I must say this is a very interesting phenomenon that is just not prevalent in North America: couples wearing matching clothes. This is not just meant to ridicule the notion of being matchy-matchy, but rather a comment on how this notion is executed with a great amount of sincerity and thought. Case in point: stumbling across a store specifically for this in Daliang (a city near Guangzhou) – a retail store selling shirts in the same colour and design for both male and female counterparts to wear at the same time. I’m not going to get into the hetero-normative assumptions of the store itself. I will just say that this sickeningly “cute” idea is part of the whole Chinese concept that “it’s better to be a part of something than an individual.” This is a prime example of how Eastern collectivism is in stark contrast to Western individualism. Here, I notice, it is very undesirable to a local to stick out and it’s better to do what you can best to avoid it. In my opinion, the matching clothes between couples—and sometimes even friends—is a great example of this. One thing’s for sure: as coordinated as you’ll ever find me, you will never see me wearing the same clothes as my counterpart.
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