My family never wore matching outfits on vacations or in portraits. My mom would dress Emily and I in coordinating outfits when we were little-- and we accidentally did so ourselves in high school and would argue over who had to change. and since high school, we still accidentally match, but have learned to love it. We've been known to show up to outings coming from different cities wearing the same outfit. as pictured here in this... picture:
on this particular occasion, we were going to a Memorial Day service in our home town. Emily Drove in from Ann Arbor (Muck Fichigan), me from East Lansing (Sparty On!) when she walked in-- late-- we looked at each other and tried so hard not to laugh we started crying. and had to pass it off as if we were just really moved by the service as everyone bowed their heads in prayer. Also, as indicated by the picture above, we had twins in foster care at the time. who were, of course, dressed as twins should be; like twins. We made one handsome couple of couples that sunny afternoon.The only time we dressed alike as a family of 6 (plus a couple of unsuspecting significant others who would inevitably, eventually break up with my siblings) was when my dad decided we should all wear Hawaiian shirts to a family reunion/50th anniversary party where my aunt and uncle were renewing their vows. Being 16 and super cool and hip and popular at the time, i thought it was stupid, and was silently pissed at my dad. looking back-- i think its HILARIOUS. quick important detail; we all wore the same Hawaiian shirt! that's so amazing! I wish i had a picture of it to post. It was the happiest i've ever seen my dad. I kept a close eye on him during my sister's wedding 6 years later to see if anything rivaled this moment-- walking her down the aisle, daddy daughter dance, etc etc-- nothing. note to self. solidify spot as 'favorite child' by letting dad wear a Hawaiian shirt to my black tie wedding.
my mom has a picture of the Hawaiianness. i'll make her scan it. Emily once referred to the picture as the 'time Dad got to drive the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile,' as that is the only thing that could elicit such an expression of pure joy that had overwhelmed my father's face. She was right. the rest of us may have been in the lobby of a hotel in Indiana, PA. But at that moment in time, he was driving the weinermobile.
oh wait.. i was supposed to be writing about why i'm glad we don't dress alike. what i was actually referring to was those custom made shirts that say something like "The Wright Stuff: Summer Vaca 1996" and have a picture of Mickey Mouse superimposed to your latest family portrait and are brightly colored so no one gets lost at the theme park. I'm glad i never had to wear one of those. I'm also glad i've never had to dress the same as my mother-- like, the exact outfit from head to toe. no offense, she's a wonderful woman. I saw a 14 year old girl and her mother walking down the street the other day in matching little get-ups, and i wanted to puke, then call my mother and thank her for her better judgment in that regard.
Outfits that match from head to toe in general are a bad idea-- even if it just matches itself. I saw a women with bright yellow jeans, a yellow t-shirt under a yellow jean vest, white shoes with yellow stripes and her fingernails were painted yellow, too. that is simply too much yellow. mix it up. coordinate an outfit... don't match it to everything on your body. I also saw a woman dressed in all pink the very same day. Solid pink cottonish cropped pants and a cotton ruffled pink shirt that matched exactly-it may have actually been a pajama set. her daughter was also wearing pink- but not quite matching. same shade different cut and style-- so i'll let it slide. also, she was pregnant, so she looked like a puffalump.
it was actually the shade of pink of that bunny's ears. no self respecting adult should wear that color on more than 10% of their body. it might have even been that material....
One thing i regret in regards to my childhood:
I wish i was raised in a culture where "Sunday Best" included some type of elaborate hat.
