I was just wondering who dresses their (same sex!) twins the same and why and who dresses them differently and why? Any comments?
Mill

We don't dress ours the same beacuse they are individual people, and I have encouraged people to treat them like that from the start. Having said that, they did sometimes were the same things but in different colours, or the same sort of thing in different colours, but I tend not to even do that now. They just wear totally different things.

I do mostly dress Sophie in pink though, to help other people know who is who, I know that Juzzy does that with her's too. Alicia just wears anything but pink.

The girls also know who's clothes are who's (even if I don't remember), but are always willing to "share" them with the other one.

Cheers



Kate
Alicia and Sophie 2/12/02

I'm the same as Kate, Haylee usually wears pink/reds & Tianna wears purples/blues. They don't like sharing either!

As for dressing them the same, it's my pet hate, especially when you have a 6yr old & 3yr dressed the same! It's cute occasionally but if we ever dress the girls the same everyone doesn't know who's who. It's getting better now that the girls can tell them their names.

HTH & JMO.

[img]http://www.geocities.com/jussy227/eb.txt[/img]

My girls are not even 6 months old yet and as you can see from my picture below I sometimes dress them the same. Most often though I dress them in the same or very similar outfits in different colours. I dressed them exactly the same when they were younger, it was more of a cute novelty Plus I would feel bad if I liked one outfit more then the other so I wouldn't know who to dress in the cuter one, if you get my drift. I wanted them to be equally as cute as each other!

But as someone else said, as they get older I'll probably be dressing them in completely different outfits, and as soon as they can make a choice on what they would like to wear I'll let them. Whether they want to dress the same or different it can be up to them.

My sister who is 4 years younger then me always wanted to dress the same as me when we were little, I never let her though! Thats probably the younger sister looking up to the older sister thing

I think no matter how you dress them, they are still individuals, so its not a big issue for me. Though I have noticed that recently I am reluctant to buy outfits exactly the same for each of them (thats not saying I've completely stopped doing it though!).

At the moment they both share clothes, I have no designated colour for either of them, it just depends on my mood and their mood. After their morning bath I may just think, "Oh Hannah would look lovely in purple today and Jade in green" or "Jade is being whingey and grumpy maybe red would suit her" LOL. I don't really think about it too much, these are just fleeting thoughts and I often just dress whoevers had first bath in whichever of the 2 outfits I've selected that's in the shortest reaching distance!

Edited to add:
I don't judge people who dress their twins the same or different. I think its up to the parents and what they feel comfortable with and eventually when their children are old enough to have input, its also up to them. To each their own



This message was edited by Brizzygirl24 on Sunday, 18 September 2005 @ 4:43 PM

Our babies are the same sex and we are very adamant about dressing them differently. We're even relucatant to dress them in the same outfit but different colours. Same reasons as the others - they are individuals and we plan to make that as evident as possible. We don't plan to dress either of them in particular colours either as I think they should be able to wear whatever colours and not reserve a colour for a particular child.

I think this is one of those "do what feels right to you" situations. Who knows, we may well change our minds after they're born! I doubt it tho. There is 18mths between my sister and I and mum used to always dress us in the same thing - sometimes in the same colour, sometimes the same outfit but different colours and we ALWAYS hated it!!

When the kids are older if they want to dress the same then that is their choice. Incidentally DH and I were at the shops yesterday and saw a set of girl twins who were about 14 who had dressed the same and had the same hairstyle. Was surprised at that but they're obviously old enough to make their own decisions.

[center]ME 31 ~ DH 35
<a href="http://oneintheoven.net"><img src="http://oneintheoven.net/preg/ticker.24827.png" border=0></a>
www.users.tpg.com.au/stevesw

There are two things in life for which we are never truly prepared: Twins!
~J Billings~

Hi there.

Our boys are very different in both looks and personality and I don't dress them the same. They have a few outfits that were given that are the same, and I usually put them on at different times.

We treat them very much as individuals, but should they decide when a little older that they want the same clothes then that will be fine.

To be honest at the moment it is easier just to put on what ever is clean rather than what matches........lol!

RACHEL
DS - BARNABY 14
OSCAR AND BRODIE 28/03/05

Our girls are monozygotic - we've never dressed them the same (except their pyjamas!). I think our biggest challenge as parents of multiples is to have the world see our children as individuals and not one unit. I think dressing them differently helps people to see that. Early on we dressed them in whatever was clean. But now they have their own clothes and they definitely know what belongs to them! Woe betide anyone trying to dress Eleanor in Harriet's clothes ;p . The other day my Mum sent down two dresses (similar styles but very different materials) - she hadn't said which was which so the girls picked for themselves. They do the same with toys - I don't know how they work it out but they do.

Maree

Eleanor 1/8/03
Harriet 1/8/03

I agree with you, my2prettyangels, about not wanting one to have "better" clothes than the other. I've got to the point where I don't buy something for one unless I buy something "equivalent" for the other. That way I feel happy they're being treated equally and it makes it easier when it comes to choosing clothes - if it's a trackies day, then I know they've both got a pair - hope that makes sense!

Also, just reading back over my post, when I said getting the world to see our multiples as individuals was our "biggest" challenge, I think on reflection that's just one of our big challenges - along with helping them see themselves as individuals while treasuring their special bond and all the other joys of parenting!

Maree

Eleanor 1/8/03
Harriet 1/8/03

I occasionally dressed my two the same only because people gave us sooo many outfits that matched. I generally have them in similar outfits but different colours. Amber wears alot of pink and purple cause I got sick of people asking me if she was a boy( she has shorter hair starting to go curly and Liv has lovely longish straight hair)
The older they get the more I like them in completely different outfits. Although finding 2 equally nice outfits at the same time in Cairns can be a chore so they do have a few dresses that belong to either of them.

My Mum has started buying matching outfits for my 2 plus my niece who is 2 years younger... Guess i'll have to try to wean her off this 70's idea.. I still have many pics to prove that mum dressed us in matching outfits and we were 3,6,9 at the time!!!

And yes my girls are in matching outfits in my sig. Flowergirl dresses at our wedding a few weeks ago.

Rebecca 32
Nathan 28
Fraternal twin girls Amber & Olivia 08/05/03

Thanks for all your replies!!
I tend to agree with the dress differently reasons. I know they may still feel like individuals when dressed the same but from experience it makes it much harder for others if they have to keep saying 'Oh hello.. ummm... which one are you?' Not only would it become tiresome for the child but I find that a lot of people feel embarrassed when they can't tell them apart.
Mine have always been dressed differently and I think this has made it a lot easier for our 4 year old son who just calls them both 'bubba' when they're naked but uses their names when they are wearing clothes he recognises as theirs. Surely this is better for his bonding with them as individuals than not really knowing which baby he is playing with.
Mill (mother of Scout,4 today! Indie and Shari 10.5 months.)

This has been an interesting read

I use to dress the girls in the same clothes sometimes. I'm guilty of doing that. Mostly b/c I think it looks CUTE! However, as they have got older, I have done this less & less.

In the beginning I had all their clothes in the same cupboard. Now they have separate cupboards, but I still finding myself "sharing" their clothes! They only have a few things that are "THEIRS" & they don't mind sharing clothes at all. Sometimes they want to wear the same clothes & I let them do that.

They have been going to childcare & are about to move into the next group. Last week they spent the whole day in the older group. When I picked the girls up I was kind of "reprimanded" by a carer b/c I dressed the girls too similar! I didn't even know they were going to spend the day in that group! Their carers they have now can tell them apart now.

This one carer said "well I know a parent with twins & she always dresses one in pink/ red & the other in /purple/ blue". I told her I would NOT do that! How do I MAKE them wear those coloures all the time?

I feel that people NEED to make a point of getting to know them! Once you KNOW them you can tell who is who simply by their personality. It's annoying that people want something "easy" that doesn't require any effort. Honestly my family that we don't see that much all can tell who is who! They go to childcare 2 days a week, so I think they should make an effort to know them without going by clothing.

I am more than happy to dress them differently & I do their hairstyles differently. But I want people to get to know them. I have typed a list of ways to tell them apart as well.

Ok i'm guilty. I love it when i dress them the same. they look so cute and since the most important people can tell them apart it doesn't bother me. My mum used to dress me and my twin sister the same (different colours but same style usually) until we told her we didn't like it so that was good - then we wore what we wanted - we are very similar though and when i visit her i find the same brand and style clothing in her wardrobe that i have! I was always in blue and Rebecca was in pink and to this day i hate wearing blue..

My sister and i are totally independent of each other (she is in Tassie and is in the Army), whereas i am in Canberra and i was in the Air Force - and both have kids and she is married and i am (almost) married (one day...!). So i don't think us being dressed alike for the first 4 or 5 years of our life harmed us (not much anyhow! :-) )

Rach :-)

This message was edited by RachieD on Tuesday, 20 September 2005 @ 1:14 PM

Rach thanks for your input

I always like to hear from twins themselves what they think about things. Nice to also hear from an ID twin.

I think dressing them as babies in the same outfit is cute, but as they got older I have done it less & less.

Belinda

Hi

I am a "new" mum to id twin girls and at the moment the only "fun" thing that I have going for my twins is the fact that I can dress them alike if I choose to. Our girls are totally the same and after nearly 20 wks I still can't tell them apart. People say to me why don't you dress one always in "pink" and the other in "mauve", my general reply to this is well that would be ok but then I have to remember who is the "pink" twin and who is the "mauve" twin. I am having enough trouble just remembering who is who without confusing it by colour coding.

Mosst of the time my girls get dressed in whatever is clean in their drawers.



Catherine
Mum to
Zac born 31.3wks 26/11/01
Charlotte & Lillian 34wks 05/05/05