Bonjour, folks! There’s a French saying which goes like this, “Qui se ressemble s’assemble”, which can be loosely translated by “birds of a feather flock together”. In the quest to find a soul mate, I tend to think that one shan’t look any further once they have reached a satisfying level of harmony. The thing is, as perfect as this harmony can feel for the love birds, it can only be more fun when their shiny personalities are in sync with their feathers!… Which prompted me to ask myself: how can we reconcile both? Namely, what to do to insure that a great match of personalities reflects on the outside? 
After pondering on this typical armchair philosopher’s existential question for about a couple of drinks, I thought that an easy solution could be starting to think about the whole dressing process as a fun couple activity. After all, if the world’s a stage, the very least we could do as a duo of actors is to be eye candy for the spectators to enjoy the show!
That’s how I decided that once in while I would try to match my much-better-half Martina’s stylish ensembles. To tell you the truth, she was not so thrilled with the idea at the beginning. But after a few epic fails of dressing like awkward dissimilar, interracial twins, we started mastering the technique and ended up harvesting numerous compliments. I can tell you that she started to find it pretty darn sweet!
But be careful, I see you coming a mile off! Don’t fall in the very same trap we fell in. Avoid the rookie mistake and repeat after me: we definitely DO NOT want to appear costume-y! Although I belong to the category of people who think that there’s hardly any fashion faux-pas, keep in mind that Halloween is far behind us, so please spare us the painful sight of the remake of Where are Waldo and Wenda!
Two Golden Rules:
1- No matter what, never dress exactly the same. Instead, think about pairing in a more subtle way where you compliment your counterpart in a way that creates a nice overview.
2- Try to always respect a similarity in style. Thus, casual calls for casual, fancy for fancy, etc…
Now, I reckon all this may sounds a little too abstract so I will give you a few of my techniques on how to be an echo without being a mirror:
The Full Color Match
As the name suggests, this one is the most basic and less risky option: you pick a color that will constitute the main theme of your outfit. Beware: the color shall not be too loud, otherwise it really gets too visually overwhelming.
Play with accessories to offer a break and not appear monotonous (shoes, belt, hat, purse, etc…)
The Inverted Color-Blocking
Intermediate level of players here! The idea is to reproduce the color blocking fashion of your partner-in-crime, but to avoid being a copy-cat by wisely applying it to a different body area (top-middle-bottom). For example, she has a mustard top, you have some mustard pants; he wears a plum shirt, you tag along with a plum hat. You get the point.
Here you can be more daring with your choice of colors. Flamboyant is the motto! But please don’t incorporate more than 3 colors in your outfit otherwise you will look like the infamous ‘bunter papagay’ (German for colorful parrot).
The Subtle Detail Reminder
Find one tiny detail in the outfit of your significant other and include it to your own outfit. For example, the paisley pattern of her clutch echoes the one of your pocket square; his burgundy cuff-links magically match your lipstick, and on and on and on.
Only a sharp and trained eye will notice, but trust me, it will definitely impress the connoisseurs!
Voilà! It’s your turn to play now!
Coolly yours, K.
HAPPY SHOPPING!
[*If you need some help adding color to your wardrobe check out Khan’s “A Colorful Autumn ’till the Very Last Leaf Shall Fall” for advice. Need tips for accessorizing?? Check out Craig’s “Gentlemen’s Guide to Accessories“!]
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