Twenty-six-year-old twin sisters from North Carolina have shared their refreshing perspective on why they don’t like modern clothing and instead prefer old-fashioned clothes—taking pleasure in quality tailoring and fabric.
Corie Graddick and Katie Ann Pressley were born in Gainesville, Georgia, but have lived in Brasstown for their entire lives.
Corie who works full-time as a content creator told The Epoch Times: “We were also raised in a family that highly valued modesty and we find that the older fashions tend to be more modest.”
As children, their wardrobe mostly comprised hand-me-downs as well as clothing from thrift stores and yard sales since their family didn’t have a lot of money.
“Mom would search the thrift stores as a more affordable way to clothe us,” Corie said.
As a result, they were always at least several years behind the current fashion trends and they got used to having older clothes, which is one of the reasons they still like them.
Additionally, they really like the fabrics and feel that older clothes have. They shared that these clothes tend to be better quality and are long-lasting.
“We have garments from 50 or 60 years ago that still look new,” Corie said. “We love the quality and love knowing we can wash them more than 3 times without them wearing out.”
Both musicians believe that modern garments—clothes made after 2010—are of low quality and not tailored well.
“They are just sacks with head and arm holes,” Corie said, referring to modern clothing. “To us, modern clothing is cheaper in quality, no real care goes into making the garment so it wears out quickly.”
The twins have also found that modern clothes are all styled in the same way and consist of too many different colors and patterns.
Raised in a family that values humility, Corie and Katie appreciate the more modest styling of clothes from past generations, especially the 60s and 70s. When they do gigs—Katie plays fiddle, and Corie plays guitar—they like to wear older dresses and blouses.
As little girls, they started singing in church and would sing gospel and folk songs with their musical grandpa and uncle. When they got a little older, around the age of 13, Corie picked up the fiddle through a program at school where she played for two years, before deciding she preferred the guitar. Katie began playing fiddle shortly after.
“We do a lot of folk, old country, and gospel music,” Corie said, “as well as some of our own compositions which include fiddle tunes and lyrical songs.”
However, apart from clothing, their love for old things extends to many other aspects of life.
Katie, who works full-time as a jewelry and lapidary artist and lives with her parents, owns a 1986 Square Body truck she is restoring and her fiddle was made in the 1800s.
Meanwhile, Corie, who lives with her husband in Murphy, has a Gibson Guitar from 1954. She also uses a lot of old kitchen items. As a family, they exclusively use old cast iron skillets that are up to a century old.
However, the twins emphasize that when it comes to dressing up, people should wear whatever they feel the best in.
“Whatever is most comfortable for them, and what makes them feel the best about themselves,” Corie said. “Yes, we love to wear older clothing, but it’s what makes us feel the best, we don’t do it to be cool, or for any special reasons, it’s just what we enjoy.”
The girls also clarified that it’s not like they don’t own any modern clothing. However, they try to find older clothing whenever they can using online sources such as eBay, Etsy, Poshmark, and Rusty Zipper, as well as thrift stores.
Corie, who wears lots of Woolrich wool flannel shirts during winter, sums up their attitude with characteristic modesty saying: “While I would say we wear older clothes, I wouldn’t say we necessarily draw a lot of attention to ourselves. Sometimes people will compliment our blouse or dress.”
