Granny Chic

A couple of years ago, fashion designers introduced a new old look on the runways — a look that has recently been dubbed “Granny Chic.” Women everywhere can be spotted in lace and eyelet, fuller skirts and loose-fitting pants. The look is catching on in the home, too, with designers taking a peek in Grandma's closet for inspiration — doilies, lace tablecloths and needlepoint pillows are lately creeping into the marketplace. Yet while the look is inspired by granny, it's being updated with modern colors, fabrics and execution.

“It's bringing femininity back,” says Amy Parrish, owner and designer of Ruby Regis Inc. Parrish restructures vintage knits and updates them into cardigans to fit today's fashions. Using modern colors and a new way to wear a brooch (at the narrowest part of the waist as opposed to the shoulder), Parrish's cardies can be worn with jeans, a pencil skirt or palazzo pants.

Parrish works the granny look into the home as well. “I think it's wonderful to blend the old with the modern. It's like your home is a timeline,” she says. Her advice: “Throw your grandmother's quilt over an ultrasuede sofa or at the edge of the bed.”

Lisa Goldberg was surprised to find that her two new collections (the Camisole Collection – Lace, and the Fleur Collection – Graphic Floral Prints) were actually part of a larger trend. “When I originally designed them I didn't have 'granny chic' in mind. I watch the runways, and saw that lace and floral prints were big in clothes. I thought, 'How could I do that?'”

Goldberg takes old motifs and works them onto her porcelain lamps, but updates the look through shape and design. “The flower drawings are more modern than Victorian flowers, and the Lace lamps feature both modern and vintage lace. I was also influenced by my mother and grandmother and how they decorated.”

Gift stores can market this look in personal accessories as well as home accents. So whether your customers are looking for a piece of classic jewelry to accentuate their wardrobe or a simple pillow to accessorize their home, you'll have something both old and new to suit their every whim.