beckham, Apple Martin and Zahara Jolie-Pitt are among the famous daughters who have borrowed from their mothers’ closets. Experts say the shared looks can also reflect a close and supportive relationship.
The latest to join them is Carys Douglas, who delved into the glamorous wardrobe of Hollywood star Catherine Zeta-Jones for a stylish event in New York.
On Wednesday, 23-year-old Carys gave a modern update to the black Gucci lace top Catherine famously wore to The Long Kiss Goodnight premiere in 1996.
Catherine had worn a black vest beneath the sheer design, while her daughter chose to wear the daring top without a layer underneath.
She teamed the revealing blouse with a matching lace miniskirt from the luxury label as she posed at the Gucci x Moda Operandi NYC Cocktail fashion event.
This was not Carys’s first foray into her mother’s archive. Two years earlier, she marked her 21st birthday in another memorable outfit from Catherine’s wardrobe.
For the celebration, she selected the blush-pink Emanuel Ungaro slip dress Catherine wore to the MTV Awards in 1999. Psychotherapist Marygrace Anderson told Our News Outlet that such choices can convey “public admiration and pride.”
Carys Douglas recently raided mum Catherine Zeta-Jones’ enviable wardrobe for a glitzy fashion event in New York
Harper Beckham is very happy to follow in her mother’s fashionable footsteps, with the 14-year-old frequently copying Victoria Beckham’s style
“When a celebrity shares clothes with her child, it can be seen as the ultimate humble brag because of the attention it attracts. At the same time, it quietly communicates status, wealth, beauty and family unity.
“From a deeper psychological perspective, a daughter choosing to wear her mother’s clothes may signal closeness, public admiration and pride in her mother.
“It is a powerful statement because children typically try to develop their own style and identity apart from their parents. In this context, the choice reflects emotional alignment and identification at its core.”
Like Carys, Harper Beckham has embraced her mother’s fashion influence, with the 14-year-old often taking style cues from Victoria Beckham.
During the family’s summer break in Ibiza in May, Harper recreated one of Victoria’s off-duty looks by wearing a brown floral maxi dress just days after her mother had been pictured in it.
She accessorised the vintage-style gown with a £1,275 Bottega Veneta clutch and £680 Hermès Oran sandals.
Harper drew on her mother’s wardrobe again for a pink satin dress believed to have come from Victoria’s collection when the pair attended a stylish lunch in Formentera, Italy.
Celebrity stylist Lisa Talbot said Harper wearing the same dress as her 52-year-old mother represents “so much more than simply wearing the same size.”
She said: “It reflects how style today is more ageless, effortless and driven by personality than ever before. Victoria and Harper Beckham are a perfect example of that change.
Carys Douglas celebrated her 21st birthday in an Emanuel Ungaro slip dress first worn by her mother, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, at the MTV Awards in 1999
The Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! As Gwyneth Paltrow’s daughter dons the same daring gown
Apple Martin slipped into her mother’s 1996 Calvin Klein Collection dress for the Marty Supreme NYC premiere
Zahara Jolie-Pitt borrowed a dazzling gold sequin Elie Saab gown last seen on her mother at the 2014 Oscars
“Harper is not trying to dress older, and Victoria is not trying to dress younger. They are both wearing timeless pieces in ways that suit them individually.
“It is also notable that so many of this season’s trends work naturally across generations.
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“Relaxed tailoring, oversized shirts, denim, slip dresses and polished summer staples can all be styled differently according to the wearer, making wardrobe sharing feel far more natural.
“In the past, women may have been reluctant to discuss borrowing clothes from their daughters, but today it is viewed as a confident and modern approach to dressing.
“The key is to make the look feel authentic to your personal style rather than attempting to replicate each other exactly.”
Harper and Victoria are far from the only high-profile mother-and-daughter pair to share clothes.
Last December, 21-year-old Apple Martin looked remarkably like Gwyneth Paltrow when she attended the New York premiere of Marty Supreme, the Timothée Chalamet-led sports film.
Apple walked the red carpet in the same Calvin Klein dress her Oscar-winning mother wore to the premiere of her Jane Austen adaptation Emma in 1996.
She completed the sleek black dress with Manolo Blahnik shoes, Tiffany & Co. jewellery and an updo that echoed her mother’s original styling.
Apple and her 19-year-old brother Moses, whose father is Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, attended the premiere to support Gwyneth, who has a starring role in the film.
Gwyneth has previously explained that Apple enjoys borrowing from her wardrobe, particularly her 1990s Calvin Klein dresses.
The actress kept many of her most memorable outfits in an extensive archive and had always hoped her daughter might one day want to wear them.
“She pulls all kinds of stuff. She’s very into all my ’90s Calvin, of which there’s a lot, and the ’90s Prada, of which there’s a lot,” Gwyneth told Vogue during a joint interview with Apple earlier this year.
“Sometimes we just play dress-up and she’ll put on my Oscar dresses and things like that. We have fun down there.”
“Weirdly, I started saving clothes for Apple 15 or 20 years before she was born. I don’t just see a top; I see a moment in my life and all the circumstances surrounding it. I’ve always saved everything in the hope that I would one day have a daughter who wanted to explore it.”
Apple is equally delighted to have such an extraordinary wardrobe at her disposal, describing her mother as “such a badass when it comes to fashion.”
Princess Alexandra of Hanover wore her mother Caroline’s vintage Chanel dress from the autumn/winter 1990 couture collection
Sophie’s Roland Mouret coat appears to be in pristine condition – even though Lady Louise has waited four years to wear it
With Oscar red-carpet regular Angelina Jolie as her mother, borrowing one of her celebrated gowns might seem like an intimidating prospect.
Zahara Jolie-Pitt, however, embraced the opportunity in 2021 when she wore the dazzling gold sequin Elie Saab gown previously seen on Angelina at the 2014 Oscars.
At the 2023 Oscars, then-15-year-old Valentina Paloma Pinault also chose a dress with family history, wearing a red strapless Isaac Mizrahi gown originally worn by her mother, Salma Hayek.
Fashion sharing is not limited to Hollywood; members of the Royal Family have also been known to borrow from one another.
Lady Louise Windsor repurposed her mother Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh’s, navy Roland Mouret coat for Christmas four years ago. Sophie had first worn it at the Royal Family’s Easter service in 2018.
Carole Middleton has also occasionally taken inspiration from her daughter’s wardrobe, perhaps unsurprisingly given that the Princess of Wales is widely considered one of the world’s best-dressed women.
But in 2012, the style exchange went in the opposite direction when Kate borrowed from her mother.
For her first official speech as a member of the Royal Family at Treehouse Hospice, the Princess wore a Reiss coat dress that Carole had previously worn in 2010.
Beyond serving as a powerful endorsement of sustainable fashion, there is something especially touching about mothers and daughters bringing treasured clothes back into the spotlight. Hollywood’s leading women are unlikely to be immune to that sense of pride when they see their favourite looks given a new life.
