Chelsea Clinton opens up on motherhood & childhood

Children often take after their parents more than they intend to.

Chelsea Clinton says in the past she tried “very hard to care about things that were different from what my parents cared about.” But ultimately, the former first daughter says, “I just couldn’t because of the environment in which I grew up and the examples that my parents set for me.”

{mosads}Clinton, who gave birth to her first child, Charlotte, last month, opens up in a conversation with designer Stella McCartney (the daughter of Paul McCartney) featured in Harper’s Bazaar.

While some teens get piercings or tattoos to rebel against their parents, Clinton, 34, says she had her own way of pushing the boundaries: “Mine was to declare I was a vegetarian. It’s kind of sad to say that that was my major act of rebellion.”

The new mother, a fixture on the New York fashion scene, also shares her thoughts on style growing up.

“I think about fashion now in a cooperative way,” Clinton says. “It wasn’t always like that, because when I was little I’d watch my mother — who was this very successful lawyer and children’s rights advocate — be perceived predominantly through her appearance. When my father ran for president, there were criticisms about her wearing suits that were two seasons old.”

That affected her own clothing choices growing up, says Clinton. “When I went to high school, I always dressed in these monochromatic navy blue looks because I was trying to avoid any form of criticism.”

Clinton also reveals a motto she and her political parents take to heart: “We have a saying in my family, ‘Patience is a virtue, but impatience gets things done.’”