You may have heard the phrase, “Twinning is winning” or perhaps, “couples who dress together, stay together”, but is there any truth to these claims or are they just baseless clichés? Well, we here at Barneys have put this theory to the test and asked the public whether fashion is key when picking a partner.
After convincing our own partners that we were doing this purely for research purposes, we put on our investigative hats and got to work interrogating 2000 dating app users on their dating and relationship preferences. The results were interesting to say the least.
Clearly you lot didn’t pay attention to Beauty & The Beast when you were younger because there is a lot of judging books by their covers going on. In fact, 86.3% of people questioned would prefer to date those who share a similar dress sense. Moreover, 98% of survey participants said that they would be ‘less likely’ to look for someone with an alternate taste in clothing to them. Perhaps unsurprisingly, men were more likely to seek someone with a similar sense of style than women.
See the full figures below:
The research suggests that the way we dress says way more about us than we originally thought.
This might seem pretty brutal but when you think about it, it actually makes a lot of sense. Your clothes are a vehicle for self-expression. They have the power to encapsulate your interests, your values and how you live your life. It’s only natural that someone with similar ideals would be attracted to the way you dress. In this new digital age when you can dictate your love life with a simple swipe, visual clues are more important than ever. So if you’re looking to find ‘the one’, it might work in your favour to revamp your wardrobe.
One couple from the US took this theory to the next level. For 37 wonderful years of marriage, Donald and Nancy Featherstone sported identical clothing everyday. It all started when Nancy started to sew shirts for her husband and realised she had fabric left over, so decided to make shirts for herself as well. Over the years, the pair amassed a collection of over 600 matching outfits, taking up four wardrobes. Each morning, Donald and Nancy would race to their closet and whoever got there first got to choose what they wear that day.
Even when Donald was going away on business trips, he would pack co-ordinating outfits so he and Nancy would still be matching despite being hundreds of miles away. Sadly, Donald (who also invented the pink flamingo garden decoration) passed away in 2015 but his and Nancy’s love story for the ages lives on. In an article from The Guardian, Nancy said, “”We both have very strong identities as individuals and wearing the same clothes doesn’t affect this; clothes don’t make your personality. Instead, dressing the same gives me a lovely feeling of closeness to Donald,”
Nancy and Donald Featherstone
In light of our research, we have released a brand new line of Valentines Day couple bundles. These bundles give you the chance to get your hands on two jackets that complement each other beautifully whilst also snagging a great deal for you and your partner in the process. The jackets have been paired up by our chief stylist, Amy, so you’re sure to be the coolest couple at the party in your new Barneys get-up. You can find our specially picked bundles here.
If you need some inspiration for which bundle to go for, you should check out our Pinterest page. We have put together a library of leather clad couples so you can explore and choose a vibe that suits both you and your partner.
