Twenty five years ago, Run-DMC updated the world on the new definition of “bad”. “Not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good,” explained the lyrics of Peter Piper, in an admirable display of patience to stragglers befuddled by popular culture.
In 2012, following in the footsteps of bad, wicked, sick et al, another insult has been transformed into a compliment. “Matchy matchy” was, a few short years ago, the last word in fashion putdowns, used to mock and belittle those whose idea of being well-dressed was to simply match the colours in their outfit. True style, the assumption went, was a matter of putting together marvellously eclectic outfits, of having the special kind of genius that it takes to realise that, actually, a violet cashmere tunic can look marvellous layered over a Liberty print cotton blouse and offset with a pair of Prince of Wales check trousers. Or whatever.
But to be “very matchy matchy” is a compliment again. Wearing a matching top and bottom – in either a print, or a bright colour – is this summer’s in-the-know look. The turnaround began nearly two years ago, when Marc Jacobs kick-started the luxe-pyjama trend by featuring matching oriental-print tops and trousers in his Louis Vuitton show for spring 2011. Luxe pyjama sets have since been seen on catwalks from JW Anderson to Stella McCartney, Céline to Hermès. And those who assumed this was a fly-by-night trend have been proved wrong: instead, the trend for matching tops and bottoms has gained in stature. Maarten van der Horst’s summer 2012 collection of tropical-print separates in boxier shapes and less filmy fabrics showed the assembled catwalk-watchers that by switching from pyjama-weight silk into more structured, sturdy tops and bottoms, the look became much easier to wear. Recently unveiled high street collections for next season suggest this is a trend about to go mainstream.
I include the fashion family tree for a reason: to show that the new matchy-matchy is not the return of ladylike suiting, but derives instead from a more irreverent catwalk ancestry. This is not a cowed retreat to colour co-ordination, but a new generation who have grown up with mix-and-match as the reigning style orthodoxy discovering the visceral power of a head-to-toe matching look.
In the spirit of Matchy Matchy checkout this incredible lace look from slay my look.
Size: S, M
Price: $371.6
Includes complimentary VIP worldwide shipping
Click here to get it (type look 02-65 to find it) or contact concierge at sales@slaynetwork.co.uk
To get the full look
Click here for Rose Gold Skull
Click here for look 01-16 by slay my bambini
Let's get Matchy Matchy
Sometimes when my underwear matches my outfit it makes me feel like I really have my life together
Too cute too fresh
