Pattharapol and Lee Puengboonpra, a fashion-obsessed mother and son
duo from Bangkok, Thailand, have achieved online and offline fame thanks
to their impeccably stylish and perfectly coordinated outfits.
Six years ago, when Pattharapol “Peepy” Lee started posting photos of
himself and his 60-something mother wearing flamboyant matching outfits
on Instagram, he had no idea they’d soon become fashion influencers and
online celebrities in their own right. A long-time fashion aficionado
and former editor-in-chief of Hi! Magazine, he acted on a whim, and had
no idea he’d one day have legions of fans showering him and “mother Lee”
with compliments for their sense of fashion. The @peepy_and_mother_lee Instagram
page now has around 130,000 followers from all over the world and the
Thai pair are regarded by some in the fashion industry as the “world’s
best mother and son style” duo.
Looking at the elaborate backgrounds and flamboyant outfits displayed
in most of the photos on Peepy and Mother Lee’s page, you’d think they
spend most of their time planning photo shoots and traveling in search
of the best locations, but in reality, they’re all spontaneous and taken
in the comfort of their Bangkok mansion. The clothes are all part of
their own collection as well, and include both custom outfits
commissioned by Peepy for both him and his mother, but also vintage
items that Mother Lee has accumulated over the last three decades.
“I don’t even plan the shoots,” Peepy recently told the South China Morning Post.
“We do it whenever we like it, it’s very spontaneous. It’s all in my
head and every piece in the photos is from our collection”
Apart from Pattharapol’s 14-year-career as a fashion magazine editor,
the Lee family has no connection to the fashion industry. They’ve made
their fortune in paint and chemical manufacturing, but both Peepy and
Mother Lee have always been fond of fashion. The matriarch has been
collecting designer bags and jewelry for decades, and Peepy fell in love
with Louis Vuitton a long time ago. Thanks to social media, they now
have the means to display their passion for fashion as a flamboyant duo.
But despite their “in your face” appearance, Peepy and Mother Lee are
both extremely media shy. Despite repeated requests over the last six
years, they only recently did their first interview with an
international publication, and seem in no rush to turn their online
success into a lucrative business. They just genuinely love fashion and
this project has given them the opportunity to bond as mother and son.
It’s perhaps this authenticity that has made them so popular.
