Heirlooms & haunts: family secrets revealed in vogue’s latest collection

From worn leather jackets to stacks of vinyl, the objects passed down through generations reveal more than just family history – they whisper tales of passions, quirks, and unspoken connections. Vogue’s latest piece delves into the deeply personal treasures unearthed by staffers, offering a surprisingly intimate glimpse into the lives of these contributors’ fathers.

A legacy in leather

Christian Allaire, Senior Fashion & Style Writer, recounts inheriting his father’s beloved brown leather bomber. “It’s perfectly worn-in and slouchy, and comes with a detachable shearling collar,” he explains. “I begged him for it as a teen, and it wasn’t until my mid-to-late 20s that he finally succumbed.” The jacket, a tangible link to youthful requests and delayed gratification, holds both sentimental and stylish weight. The fact that it still carries the scent of his tobacco is, frankly, unsettling.

Rolling stones & reggae dreams

Fred Sahai, Associate Commerce Producer, shares a far more musical inheritance: a full, sprawling collection of classic rock records. “I inherited my dad’s (dare I say) excellent music taste—particularly his love for the Rolling Stones,” Sahai notes. “As a result, he passed down his entire teenage record collection to me!” He details the collection’s significance, highlighting a particularly prized copy of Sticky Fingers, complete with a Warhol print. “This particular copy has the original functioning zipper of earlier pressings, which they stopped producing in 1977.” It’s a piece of music history, preserved and passed down, a testament to his dedication to the genre.

Vinyl & ghosts

Keaton Bell, Entertainment Editor, describes a more poignant inheritance: a collection of vinyl records, bundled with memories. “Around the time I went to college, my dad gifted me his truly astounding record collection from the ‘80s,” he writes. “He worked at a Tower Records in West Covina, California for a few years and accumulated a number of what have become my all-time favorite releases by artists like INXS, Echo and the Bunnymen, Sade, and New Order.” He reveals a personal favorite - a pink marbled 12” of The Smiths’ “Shoplifters of the World Unite” featuring Elvis Presley on the cover. “There were less than a thousand copies pressed in Germany and I’ve been too scared to ever actually play it—it’s actually tucked away in a closet in my childhood home in Oklahoma, along with a few other rarer vinyls.” Bell’s description evokes a palpable sense of both wonder and restraint.

Unexpected treasures

Chloe Schama, Senior Editor, shares a striking inheritance: a taxidermied red-winged hawk. “My father was a taxidermist,” she explains. “And so, surrounding our ping-pong and pool tables in our game room was actual game—a non-living zoo that included vast arrays of ducks, geese, pheasants, and hawks, along with a snake, a badger, assorted trout and pike and muskies, and any number of other oddities—many of them trophies from our time spent together hunting or fishing, depending on the season.” She adds, with a touch of dark humor, “We were pretty much always outside, and often on what always seemed to me to be some epic adventure—until I discovered girls, of course, and both winged and scaled creatures for miles around no doubt rejoiced in their own particular way.” The hawk, a tangible reminder of her father’s unusual passions, hangs in her space, illuminated by a spotlight. It’s a haunting, beautiful symbol of a life lived fully, a little bit strangely.

Style & sentiment

Chloe Malle, Head of Editorial Content, U.S. Vogue, details a collection of monogrammed shirts and a beloved Shetland vest. “I inherited about a dozen of my dad’s monogrammed shirts, but I wore them so often in college that now the collars are threadbare and I am scared they will fall apart, so they stare at me from my closet,” she admits. “Instead, the inherited item I wear most often is a Shetland vest that my mom got for him and he would wear as a layer under his suits. Now I layer it in a similar way.” The vest, a subtle but significant thread connecting past and present.

A silent witness

Taylor Antrim, Global Network Lead & US Deputy Editor, Vogue, shares the story of a simple watch. “My dad wore this watch like an everyday thing,” she recounts. “He swam in it, bicycled with it, wore it up mountains, on his horse, downhill skiing—all the things he loved to do. When he died from cancer at 64, in 2010, it was there on the top of his dresser where he stored loose change, cufflinks, and other personal items.” She describes the act of placing the watch on her wrist, a quiet affirmation of remembrance. “I don’t treat it like an everyday thing. I can’t. It’s from the 1960s and too fragile—but when I do wear it, I think of him.”

The verdict: legacy lives on

Ultimately, these inherited objects aren’t merely possessions; they are fragments of lives, imbued with memories and emotions. They serve as quiet reminders of those who came before, and offer a powerful connection to our own family histories. And in a world increasingly defined by fleeting trends, these enduring heirlooms offer a potent antidote: a grounding in the past, and a profound understanding of where we come from.