I have two sisters (younger) and while we have some similarities in taste I suspect I think more about clothes. They are more into high heels and have had long blonde hair for about 25 years. But we often choose similar colours.

My Mum now dresses purely for practical reasons but had more of a romantic or hippie edge (she loved wrap indian muslin skirts, knitted waistcoats, and amber beads). My Dad is pretty conservative and practical but looks smart.

Jon is getting better and knows more what suits his colouring and frame - my sons have no interest what so ever at the moment!!

No one in my family dresses like me. Hedev's dystopian outfit is stuff that the swat team would wear, while I look like the one running from the swat team. His day to day is cargo pants, a tee, and hiking boots. My sister is Chicos, my brother is Caballas. My mom is pullover tops and pull on pants. I've rarely seen her in clothing that requires fasteners except coats. My dad was flannels and jeans.

It took me a while to recover from laughing so hard in order to answer. So... no. I absolutely do not dress like anyone else in my family. I've been obsessed with shoes and handbags since I was about in 6th grade, and my mum still teases me about the red, faux crocodile embossed oxford/jazz shoes (remember, that's what we called them in the '80's!) I had in 8th grade.

I have one sister, and she dresses very practically. She is also a very different body shape from mine, which would make it difficult for us to dress alike. My mum is more fashionable than my sister, though she feels restricted due to age (she is not comfortable wearing dresses unless absolutely necessary, doesn't want her clothing or jewelry to be too "loud", wears practical shoes due to necessity). I dress in a lot of layers, asymmetric cuts, and very little color. I try to keep the shoes funky.

As for community, that is where I feel most restricted. I live in a very small, very conservative area, and I don't want to be the gossip of the town, so I try to keep things just edgy enough that I don't freak anyone out!

No, and I come from a very large family. Still, many of them compliment me on my clothes..

Yes! My sister and I are pretty much the same size and shape. We pretty much have the same style, and often recommend things to each other that we wind up loving.

My sister was fashionable and "put together" years before I was. She's an excellent accessorizer. With the help of YLF, I have somewhat caught up.

I think we were influenced by our Mom's style, very classic.

Just came back to add: My dear grandmother wore hats, heeled boots, pumps, dresses, blouses and blazer/skirt suits. Classic pieces. A bit like the 50's style. Always stylish and fashionable. As a child l didn't think of how she dressed, but knew she took care of her appearence. And she was a skilled seamstress and helped neighbours during WWII and postwar period. I wish she was still with us. I think we would have many common topics to talk about. My mom shares her sense for quality pieces and dresses well, too.

Not at all like my parents, but my husband and I have similar sensibilities, in that we both favor nice quality items in simple, classic styles and colors (and often end up both wearing navy, which we both like). My parents are much more casual and colorful, perhaps because their jobs in medicine and at home have not called for professional wardrobes. I think they're more comfortable with large, eclectic wardrobes than my husband and I are: we are both more interested in having small, cohesive, polished wardrobes.

Someone could write a dissertation with this material. Although I supply my sister with a good chunk of her wardrobe, she does not dress like me particularly. Working with children she prefers tunics and leggings most of the time. I make the tunics as interesting as possible, and she gets a lot of compliments on her clothes, but left to her own devices she would shop exclusively at Target. My mother is obese and dresses to cover up in a lot of oversized clothing. My father is absolutely clueless when it comes to clothes (and other forms of social communication) and wears a uniform of polo style top and badly fitting jeans. See, Rachy, I have already started psycho-analyzing myself !

My mid-30s-age daughters and I look like twins (triplets) when it comes to casual wear - same jeans, same tennies, same type of tops, down to the colors, proportions and patterns. If they weren't both 3 inches shorter, and much cuter, younger and blonder than I am, I could also be their sis... Ummmm, well, you get the picture.

Does that mean we all dress for the times, like lemmings? Because no one would say we stand out in a crowd as looking more or less stylish, more glam or rattier, or more classic or trendier. Or do we live the same life style? Or that they learned (from me) their lessons well?

My two slightly younger sisters would not necessarily choose the same pieces I do, but their personalities, figure types and environments are quite different then mine. One is more arty; one is more conservative-small-town-office-y. But again, none of us would look out of place or totally different in a line-up. So, yes, I would say we pretty much dress alike also. Like middle-age, mid-western, mid-budget, mid-culture American women, however typical that is!

Haha, I'm deep deep into the psychoanalysis. I'm so curious as to the amount of individuality in dress in so many families! My family is rather good at stamping them out and no one is forced to really... but it's like an iron hand...

But I forgot my grandmas! Both were interested in fashion and I wear their actual clothes...so maybe shared tastes. Don't look anything like them tho. My mom's mom is very rigid compared to my dad's mom, despite the fact both sides of my family are as preppy as you can be without being Mayflower. The difference maybe between New England and life in the tropics.

Going up the tree I really don't see any similarities. My mom dresses primarily for comfort (comfortable shoes, nothing constricting the waist, so lots of dresses and jumpsuits) with an eye for pretty things, florals, bright colour. My dad wore suits to the office, sport coats (IE non matching blazers) out of it, dockers and polos or plaid shirts on weekends; didn't own jeans "for farmers and cowboys" till after he retired.

My sister was very trendy in her youth, now is extreme boho, thinks I am the fashionable one! And I am the grownup version of preppy: the gentlewoman. We were speculating, during one of her recent visits, how on earth that came about (our parents were postwar European refugee-immigrants). But describing my dad, I think I see where the template came from.

Going down the tree: each of my 3 daughters has a distinct fashion persona. The eldest has always been absolutely classic in her style preferences, somewhat frustrated by her marine biology life that has no room for heels or pretty dresses (but LOVES everything else about it). The second taught herself to sew in high school and wore nothing but burgundy ever; she now has a corporate job with a Corporette style at work, and designs and sews all kinds of costume wear for fun (the Pride and Prejudice Ball is her latest endeavour). The youngest is an urban (Montreal) dwelling hipster-in-denial, who lives in black and raids my closet every time she comes home. All of us have fun debating fashion and arguing about Kibbe types.

Then there's my son, who dresses exclusively in Cayce Pollard Units (cf William Gibson's Pattern Recognition) with no trim and no era-specific features, and band and other graphic T's (which he always gets compliments on, even when it's borrowed from a buddy).

Yeah, it is quite funny when mother should dress same like a daughter. I personally can see a huge similarity between my clothes and my mother's clothes. To make it more strange, we often borrow them to each other. Of course, that's only possible thanks to that we wear a simmilar size, almost the same body shape and have pretty much the same taste. Most of things that suit me-will suit her as well. My mother is quite trendy, as she is only 40 year old. Neither of us will resist a nice, black plain dress.

I like my mother's clothes, actually. But the last time I could wear anything of hers, I was 12. She's knee-height to me now, lol

Rachy, me too! Here's photographic proof. I think I was 13?

A great question. My brother (two years younger), my son, and I all have a similar classic look. My youngest brother hunts and always has the hunter look about him. My daughter only wears jeans and tee shirts but she does have my penchant for shoes. My mom has always dressed comfortably, elastic waist pants and tee shirts. And my dad has always worn kakis', button down shirts and lace up shoes. I would we are a mixed breed of dressers.

Um, yes....... especially my brother and my daughter. No mistake that I'm related to the two of them! Overall, I think I dress more like my dad than my mom, but who knows? She wore a lab coat over her clothes for most of her life!

My mother has a lot of clothing, shoes and accessories that I really like, but the other half of her wardrobe consists of things I would never wear. We like similar silhouettes, but her style is more adorned, barroque and maximalist. There are colours we both like, but in different tones. She's usually wearing low heel shoes, I owe none of those. While she's always wearing multiple pieces of jewellry, I choose one or less. We often like the same trends, but different looks.

My father only cares about durability, comfort, price-quality ratio, practicality, and his dislike for certain colours. Which means he couldn't care less about fashion and has a very generic, conservative style. He looks best when someone else helps him put his outfits together.

My partner and I have a very similar taste when it comes to style and fashion, but a much different idea of what is comfortable and ideal day-to-day wear. He likes sporty clothing and bright colours. Which means hoodies, knits and sporty trousers whenever he can get away with them, and a down jacket during winter months. My idea of a really comfortable outfit includes a skirt or a stretchy dress. I wear a coat whenever I can.
We both like to dress up for events, which is when our similar taste becomes more obvious. We also like similar colours, so we often unintentionally dress in matching outfits (the same colours, different style).

Not really. My family tends towards travel gear (eg Kathmandu, North Face), surfy looks and in one case hippy. They think I am quite dressy!

great question.

my dad is a classic dresser when he goes out, not quite preppy but posh. formal occasions are barong only tho. at home, it's pjs and slippers, regardless of the time of day. he's 81 and a stage 4 lung cancer survivor so life's short.

my mom was more stylish and fashion conscious in her youth. then she transitioned into a chico-tastic period (late working/early retirement). now, in late retirement, she looks like a refugee from the golden girls--the dorothy edition. all kaftans and house dresses. she does however maintain a very au courant shoe collection on a budget. i shop her shoe closet.

my sister has always always been fashion conscious and very stylish even as a child. when she did matchy matchy, she did it down to the perfectly matched hose (mustard not just yellow, royal not just blue). her style is classic filtered through a west-side LA sensibility. similar to my dad only posher/designer.

i aspire to dress like my sister. but spend 6 months of the year in my black lands end puffer and wool socks.

Dear Joy
Thank you so much for writing: "My dad liked to pretend that he was British and mow the lawn in an old tweed suit, button-down shirt and dress shoes." I was feeling a little down but now, after a good giggle, I feel so much better.
Best wishes.

Hello to all I am backd after long months.
In my family I am the only one to dress tie or bow tie my sisters wear very classic outfits my mother too.
I do not know who I dressed up but I am the exception of the family. But despite the criticisms of my family I would not change them I feel good like that.
Thank you Rachylou for this theme
Greetings Bernard

Your style is unique, Bernard!

Awesome, awesome question. I've had to give it some thought, because the answer is both yes and no.

My sister and I dress quite differently, but if you see us side by side you can see that it comes from the same place. We owe it all to my mother of course, who loves clothes and is very stylish. She has always enjoyed fashion and has excellent taste. For most of her life she made her own clothes and although she doesn't sew as much as she used to she still loves to experiment with new styles.

In her working life she was a teacher in a high school in London's inner city, and her pupils would often joke about how trendy she was for an old lady. Now that I'm teaching in art college, I find myself using fashion to connect with my students in a similar way.

All this meant that she kept us all slightly ahead of the curve when we were growing up. My sister was influenced by her good taste and disciplined polish. Her style is tightly curated and she has a knack for choosing perfect details and accessories. I followed mother's footsteps in craft and experiment. She taught me to sew when I was in my teens and also fuelled my interest in customising and repurposing clothing.

My father on the other hand is very good at choosing things, less so at getting them to match. I think I have some of that going on as well.

My brother is the odd one out. He's a man's man and is mostly seen in his version of Thames Valley native wear: bomber jackets, hoodies and combat boots.

I could devote a whole lot more to Mr Edge because I think we're a mutual influence on each other. I'll just say we have similar tastes in many things and leave it at that.

I'm definitely an outlier -- in several ways. For example, I come from a family of musicians, but was the only woodwind player among lots of brass. I'm also the only serious singer, which is more significant, since I process music quite differently, both emotionally and neurologically. As for fashion, I do wear similar colors to my mother, and even my daughter, who is Chinese, favors jewel tones, albeit more muted ones touched with brown and green.

I think I value individuality in dress, without pushing environmental boundaries too far, so I see the individual choices in those around me. In my nuclear family, every one has their own style:

My DH is the button down with jeans sort: I have worked to lower the rise and change the rinse of his jeans. He's very practical, but looks great in a suit: a perfect 38/40, with broad shoulders, long legs and a waist size that's only one inch larger than it was 30 years ago.

DS is a golden retriever puppy: all legs (a 28/34), long sandy curls (yes, this is my son), and an endless supply of school swab (Both his high school and Purdue Univ., where he wants to major in Engineering). Girls are starting to notice his goofy self. I still have to count his underwear in the wash and remind him that there is an expected rotation.

DD has her own distinct style. She's not loving high school, so I can read how she's feeling by what she chooses to wear: no makeup, a sport tee, skinnies and tennies means she feeling down, while jewelry, makeup, cute hair and top, skinnies and booties or sandals means that she's doing better. She is casual, but feminine. A bit of boho, but not too. I can see an item in a store and know whether or not it's "her."