Tom Ford has revealed that he won’t let his nine-year-old son Jack wear shorts to his elementary school in Los Angeles, admitting that he only recently started allowing him to don graphic T-shirts.
The iconic designer shared his strict wardrobe rules for his only child while opening up about his daily routine and life as a single father following the recent death of his husband and partner of 35 years, fashion journalist Richard Buckley.
‘You know, I don’t let Jack wear shorts to school, and the other kids are in shorts. On the one hand, I feel that maybe I have to give into it just because I don’t want him to be ostracized because he doesn’t have on shorts,’ Ford, 60, told WSJ. Magazine.
Designer dad: Tom Ford, 60, has revealed he doesn’t allow his nine-year-old son Jack to wear shorts to school, but he’s worried he will ‘be ostracized’ because he doesn’t have them on
Family: Ford and his late husband, fashion journalist Richard Buckley, welcomed their son, whose full name is Alexander John Buckley Ford, via surrogate in 2017
‘But I’ll say to him, “You’re never wearing shorts to school. Don’t ask again. Not happening. When you turn 18, you can wear whatever you want.”
‘It was only recently that I let him wear T-shirts with stuff printed on it,’ he added.
Ford and Buckley welcomed their son — whose full name is Alexander John Buckley Ford — via surrogate in 2017. He is being raised in Los Angeles, where the style and the attitudes are more laid back than Ford is used to.
‘I think I am, by nature, a more formal, old-fashioned person,’ he said. ‘You know, the other day working on responding to condolence notes and everything, I said to my L.A. assistant, “Get out Emily Post.”
‘She said, “What is Emily Post?” I said, “What do you mean, ‘What is Emily Post?’ Get out a copy of Emily Post! Look at etiquette and see how we respond to emails.”
‘I mean, people in L.A., when you have a dinner party, the one thing I do not understand that drives me insane is couples want to sit next to each other,’ he added.
Candid: Ford, who is raising Jack in his Los Angeles home (pictured), said he only recently started letting his son wear ‘T-shirts with stuff printed on it’
‘For me, the whole point is that you sit next to someone new, so when you go home and get into bed, you can dish about them. So manners in L.A. have taken me a while to adjust to.’
The former creative director of Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent gets up every morning at 5:30 and makes himself an iced coffee.
He has a small gym in his home where he will run on the treadmill and do some body-resistance strength training for a half hour four days a week. After he’s done, he will take his first of at least two hot baths and have a second cup of coffee.
Ford explained that he gets an early start so he ‘can have peace and quiet’ before he has to wake up Jack and get him ready for school.
‘Until recently, I had Richard to help me out in the mornings,’ he said of his late husband, who passed away from natural causes at their L.A. home in September at age 72 after battling a prolonged illness.
‘It’s been a little bit of a struggle the last month because he would normally get [Jack’s] breakfast on school days while I was getting dressed. I’ve gotten pretty good at it,’ he admitted. ‘I guess I’ve added now to my routine at 5:30.
Loss: Buckley passed away from natural causes at their L.A. home in September at age 72 after battling a prolonged illness
Routine: The designer (pictured at his Tom Ford spring/summer 2022 show in September) wakes up at 5:30 every morning and has an iced coffee and a bath before taking Jack to school
‘…But it’s a challenge to get him up, dressed, get his lunch made, get his lunch packed, get his breakfast done, get all my things done, and then I drive him to school at 7:45. But it also means I’m at my office by 8:10, so I get a good start to the day.’
Ford shared that life without his partner of three decades has been difficult.
‘It’s been hard after 35 years, very hard,’ he said. ‘I keep thinking, Oh, God, I have to call Richard, or I need to send him a note about this. And he’s not here.
Ford previously discussed what Jack is and is not allowed to wear in a 2016 interview with GQ, which took place at his home when his son was four.
At the time, the little boy only wanted to wear black much to his father’s chagrin.
‘Jack, black doesn’t really look good on little children. You need to wear some color,’ his father told him, convincing him to grudgingly put on gray instead.
The designer dad also revealed at the time that his son was forbidden from wearing light-up dinosaur shoes to school.