The other day I sat down in a public square in my city -a very touristy and international place- to eat my ice-cream cone and people-watch. I noticed for the first time how many couples were dressed exactly the same or in a very complementary way. I'd say that 9 out of the 10 couples I saw (evidently couples because they were holding hands, walking very close together, or carrying their kids) were dressed alike or complementary.

  • "Goth couple": head to toe black, body piercings, wicked boots.
  • "Nike couple": the same exact bright yellow sneakers, jeans and sweatshirt.
  • "Cute suburban couple": he in a blue shirt and fedora, she in a matching blue and yellow dress.
  • "Mickey Mouse couple": he in a Mickey mouse tee, she carrying a Minnie mouse bag.
  • "Elegant couple": elderly couple out for a stroll: he in an impeccable suit, she in a dress, heels and fur.
  • "Boho couple": he in washed-out chinos and plaid, she in a boho dress, both in Birkenstocks.
  • "Don't really care couple": both in worn out jeans, worn out logo t-shirts, ugly sneaks, cross-body bags.
  • "Catwalk couple": both of them head to toe in mega-trendy clothes from top designers.
  • etc.

Interesting to note that the children were not necessarily dressed like their parents: little kids were usually in "standard" kid's clothes, and teens tend to wear whatever the current teen trend is. It was evident that the matchiness was something going on with the couple and not the whole family.

So, my question for those of you who are married is: who influences who? Do you dress your husbands, or do your husbands dress you, or do you kind of merge into an unspoken fashion consensus? Or did the two of you already have the same fashion sense before you became a couple?