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.