This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s senior fall editorial intern Dalal Daher. Find her on Instagram at @dalalllldaher. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Have you ever wanted to coordinate your outfit with your significant other, but been discouraged by the amount of cringy couple T-shirts available? Wanted to match with your boyfriend or girlfriend but not look like you bought over-the-top matching shirts from a mall kiosk? As social media continues to perpetuate the idea of flaunting your romance, maybe you feel the urge to publicly display your love with matching outfits. Don’t worry, subtle but cute couple outfits DO exist, and we’ve got some easy yet stylish looks for you to try out.
Matching color scheme
The simplest matching couple outfit that caters to everybody’s wardrobe is to use a matching color scheme for both people. This look works really well if one partner wears a dress, and the other matches either their shirt or bottoms to it. For example, if you wear a light blue dress, your partner could either wear a light blue button-up or T-shirt. While this is the most obvious way to show that you’re matching with your partner, it’s quite a visually appealing one, and works really well for social events and couple pictures. If your significant other isn’t one to think much about fashion or doesn’t own that many color options, this is a headache-free matching outfit for the both of you! So for your next wedding invite or party, consider a matching color scheme.
Use color theory!
Are you a fashion-forward couple who wants to add an edge to your matching outfits? Try wearing complementary colors. If you aren’t familiar, complementary colors are on opposite ends of the color wheel: red and green, orange and blue, yellow and purple. This look can get a bit more complicated and involves both parties having an array of colorful clothes, but it’s very striking. This type of styling can get really creative! You could go as simple as each person wearing a complementary color top (like one person wearing an orange one and one person a blue one) and pairing it with whatever bottoms you want, or incorporate the inverse color scheme into your whole look!
This look also works for those who prefer neutrals to colors, by using black and white. Try wearing inverse outfits, for example one person wearing a black top and white pants and the other wearing black bottoms and a white top for a sophisticated take on inverse color schemes. Overall, drawing on the color wheel is a great way to style a fashion-forward couple outfit. If you’re looking for more inspiration, look into color harmonies, i.e. what colors go well together, and base your outfits off of it!
Twin with Texture
For a more subtle, everyday cute couple outfit, I’d recommend incorporating matching textures, patterns, or logos into your relationship fit. For example, you could both match by basing your outfit on textiles such as denim or leather. This option is great for the more low-key couple as you could choose to coordinate the entire outfit or simply parts of it! Some ideas include one person wearing denim pants and the other a denim jacket, one person wearing a leather skirt or dress and the other a leather jacket. This look is also pretty adaptable for the season. For the winter, try matching a knit sweater dress to a knit sweater or cardigan; for the summer, you could pair a crochet shirt with a crochet two-piece!
Two outfits, one hero piece
If you and your significant other have drastically different styles, or want to match in as subtle a way as possible, the solution could be styling both outfits around one piece of clothing. Try picking a unisex piece of clothing, such as cargo pants, bomber jackets, or jeans, and each person can style their own outfit around it! This type of look gives both people individual aesthetic freedom over their outfits, but still allows their fashion to look visually connected. You can also choose how similar you want these articles of clothing to be to either emphasize or dilute the matching aspect of the look. For example, if your cute couple outfit is based around cargo pants, you and your significant other could pick cargos of the same color, or differentiate them with cargos of different styles and fabrics to suit your individual preferences.
Flash some matching accessories
Perhaps the most subtle way to execute a cute couple outfit is to match with accessories only! From similar jewelry to bags made of the same fabric, a joint fashion accessory is the most sophisticated way to put your relationship on display, and can be kept as under the radar as a mirrored watch style. To highlight this matching couple style, match multiple of the same accessories in one look: try similar sunglasses, bags, belts and jewelry for maximum visual impact.
Logo lookalikes
Are you and your partner more the types to choose clothing with a logo over basics? For the streetwear enthusiast couple, matching with a clothing article of the same brand could be the way to go. From matching Stussy hoodies to unisex shoes like the internet cult favorite Adidas Sambas, the options are endless for this comfy, everyday way to twin with your significant other while not going too over the top.
Flashing your relationship through similar clothing might be seen as corny, but these understated yet cute couple outfits show that not every matching look has to come in the form of graphic T-shirts! While there will always be a time and place for over-the-top couple T-shirts (normally Disneyland), they’re not the only way you can coordinate your fashion with your significant other. So style away– we look forward to seeing all your cute relationship outfits as cozy season rolls around!
Would you try any of these subtler takes on cute couple outfits! Let us know!
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