Style Sync: How Friendship Styles Us

The bond between two best friends is incomparable—finding someone who meshes so perfectly with you is a feeling unlike any other. Many would describe their best friend as the most valuable and irreplaceable relationship in their lives. The person who understands your emotions without a word being uttered, who knows your cafe order better than their own—and who somehow always shows up in an outfit paralleling the exact color scheme you have picked out from the depths of your closet.

When two individuals spend years overlapping each other in their habits, their music, and their styles, their visual aesthetics start to converge. You begin reaching for the same pieces, visiting the same boutiques, and loving similar designs. Soon enough, on a surface level, your wardrobes become increasingly difficult to distinguish. Fashion is something that is so particular and personal to each individual, so how could two people become so analogous in their style?

The answer to this predicament is simple: no one wears a piece of clothing the same. Rather than synonymous, the shared stylistic habits of two close friends is most often complementary. They may reach for the same top but one purchases it in a cool-toned, sandy beige and the other in a faded, ashy black. They may wear the same simple denim skirt but pair it with differing belt styles and boot lengths. They most often are unique in their accessories, with some reaching for a fully silver set and others adventurously mixing metals. Together, they are undeniably their own individuals but simultaneously harmonize in their visual identities.

The closeness of a friendship such as this one actually allows for more freedom of expression. Shopping with your best friend empowers you to explore your tastes, taking into account their encouragement and advice when you have your eye on a particular piece. Instead of just watching the clothing hang attractively against the rack, having your best friend there pushes you to reach for the piece and head to the fitting room.

I can still vividly remember sharing a cramped dressing room with my best friend on my 18th birthday shopping spree. In a small boutique we put on several different styles of clothing, trading with each other after we had tried on each piece. “This suits you better,” and “Okay, we both definitely have to get this,” echoed against the walls, and my confidence in my desired purchases grew. It was so much easier to be experimental in my fashion with my best friend in my company.

In a time when most people wish to stand out in their style and break the mold, the complementary style of two best friends reminds us that self-expression can also look like proudly matching with one of your favorite people. Finding similarities with someone valuable to you does not make your fashion choices any less you, rather they are even more indicative of your personality.

To the best friends who may stumble upon this article: the next time you make a shared Pinterest board adorned with your favorite clothes and accessories, fill your hands with clothes that still their tags barely holding onto them, or visit boutiques that are tucked away in mysterious street corners together, take a moment to appreciate the unique aesthetic that your friendship has given life to.

I, too, am excitedly awaiting my next shopping spree with my best friend, though my wallet may not be able to accommodate.

Featured Image Courtesy of Pinterest