I like to think I have a unique personal style. Floral print dresses and granny sweaters, zany vintage pieces, and frumpy thrift store pullovers. Dressed like a doll, dressed like a movie character, dressed like a raggamuffin, dressed like a goth tomboy, dressed like my fifth grade self, dressed like grunge Elaine Benis, it doesn’t matter. I dress according to my mood. I feel like Ms. Frizzle in that way. Every outfit is a costume of sorts. This is why I have a hard time packing when I travel: how am I supposed to know what to bring if I don’t know how I’m going to feel each particular day? I always end up bringing three times the amount of clothing that I need. It’s a problem.
Sometimes I see other people wearing very similar outfits to what I have on. And I actually love it. I often see pairs of people out together who are dressed very similarly to one another and I wonder to myself if they planned to coordinate, or if it just happened happily accidentally.
Ever read a celebrity gossip rag or watch a show about celebrity fashions? One trope the industry loves to push out is ‘who wore it better,’ showcasing two stars wearing the same outfit, or similar-looking pieces, and rating them against one another.
That’s mad corny. Why not celebrate the fact that another person had the same idea as you? ‘Hmm, feels like a multicolor plaid day!’ Don’t you think it’s special that someone else felt similarly inspired, like you may be both wearing the same thing but maybe for entirely different reasons? Wouldn’t you want to find out? Wouldn’t you take that opportunity to connect with someone on the same level? Or at least silently revel in the fact that your style is chic enough to share, relishing in that other person’s obvious good taste?