Last week-end, I went to a wedding. It rained (it’s considered lucky in France, but I think it’s mostly to compensate for the lack of sun at your wedding), we drunk, danced and celebrated. I had (of course) made my own dress for the occasion. But there’s more: I might be slightly deranged, but I also made a bow tie for my date, out of the same fabric as my dress.
Some noticed it immediately, some didn’t, and to most, I just proudly pointed this little eccentricity of mine, which is highly practical when, at a large family party, not everybody knows or recognizes your boyfriend yet (I think I have a concept to sell, here). I hear it’s called mirror dressing (not over-attachment, please) and apparently, it’s hugely popular in South Korea.
However, even in a fashion context, mirror dressing has a bad reputation: despite being half a power couple, Garance briefly mentions here that well… bof, and French newspaper Libération thinks it’s the sign of a terrible narcissism (in France, we also have the irritating blasé attitude of “the Kooples” ads to serve this purpose). Maïa Mazaurette wisely differs: phew, I felt in danger of my relationship being called a mere mirror.
Because it doesn’t take a wedding for my boyfriend’s dressing to be a concern of mine: it’s far from being a habit, but I rather like our outfits to sort-of-work-well together, by avoiding colors that clash, or looking for an equal level of casualness: it’s very disagreeable to go out in a pretty dress and heels with someone wearing so-so jeans and sneakers, and just as disagreeable to dress like a college student for a date with someone who wears a suit and necktie.
In my case, there’s another explanation: as a Jacques Demy fangirl, I’m crazy of the matching details scattered in his movies. In my favorite film, when to characters are in love, they spontaneously borrow each other’s signature colors. Is there any subtler, finer way to suggest what is happening in their hearts? In movies just as in life, I tend to think color is under-used. I like to pay it some tribute, just as I’d like to pay tribute to my boyfriend: after all, wearing a pink-flowered bow tie all day just to please me is quite chivalrous.
