http://stackoverflow.com/questions/16926116/style-the-parent-of-the-current-element

HTML

<ul id="menu">
    <li class="gray"><a href="#">All</a></li>
    <li class="blue"><a href="#">Item 1</a></li>
    <li class="orange"><a href="#">Item 2</a></li>
    <li class="green"><a href="#">Item 3</a></li>
</ul>

CSS

.gray {
    color: gray;
}
.blue {
    color: blue;
}
.orange {
    color: orange;
}
.green {
    color: green;
}

JavaScript

$('#menu').on('click', 'li', function(event){
    event.preventDefault();
    
    var $item = $(event.currentTarget);
    $item.siblings().removeClass('active');
    $item.addClass('active');
    
    $item.parent().css('border', '1px solid ' + $item.css('color'));
});