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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to put my DC in matching clothes?

171 replies

Chocoholic26 · 10/03/2020 20:26

Just out of curiosity really. I put my pair in matching clothes the majority of the time. 19 months between them. Mainly because it’s just easier when buying clothes to buy two of each. Just wondered how many people think it looks a bit naff and how many people do/would do the same as me?

OP posts:
Crazycrazylady · 10/03/2020 20:52

I think it looks ridiculous with the exception of twins but each to their own.

Lynda07 · 10/03/2020 20:56

No I wouldn't and especially not for twins, they have even more of a need to be individuals. They'll be having the same school uniform soon enough and that should be sufficient.

scrivette · 10/03/2020 20:56

I like it and sometimes dress my two in matching tops, tends to be in the summer though.
It's useful to spot them in a crowd, but less useful when one is misbehaving and you want to deny he is yours Grin

PumpkinPie2016 · 10/03/2020 20:57

Sorry but it's a big no for me as well.

My parents used to try to dress me and my sister the same for ages (she is 4 years younger) and I really hated it. To be honest, it caused quite a lot of resentment.

TwiceAsNice22 · 10/03/2020 21:00

I have ID twins and they sometimes want to wear the same thing. I have no problems with it. And they are still very much individuals with their own personalities! I do find that argument a bit funny though as millions of school children wear uniforms to school and I’m pretty sure no one would say they aren’t still individuals.

1Morewineplease · 10/03/2020 21:03

I would dress my children according to their needs at the time.
Eg, why put a crawling toddler in a dress. But if your children are the same sex, surely you would take their personality into account.
Dressing them the same looks twee, controlling and lazy , if I’m honest. Your children are not identikits and you should allow for their differences.
Not sure that your children will thank you, in years to come.

Namelesswonder · 10/03/2020 21:09

Uuug, just no! DSIL did this with 2 boys 2 years apart till older one was about 10. Older one always looked like he was dressed in clothes meant for a younger child.

PreggoFeminist86 · 10/03/2020 21:12

A friend of mine does this with her boys (they're about 2 years apart in age). She says that it makes shopping for them & picking out their outfits easier. When she shops, she buys everything in two sizes (so they have one each) & then when she dresses them she can just pull out two of the same thing. I always thought it was quite cute, so I'm surprised by how much people hate it!

PS: I dress my 7 month old DD & my 2.5 yr old DS in the same outfit often, you'd all bloody hate me Grin

PondLover · 10/03/2020 21:13

My mother did this with me and my younger sister, and we absolutely hated it. Not just naff but infantilising after toddlerhood, and rather as though you view them like matching sofa cushions, or a pair of socks.

CSIblonde · 10/03/2020 21:14

Naff. It's treating them as a unit & dress up dolls & accessories . They're individuals. Very 70's too.

Mumdiva99 · 10/03/2020 21:16

Those that do, don't you hand clothes down from one child to the next? Won't the kids get fed up of wearing the same thing for many many years?

LuckyLickitung · 10/03/2020 21:16

My DSs often choose matching t-shirts because they have a lot of overlap in taste. If I'm buying a new size for DS1, DS2 will often want one to match and they're happy with that. I'm not going to deny DS2 the chance to own things he likes because they match DS1 who needs new clothes first! Much of the time they wear things seperately, some days they end up wearing the same and they're happy with that. DS1 only wears shorts. DS2 has more normal trouser wearing habits and their hair styles are different, so while they are clearly siblings, they don't tend to get the full clone look.

They do have cousins that go for the full matchy matchy ensemble despite a bigger age gap and being older. I would have thought they'd have grown out of it by now (oldest in secondary school) but apparently they're happy with it, and are plenty old enough to argue the point if they're not. I think it would be the youngest who asserts himself first.

Bananalanacake · 10/03/2020 21:19

It's ok as a one off. There's 2 and a half years between mine. They have a few matching clothes that were gifts from relatives. I dressed the younger one in a bear hoody,( the bear face has a squeak when you push it). When the older one saw it she wanted to wear her matching one, so sometimes it can be their decision.

amgine · 10/03/2020 21:19

My DD and DS often wear coordinating t shirts or jumpers. (Same style, different colours) by their choice!

Rosebel · 10/03/2020 21:28

Used to dress my two the same sometimes until they were about 5. But more often than not I'd buy them the same clothes and they'd chose when to wear them.
11 and 13 now so obviously choose their own clothes but often buy and wear the same clothes. Perhaps I affected them by dressing them the same when they were little.

BackforGood · 10/03/2020 21:29

Naff
They are children, individual people not decorations or dolls for you to dress up.

BikeRunSki · 10/03/2020 21:29

DM did this to me and DSis. I hated it. DSis is willow and dark, I am stocky and fair. There is not a single colour or style in the world that suits us both, believe me.
There is nearly 4 years between us. We are not alike in anyway either, DSis hated it too, although at least she has DM’s colouring and got colours that suited her.

Stressedout10 · 10/03/2020 21:30

Please don't do this my mum did it to my sister and I, and it was horrible I loathed it so did she

Maythelordopen1 · 10/03/2020 21:31

Ugh I hate it!! A girl I know does it with her 3 girls!! They are 7,5 and 1...it’s ridiculous!!

Fatted · 10/03/2020 21:32

I used to when the DC were little. I thought it was cute. They're older now and actually do tend to dress the same or at least similar through their own choice. They have similar tastes in lots of things.

Pilot12 · 10/03/2020 21:32

My four year old loves it when he and his baby brother are dressed the same! When he stops loving it I'll stop doing it!

Dogsaresomucheasier · 10/03/2020 21:33

I did it for parties/professional photos etc but day to day no.

WanderingTrolley1 · 10/03/2020 21:34

Yabu.

AndTheyWereRudeInTheInterview · 10/03/2020 21:34

How old are they? 1 and 2 year olds - yanbu. 15 & 16yr olds yabu.

And, possibly more importantly, how do they feel about it? Some little kids actively choose it. My Mum used to do this and when I was younger it didn't bother me, though I think it looks a bit ridiculous when I see photos.

TeetotalKoala · 10/03/2020 21:36

Not a fan. I do have two lots of some clothes (22 months between mine) and sometimes they end up matching, but it's not me that does it. They had matching coats for a while as when you find a decent coat, you buy it in both sizes. DS1 has since outgrown his though so they have different ones now.