I'm 25, and My Mom Is 60—32 Mango Items We Both Bought in Spain This Summer

Woman wearing white one-shoulder tank top, and black flowy skirt with leather belt against orange studio backdrop.

(Image credit: Mango)

For most fashion people, the arrival of vacation season means figuring out how to pack 20 outfits into one measly suitcase. Although I'm no stranger to packing efficiently, I always leave some room in my suitcase when visiting my parents abroad in Europe. I have to note the shopping—both new and vintage—is impeccable, with easily some of the best fashion deals you can find.

Naturally, with nearly 24/7 access to stores in an up-and-coming fashion capital like Madrid, my mom's style has started to give me (someone who quite literally shops for a living) a run for her money.

This year's retailer for my chic European mom? Mango, thanks to its effortlessly easy, elevated basics and affordable trend-forward pieces. Although I didn't consider my mom "cool" back when I was discovering my style at 14, she's certainly one of my style icons now, and thankfully, her style is easy to replicate (and, of course, sneakily steal out of her closet when I see her over the summer).

While the Spanish-founded brand has a solid footing in the United States, its American influence is nothing compared to the shopping experience in Mango's flagship store in Barcelona. During a three-hour shopping trip, my mom and I decided to challenge ourselves and find some of the best pieces both she and I could pull off despite a 35-year age difference and a chaotic mash-up of personal style. The result? A zero-disappointment Mango haul for the ages.

Below are all the stylish and trendy Mango pieces that trumped our generational divide.

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Assistant Shopping Editor
Ana Escalante is an award-winning journalist and Gen Z editor whose work ranges from dissecting size inclusivity at fashion week to discussing how American Girl Doll meme accounts are the the answer to society's collective spiral. She's covered it all: Queen Elizabeth II's corgis, Roe v. Wade frontline protests, and the emergence of jorts (or jean shorts for the uninitated). At Who What Wear, Ana is responsible for delivering smart, insightful, personality-driven shopping guides and trend features for a digital-first generation.Before joining Who What Wear, Ana was Glamour magazine's editorial assistant, where she focused on daily news and special packages, including leading the brand's 2022 Met Gala coverage. For more than half a decade, she has covered style, beauty, and digital culture for publications such as Paper magazine, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue Japan, and Allure, among others. Ana has been called a rising star in media by publications such as Nylon and Teen Vogue. (Her mother, meanwhile, calls her "the coolest person" she knows.)