Couple style—wherein lovebirds such as Rihanna and A$AP, or the Biebers, coordinate their outfits on a night out—is nothing new in Hollywood. But is friends style the new fashion frontier? Lately, Vogue can’t get enough of the girl’s-night-out spottings from pals such as Taylor Swift, Blake Lively and Selena Gomez. Why? Because each time these A-listers step out together, there’s a multitude of style statements going on. Matchy-matchy style, it seems, is not for BFFs.
Just last night, for one, Swift and Lively hit the town in contrasting looks—Swift in a dark velvet green mini dress, Lively in a bright striped sweater and even brighter orange shoes. Compared to couple style, this duo clearly cares less about coordinating ensembles, and more about marching to the beat of their own fashion drums. In fact, their outfits couldn’t be more different from each other.
It raises the question: Should you coordinate outfits with your friends on a night out? Is that even a thing? Or, is there beauty in clashing outfits and embracing one’s fashion individuality? Inspired by the idea, Vogue staff weighed in with their opinions—and, well, the results were mixed.
Elise Taylor, senior lifestyle writer
I coordinate outfits but not because I want to look the same as my friends, but because I want to look different. This extends to purchases: if a close confidante has a certain pair of sunglasses, bag, or a dress, I’ll never buy it. Nothing worse than looking like fashion tweedle dee and tweedle dum.
Margaux Anbouba, senior beauty and wellness editor
[I don t coordinate with my friends], but only because most of my New York friends only wear black—so it s super easy to guess what they are going to be wearing. I m always the one who looks like a Polly Pocket in the friend group, dressed in hot pink.
Christian Allaire, senior fashion and style writer
Before any function, I do have a habit of texting my friends, “What are you wearing??” I like to know what the collective style vibe is. But never would I ever try to be matchy-matchy with any of them. We are grown adults in our 30s—I think it’s safe to say we can all have our individual fashion tastes.
Chloe Malle, editor
I don’t coordinate with my friends, but I find that I often accidentally coordinate with my children or my husband, and frankly it’s mortifying. We’ll all be wearing striped mariner shirts like a band of 1920s French sailors, and one of us has to cover up with a sweater. I did go for a rare dinner with friends last weekend though, and one showed up in a long La Double J T-shirt dress, and I was in jeans and a sweater, and it felt a bit odd that we seemingly dressed for different events—so maybe we should have coordinated!
Hannah Jackson, fashion writer
I am guilty of sending out the “what are you wearing?” text when planning a night out, but just because I want to know what everyone else is wearing doesn’t mean I’ll go all Single White Female and show up in the same exact outfit—I just want to make sure that I’m on the same wavelength. It’s not the end of the world if a group isn’t in perfect cohesion. In fact, I’d much rather see everyone’s personal style shine through than takes on the same outfit.
Irene Kim, Vogue Runway production and editorial coordinator
I do not coordinate outfits with my friends. We stopped doing that after high school.
