Sailor Brinkley-Cook is the 24-year-old daughter of Christie Brinkley. She’s a model, like her mother. For the most part, Sailor seems like a decent person. I don’t know that she’s taking the modeling world by fire, but she also doesn’t seem to be too obnoxious about it. I thought this was a cute story, though. Sailor raids her mom’s closet and hopes Christie forgets about the pieces so Sailor can keep them. There are a lot of reasons I wouldn’t want a supermodel for a mom but having access to their closet would be #1 under the Pro column.
Sailor Brinkley-Cook loves to take a peek at what’s inside her model mom’s closet when she needs something new to wear. The 24-year-old tells PEOPLE that as she grows up, she’s realizing more and more that her style is right in line with how her mom, supermodel Christie Brinkley, 68, dresses. In fact, some of the pieces she’s swiped from her mom’s closet are her most prized possessions.
“Both of us are pretty classic,” she says. “We love a white t-shirt. We love a good pair of jeans. We love a trench coat, good sweater, a good pair of white sneakers, black boots.”
Brinkley-Cook admits that before she found her current classic style, she tried to have an “edgy” vibe before realizing it just wasn’t her. “What was I trying to do? I’m not edgy,” she tells PEOPLE with a laugh. Instead, she finds comfort in classic pieces, like jeans and hoodies, but isn’t shy about grabbing something new from her mom’s wardrobe.
“Sometimes I’ll ask to borrow something, and I’ll be like, ‘Oh my God, this is so cute,’ and she’ll tell me, ‘Okay, but you have to give it back.’ And then she forgets!” Brinkley-Cook says. She admits that she’s held onto a few pieces due to that exact situation, and when she wears them again, her mom remembers where it came from.
“She’ll remind me it’s hers, and I just tell her she never asked for it back!” Brinkley-Cook tells PEOPLE. “It’s always those loopholes with moms, where you’re like, ‘You can’t really be that angry. I’m your child.'”
But some of the clothes Brinkley-Cook has gotten from her mom were actually gifted to her, because the Sacred + Divine creative director admits that she doesn’t shop a lot, as it’s not something she has the budget for.
When she moved back to the city recently to launch her brand, Brinkley-Cook says she asked her mom if she had any “little things” from her closet she might be able to have. “She gave me my grandmère’s old trench coat and it’s this stunning beige trench that’s been in my family for 40, 50 years, so it’s so cool to have that,” she says, adding that she also inherited a navy Isaac Mizrahi jacket that she adores.
“Those are the pieces that mean the world to me because they’ve lived such a life with my mom and now they get to live such a life with me,” Brinkley-Cook gushes. “She’s definitely got those classic pieces, and I always love everything she has because we’re both lovers of those iconic pieces.”
I feel this in my toes. Literally, because my black workman boots are currently on my daughter’s feet. And my daughter does the same thing as Sailor, she buries my stuff so I can’t see it upon first swipe, clever girl. But I don’t have half the clothes Christie does, so I know every item that’s gone missing. Sailor’s right, though. Ultimately, you find yourself realizing the idiom “giving your child the shirt off your back.” And the only thing you’re mad about is that they look better in it than you.
I was on Christie’s side (for the above reasons) but then Sailor won me over when she talked about Christie’s vintage pieces. I love the idea of clothes living lives with each generation. I have my mom’s I. Magnin camel hair trench. When I put it on, I can almost hear the sounds of Union Square in San Francisco. I also kind of love that Sailor admitted she raids mom’s closet because she can’t afford the same clothes as Christie. I mean, even though we’re talking about supermodels, vintage Isaac Mizrahi jackets and closets you can shop out of, there’s something relatable to all of this – sort of.
Photo credit: Cover Images, Getty Images and Instagram
I used to love grabbing vintage pieces from my moms closet. The I had a growth spurt and got boobs and nothing fit me!
However I did just unearth my grandmothers mink stole. I don’t wear/buy new real fur for ethical reasons, but my god this is a gorgeous vintage piece. It makes me feel like a 40’s film star.
Also pro tip, if you want label things but don’t want to buy new, The RealReal is great for deals. I grabbed a gorgeous pair is Oscar De La Renta pumps for $50 recently.
Thanks for the tip! Do you or any other fashionista Celebitchies have an ID on the pink dress on Sailor? I’m looking for a dress for a wedding and it would be perfect!
I’d be happy to share my clothes with my teenage girls, but one is 6 inches shorter and one is 3 inches taller than me, so neither of them can wear my size in clothes or shoes. They do borrow my jewelry and accessories, though.
I love it when my daughter takes my stuff – she’s 26, I’m 65, and it feels like such a validation! When I was her age I wore my mom’s stuff all the time, even though it was so “suburban mom” while I was “wild hippie chick.”
My mom died a year ago today [I just realized] and every time I take out one of her jackets or sweaters, I find another pair of gloves. Daughter saw a pair of red velvet ones [that I had bought years ago] and claimed them for her own, which makes me happy because Daughter is very goth.
I do this too – my mother is not a supermodel, but she has some wonderful MaxMara pieces from the 80s, and I have borrowed those. Conversely my mother can ask for any item from my wardrobe (or from whatever I’m wearing at the moment) and I’ll happily give it to her. I also love my late father’s classic trench coat, it’s a treasured spring/autumn staple and helps me feel connected to him still.
This is cute, and well told – it’s perfectly possible to be an non obnoxious nepo-baby, right?
I’m living this right now. My daughter is 15 but a similar, but smaller size. She just appears in my clothes. All I can do is hang my head and keep moving.
Mom of boys here but my youngest son’s gf wore my 80s black Madonna dress to an 80s party a few weekends ago. Made me glad I don’t like throwing things out and was so fun to see.
Neopbabies take note! THIS is the content we want from you!
I want to be charmed by your sweet relationship instead of reading you whine about how much “harder” you had to work because you had famous parents.
I was so mad that I was only able to wear my mom’s shoes for a few months before I outgrew her size. However, my grandma was a more fashionable woman closer to my size (clothing and shoes) and I have borrowed and inherited a few great pieces from her.
I like their relationship. Sweet.