Dressing multiples alike....

What do you guys think about this? Are there any multiples or parents of multiples (meaning twins, triplets, etc) on this board? Were you dressed alike or do you dress your multiples alike?

I personally don't like it. My sister and I were dressed alike a lot even though we're 2 yrs apart. My mom said it was because sis was so dark haired and I was so blond, so she liked how we looked in the same outfit, but different colours. I hated it! My sis like dresses and I didn't. Plus, it was the 80s so everything was flourescent colours lol.

Anyway, I'm a nanny for twins right now, and, at 10, they don't dress alike. Sometimes they do accidentally, and I'll point it out before we leave the house, to avoid a potential issue. If they're cool with it, all good. Otherwise, whoever has a problem can go change. They are identical (although have different hair cuts and slightly different face shapes, weights, smiles, etc, so not identical if you know them) and they're sensitive about being seen as twins all the time....one of them more so than the other. There are pictures of them matching as younger kids, though.

I think it's okay sometimes, but can be a problem if the parents are insisting on it. There are already going to be pitfalls for multiples in feeling out their own personalities and having a self-image that isn't dependant on the presence of their sibling, so I personally wouldn't encourage a parent to make a habit of it. Of course, if the kids like it and choose to do it themselves, then it's not so bad.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's a terrible terrible abuse or anything I just always wonder about it when I see multiples in public dressed alike.

What do you think?

I don't have twins, nor do we have twins in my family, but growing up, it was just me and my 2 cousins who were the only little girls in the family, who are close in age- and we would always all 3 have the same Easter dresses that my Grandma would make us. I don't think thats so bad, and thats the only time we would do anything like that.

If I had twins, I think I might dress them alike when they were little babies sometimes, just because its cute But as they grew older, into their own personalities, I'd try to dress them differently, since they are 2 different people, after all!

My Sister and I are only 15 months apart and we were dressed alike ALOT!!! I didn't mind it at first, but I got older.....it started to stink.

Originally Posted by babyharley

I don't have twins, nor do we have twins in my family, but growing up, it was just me and my 2 cousins who were the only little girls in the family, who are close in age- and we would always all 3 have the same Easter dresses that my Grandma would make us. I don't think thats so bad, and thats the only time we would do anything like that.

If I had twins, I think I might dress them alike when they were little babies sometimes, just because its cute

But as they grew older, into their own personalities, I'd try to dress them differently, since they are 2 different people, after all!

Click to expand...

A few times a year as a family tradition, or for the family picture, that's one thing. For that sort of thing, my mom would buy dresses with the same fabric, but slightly different, for my sister and I, then, if possible, a vest for my brother to wear with a dress shirt and dress pants, so we'd have sort of a theme. Maybe my dad's suit would have a square (handkercheif style) of the fabric in the pocket, even. It did look nice (though at the time I didn't understand why I couldn't wear sweatpants lol).

I can even understand doing it for a normal day once in a while. But I'm talking about buying all their clothes in pairs....like, if you buy a shirt for one, you buy it for the other in another colour so that every outfit is potentially matching and then dress them alike REGULARLY. Like, several times a week.

I think it is fine till the kids can make a desicion Ie about age 3-5

A good friend of ours has identical girl twins who are 12 now, and they haven't dressed alike for at least 5 years. They sometimes have similar clothes, but one prefers purple and the other pink.

My cousin and I are 28 days apart in age so we got treated like Twins at times when we were small. The only times it really stunk were when I was old enough to realize that when I was opening my birthday presents 28 days after my cousin's birthday, I was getting some of the exact same things!

I do have a few friends that are identical twins. The girls used to like to dress alike for twin day at school. But they had different hair and dressing styles the rest of the time.

Now my favorite story is when my best friend was dating an identical twin. The guys brother was also dating a girl steadily. Well one day another girl I knew said she was talking to someone else between classes when one of the brother's and their girlfriend walked by. After they'd gotten out of earshot, the girl said 'Doesn't she know he is totally cheating on her!?!' I think that girl was pretty embarrassed when someone told her they were twins! Poor guys! At that time, one dressed a tweak more preppy and the other a tweak more grunge I guess and that was the only difference...not even their glasses were. To this day, you have to know them to know who is who.

I think it's very cute to dress twins alike when thier young. However I'm sure most twins wouldn't like that as they get older.

When we were younger my mum dressed us all alike, we either wore different clothes but the same colour scheme or the same clothes in different colours.

We didn't mind it as kids and as we got older, we picked out our own clothes and it was never a big deal

In younger children it wouldn't bother me, but as the child got older and decided they didn't like it, if the parent forced it on them it probably would

I'm not a twin, and I don't have twins. I have twin cousins, who are not identical, and who were never forced into twin dressing. To a point I think it's cute, but when the kids start taking an interest in their clothes, and developing their own tastes and identities, I think it should be entirely up to them. If they enjoy it, fine. If not, it shouldn't be pushed.

Some twins really do get off on it. A rather extreme example of that was the twin sisters, one of whom was married to a resident of the care facility my Dad was in until he passed away. These are not youngsters -- I don't know their precise age, but not less than 70. Those women came as a pair and were dressed ABSOLUTELY identically, with identical hairstyles, absolutely every time I saw them -- and that was often. I never did figure out who was who.

I can see dressing them alike when they are babies or small toddlers, but when they get around 3 or 4, they should start being dressed differently. Even having their hair done up differently. A child needs their own identities.

If when they get older and want to dress alike, that's different. But I sure don't think it should be forced on them just because they are "twins" etc.

It costs too much to dress them alike all the time when they are babies. You'd have to buy everything new! It's expensive enough to buy two, or three, of things like carseats...

IMO, as soon as kids are aware enough to pick their own clothes, they should be allowed to.

I work with a gal who is an identical twin. I've run into her sister more than once at the grocery store and said, "Hi Annette!" She just smiles and says, "Hi. Um...I'm Jeannette!" They still look so much alike that it's freaky! Although a couple of years ago, Annette was in a farm accident and now has a small scar under her nose that would give it away if I saw Jeannette.

At my doctor's office awhile back, I saw two elderly ladies who were identical twins, waiting for their appointments. They were so cute, very lively and talkative... and they were dressed precisely alike, right down to the barrettes in their poufy white hairdos. They were clearly having a lot of fun just being who they were, y'know? These were two of the happiest people I've ever seen!

I don't know whether they've always dressed the same or not. Maybe it does get a little silly between, say, 12 and 65 or so... but at their advanced age, it had become cute again.

I'm a twin and we dressed alike until middle school??? I am in the process of sticking the family photos in albums-vacation pics-there were are dressed alike!!
Back then-mom sewed lots of our clothes so I'm sure it was less expensive that it is now. I've read that you should even send twins to different schools if possible. Looking back on our report cards from elementary school (this is in the 60's) several grades of teachers comments on our language-evidently we had our own way of communication!!
My niece has fraternal twin boys (they are 2+) and when I see them they are dressed alike.
Looking back I don't know if it bothered me or not-I'll have to ask mom!!!

In theory, I think kids should be dressed differently and allowed to develop their seperate identities, blah blah blah.

In reality, however, I think identically-dressed twins (of the toddler variety) are just too stinkin' cute for words, and if I ever HAD twins, I would probably warp them for life by dressing them alike.

However, since their are no twins in either family, I doubt it will ever be an issue.

I am a nanny for 5 year old twin boys. Their parents never concentrated on dressing them identically. They may have the same shirts in different colors, but anything goes. It doesn't matter what they wear. Because of this, they have a much larger wardrobe to choose from every morning. I'd want that too! Their grandparents and other relatives have bought identical stuff for them, but they rarely wear them at the same time, unless for pictures. They pick out the clothes they buy a lot too. Usually their different. They both however chose buzz lightyear tennies, but tey know who's is who's because of the size (one's a 10, the other 11). They interchange and share their other shoes. They're pretty good about asking the other first though.