DADS – GOTTA LOVE ’EM!

An Instagram account devoted to the fashion ‘sense’ of fathers pokes fun at their dodgy duds

OU can take dad out of fashion Dodgeville but you can’t take fashion Dodgeville out of dad. Wouldn’t-be-caughtdeadtakkies, funny furry waistcoats, a crop top and sandals for golf . . . Give some dudes half a chance and their natural sartorial style will leap out of the closet before their offspring get the chance to hide their faces in shame.

But dads and their I-don’t-care outfits are having their moment in the sun thanks to the internet – and a few grownup children who’ve decided to unleash fashion-unforward fathers on the world of Instagram.

“We were talking and laughing about our own dads’ ridiculous outfits while we were home for the holidays and we were like, ‘ Wait, we should create an Instagram account for this’,” Ashley Hesseltine, a blogger from Atlanta in the US, told Glamour magazine.

And so Fashion Dads saw the light of day.

Ashley and a friend, Travis May, started the site together, initially sharing only pictures of their own fathers – but fans of the page soon started sending in pics of their pops too.

The pictures are accompanied by hilarious captions that poke gentle fun at the chichi types who often flaunt their designer duds on social media.

At last count Fashion Dads had more than 163 000 followers feasting their

SSeyes on the fathers’ fashion faux pas and the quips that accompany each pic.

“Footwear is so important to complete any look,” reads one caption alongside a photo of a pair of rather old, unflattering and dad-typical trainers.

And alongside a picture of a man sporting a bright yellow T-shirt paired with a faux fur apron are the words, “Sunday nights are for grilling – and, most importantly, grilling in style!” You go, dads! YOU is on the hunt for South African dads who follow their own fashion sense and refuse to abide by style rules. Send pictures to mieke.vlok@media24. com.