When Larry Pennington started his TikTok account late last year, he did so hoping to show off his love of antique home décor and thrifted outfits. With a distinctive eye for hidden gems and a classically Southern personal style, Mr. Pennington, a 79-year-old former educator, has been honing his sartorial skills for decades. He thought he could teach the young people on social media a few things.
Mr. Pennington had no idea his account — which features outfit-of-the-day posts and home décor hacks — would grow to more than 225,000 followers in a little more than a month, quickly positioning him among TikTok’s thrifting elite just as that social media platform faces a potential ban in the United States.
Mr. Pennington was born in Charleston, W.Va., to two fashionable parents — his father a corporate executive who wore bespoke suits and his mother a homemaker who opted for designer and couture.
“I grew up with wonderful memories of her clothes and his clothes, and that got me started,” he said in a recent phone interview. Mr. Pennington, who describes his personal style as “classic men’s” — suit jackets paired with sweaters, lots of pocket squares and bow ties, a neatly trimmed mustache — often includes a sentimental tribute to his parents in his outfits, such as wearing one of his mother’s earrings as a lapel pin.
Mr. Pennington’s love for thrifting and antiquing started in earnest in the 1980s, when he was living in Washington, D.C. Now, at almost 80, he’s mastered the art of scouring the internet and social media for high quality vintage items: He frequently purchases things on eBay, Etsy and Poshmark.
“You have to train your eye to find things that look like quality, that have the right proportions,” he said. “You can go to the dollar store now and find some really nice things — you just have to have an eye for it.”
Mr. Pennington’s style — and his videos — recall a previous fashion era, when everyone dressed up for occasions like meals and airplane travel, and pajama bottoms would never be worn outside the house.
“We dressed up to go somewhere in the car,” Mr. Pennington said.
He and his husband of 20 years, David, live in Rehoboth Beach, Del., but rent a place in Florida during the winter, where they maintain their tradition of getting dressed up every evening, often in complementary ensembles.
“We go out, we have drinks, we buy dinner, bring it home, go to the piano, sing and play, and then we sit down and eat our dinner,” Mr. Pennington said. “So doing the outfit-of-the-day post is so easy — I’m dressed anyway, and then I have the chance to talk about things, like the difference between slip-ons and loafers.”
The couple have high style expectations not just for themselves, but also for those in their inner circle.
“We give a big party every Christmas,” Mr. Pennington said. “First I said: Dress casual. Then I tried saying business. I finally had to say semiformal, because I’m from the South: If I have a party and you don’t dress up for it, I’m insulted. It’s like you didn’t try. I’m spending a fortune — I’ve got bartenders and waiters and caterers — and you came like you’re going to go weed the garden.”
His TikTok account has struck a chord with young people — “My new mantra is ‘What would Larry do?’” a fellow TikTok creator, Traveling Terry, recently observed — who are drawn to his timeless style and home décor taste and are impressed with his social media savvy.
“People are so sweet and so kind, and they say the nicest things to me,” Mr. Pennington said of his followers.
But just because young people love him doesn’t mean he’s impressed by current youth fashion trends. “I don’t understand the athletic wear look,” Mr. Pennington said. “I will not wear a T-shirt. To me, underwear is not outerwear.”
“And I don’t understand sweatpants,” he added.
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