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Multiple births

When do you start showing with twins? What is life with twins like? Join the conversation on our Multiple Births forum.

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Original poster

Do you dress yours alike?

33 replies

Linguaphile · 16/01/2015 20:25

A deeply important subject, obviously.

I seriously never saw the attraction of matchy-matchy in twins until I had my girls. I think it has something to do with the idea of wanting them to feel equal in what they're wearing; we often go with same-but-different outfits as opposed to identical outfits so that they each have their own special wardrobe, but weirdly I feel like this way nobody is the 'favoured' by being dressed cuter or prettier than the other on any given day.

I'm slightly ashamed of this as I never thought I would be that mother.

What are your thoughts? Do you dress yours alike or do you cringe when you see matchy-matchy twins?

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Waffles80 · 16/01/2015 20:42

I absolutely LOATHE seeing twins, especially identical twins, dressed in the same outfits.

All the identical twins I've spoken to cite this as an aspect of being a twin they hated.

I think there's research into it which suggests it's detrimental to their development as individuals.

plus they're not fucking dolls

Sorry, I'll hop off my soapbox now.

neversleepagain · 16/01/2015 20:42

There are certain things that are the same...gloves, vests, sometimes shoes, socks (I buy 12 pairs of the same socks so we never have missing sock ishoos), jeans.

Mine are always co ordinated. Often the same outfit in different colours or a very similar style of outfit. If I dress one in a dress and tights, the other will be in a dress and tights.

[http://www.welovefrugi.com/baby_toddler/girls_03_years/dresses/alice_cord_dress_raspberry.htm latest purchase]]

[http://www.welovefrugi.com/baby_toddler/girls_03_years/dresses/alice_cord_dress_meadow.htm and this]]

Having twin girls to dress is much more fun than I expected!

Waffles80 · 16/01/2015 20:43

Eek - that sounded far more, er, rude, than I intended. I meant head-to-toe identical outfits.

BookTart · 16/01/2015 20:46

There are 10 months between me and my younger twin brothers. My parents dressed us in "same but different outfits", usually the same clothes but in different colourways. It makes for some cute photos, but it can make a mess of your sense of identity and was something I discussed at length with my counsellor in my twenties. I've no idea why they liked to pretend we were triplets btw!

FreeButtonBee · 16/01/2015 20:49

B/g twins so less of an issue but no. They wear completely different clothes every day. Have a few things in two colour ways. Like practical coats and gloves but actual clothes are individual. They have v different colouring anyway so dtd would look awful in the colours that suit dts

superbagpuss · 16/01/2015 20:55

2 boys non identical

they have their own wardrobes but might sometimes chose the same style ie blue jeans and red t shirts

they did have matching suits for a wedding but mostly are different

its weird when they started school and wore the same clothes

I found different coats and hats useful so I can tell them apart from behind, very useful when you need to call them back

Twicethehugs · 17/01/2015 12:23

My girls are identical so I like to give people a chance to call them by the right names - much harder if they're dressed the same! They're nearly 2 and want to choose their own clothes so often do things like wear a peppa pig and a dinosaur sock each but if it's their choice, that's fine.

ireallydontlikemonday · 17/01/2015 18:46

Yep. When they were tiny I did it because they looked cute. Now at 3.5 they goose to dress the same. The moment they don't want to that's fine with me and we have regular discussions about it.

They always have different coats and their own labelled shoes.

Callofthewild · 17/01/2015 22:12

I have one year old non id girls. I have always dressed them differently. I might very occasionally put them in co-ordinating clothes eg for instance today one of them was wearing a knitted dress with a pattern on it and the other one wore a denim pinafore dress with a top on underneath that echoed the print of the others dress but that's about as close as it gets. They are two different people and I personally dislike twins in matching clothes. It is important to me that they are recognised as two individuals and not halves of "the twins".

SoonToBeSix · 17/01/2015 22:17

Yes I dress my ID girls the same. They are ten months old they have no issues about what they wear. When they are older they can decide for themselves but right now they look cute.

AwfulBeryl · 17/01/2015 22:19

No we haven't really, once or twice when they were babies and I happened to grab 2 of the same baby grows.
They sometimes have matching PJs or dressing up outfits and they do have the same dressing gowns. Otherwise no, they wear completely different clothes.
I haven't met anyone in rl or on here who dress their multiples in matching clothing, but I used to be on a fb group where everyone did it, they even had matching socks I was impressed at how organised their households must be. We are lucky to get 1 matching pair of socks let alone 2.

Thesimplethings · 17/01/2015 22:23

I have a 4 year old and 3 year old. They have their own styles, the 4 year old dresses as a superhero and the 3 year old in orange. Yet when they go to parties, special occasions etc they choose to go in matching outfits right down to their underwear.

If people want to judge me on that, so be it. But it's their choice.

Waffles80 · 19/01/2015 20:17

It's a completely different kettle of fish to dress siblings of different ages in the same outfits / for older twins to choose to dress this way.

My mental family keep putting pressure on me to dress my 7 month old twins the same.

As PP has said, forging identities separate to being a twin is absolutely essential. I correct those who call my babies "the twins" and hopefully this will stick.

And I do question those who decide to override this and treat two separate babies as one novelty entity. I just can't see it doing them any good, and if it's just for "cuteness", well, you know, get a kitten.

parallax80 · 20/01/2015 18:44

I find the matching a bit odd and probably not going to be an issue for me as B/G and have older sibling for hand me downs (so not 2 of anything). But most of all I'm in awe of the organisation of those who match. What do you do if one of them gets dirty etc? Would you change both so they still match or let it degenerate through the day?

dillydollydarling · 21/01/2015 16:19

I don't have twins so can't really comment but for me, especially when they're babies, I don't see the point in wasting money on 2 of everything. Surely save money, and share a wardrobe?

Obviously when older, they would have their own wardrobe etc.

AwfulBeryl · 21/01/2015 18:12

Well you do sort of need 2 of a lot of things dilly, unless you are super fast and organised at getting the washing done, baby twins can't really share a wardrobe. We used to go through at least 2 baby grows a day in the newborn sicky and Poonami stage.

They certainly don't need to match though.

I think most people do it because it looks cute, which it does, it's just far too Time consuming for me. I don't spend that much time making myself look stylish or presentable though.

dillydollydarling · 21/01/2015 18:46

Oh I know you'd need twice as much of everything. I just think it makes more sense to have different things rather than matching. Although I suppose it wouldn't save any money would it!

AwfulBeryl · 21/01/2015 18:50

Oh I see what you mean, but no I don't suppose it does.

Waffles80 · 22/01/2015 20:44

I think we have about one and a half times the clothes of a singleton, and two of things like pram suits / coats / hats. So yes, matching must cost a hell of a lot more.

Cadenza1818 · 24/01/2015 20:51

I've got identical ds and two sets of twin aunt in laws. Their first advice to me before giving birth was give them separate identity. I did have the odd 'display' outfit when they were babies which were cute but generally they're dressed differently. Also partly cos I got loads of hand me downs and there was only one of each item. I really don't like it now they're in school as ppl mix them up.
Ps i also never co slept them or referred to them as the twins either as they're separate ppl

AwfulBeryl · 24/01/2015 20:58

Op I do get what you mean about not wanting one to be in a nicer outfit, it's something that used to bother me too.
One of my Dts seems to love worn and faded hand me downs that I would usually use for playing in the garden or slobbing about. The other dt is quite smart and likes to wear chinos with a shirt I gave up worrying about it after a while.

MERLYPUSSEDOFF · 24/01/2015 23:04

My 7 yr old, non id boys, have the same coat for school, back packs and glove/hats etc. It is easier to spot them running through the playground when they are dressed alike. I seem to zone in.
When I find something I particularly like I will buy the same but they may not wear it at the same time. They have denim shirts which they will wear with different trousers and tshirts underneath. The had xmas tshirts. One had a panda and the other had a gorilla but they were almost alike IYKWIM.
When we go to the zoo etc I will put them in the same coloured top as I can do the 'zoning' thing again.
There isn't a great deal of choice for boys. Jeans, chinos or cords. Chances are they will both be wearing jeans as the same time.

FernieB · 25/01/2015 08:28

I have teen twin DDs and the only time they have ever dressed alike is in school uniform!

When they were born lots of people gave me sets of identical outfits which were all used but never at the same time. I really don't like seeing twins dressed alike or hearing them referred to as 'the Twins' (something my DM did quite a lot and she was told off every time ). My DDs also hate being called the Twins and think twins or siblings dressed alike are just stupid (they use stronger words).

As babies my DDs had one wardrobe and just wore the next clean thing. As toddlers, they had separate wardrobes.

Tftpoo · 27/01/2015 13:07

My ID boys have just turned one and we don't dress them the same - surely that would mean having to be even more organised with washing? And what do you do if one messes up their outfit but the other one doesn't? Change them both? Seems like extra work to me! We have one pile of clean clothes and each twin just wears whatever is on top of the pile when it's their turn to get dressed.

gohaze · 28/01/2015 18:28

Er no! I have 10 year old boy, girl twins and they've never worn the same even in different different colour combos. They go out of their way to be different both in looks and personalities

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