No offence to Joan Didion, obviously, but you know who the real style icons of the moment are? The Von Trapp family, that’s who. Fifty years after The Sound of Music premiered, a Los Angeles auction house is inviting bids on the seven sailor-style play outfits that Maria (Julie Andrews) sews – from curtain fabric, if memory serves – for the brood. (Think: the scene where they sing Do-Re-Mi.)
Take a look at these bad boys. I mean, how on trend? Alexa Chung, previously considered fashion-forward, is suddenly exposed as being half-a-century late to the pinafore party. And that moss-green-and-oatmeal colour combination? Exactly the kind of delicately off-key artisanal-neutral combination that costs an arm and a leg in Marni. Even Karl Lagerfeld is in on the Von Trapp trend: the beauty look for the most recent Chanel Métiers d’Art show, in Salzburg, was all plaits and wholesome, meadow-fresh pink cheeks. And Karl’s tiny godson upstaged Cara, Stella at al with his ensemble, which was the last word in haute alpine chic.
But the Von Trapp revival is most visible on Instagram, where it has been making a significant below-the-radar comeback in childrenswear. Dressing your kids the same might have seemed laughably old hat 20 years ago, but is now the height of fashion.
Courtney Adamo is at the vanguard for a new generation of “mummy bloggers” who have a huge following for their idyllic photostreams of perfectly turned-out kids. Adamo’s four children are often snapped in matching looks, from polka-dot pyjamas to yellow fisherman’s macs. The carefully curated palette and wholesome, wooden-toy-filled vibe of the Adamos is Von Trapp to its core. (The two little girls often have their hair in plaits, even.)
Jools Oliver, who has 215,000 followers on Instagram, recently posted a photo of her four children, in which the older two were colourfully dressed in identical duffel coats and bobble hats. Even the Beckhams were in on the act – well, sort of – at the weekend, when the whole family wore “Team Romeo” T-shirts to watch the 12-year-old compete in the London Marathon children’s race.
Adamo, Oliver and Victoria Beckham have an advantage over most of the rest of us, in the second Von Trapp era: they have four kids. It’s a good start, but it’s not nearly enough. Anyone out there with seven? Bid for the Von Trapp wardrobe, and watch the Likes roll in.
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