Why parents love twinning outfits from SG fashion brands

If you check your Instagram feed closely, chances are many parent influencers are sporting twinning outfits with their children.

Celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Beyonce first started the #twinning craze, where parents and kids dressing up in the same clothing. Singapore retailers say the trend caught on among local families around two to three years ago.

Why SG parents love twinning

First-time mum Sandy Cheng (pictured above), 31, says her husband likes the whole idea of coordinating outfits with their 10-month-old baby girl Eliana too.

Sandy, a community manager, says has been twinning outfits since her daughter was around two months old and shows them off on her Instagram account .

“I think it’s fun to match and coordinate outfits with my baby girl, be it colours or patterns. I try to coordinate all our outfits so that my husband doesn’t feel left out,” she says.

And as seen on social media, Mums aren’t the only ones getting all the fun. Dads too, are taking to twinning outfits, too.

When singer and athletics coach Alfred Sim (main photo) and his two-year-old son, nicknamed Momo , are out and about, it is not unusual to catch the stylish father-son duo in twinning outfits.

If they are not in twinning wear, Alfred says they would sometimes just work the same colour theme. The 39-year-old says he got hooked on twinning after they were sent coordinated outfits by clothing brands like Jumpeatcry , Kidscrafter , Le Petit Society and Maison Q .

Alfred, who is expecting the arrival of baby number two in June , thinks it is a great way to bond with his son. “It’s fun. I like the way he looks like a mini-me!,” he gushes.

“You know, you always see Mum and daughter in matching clothes? Fathers and sons should do more of it. It can be an opportunity for Dads to be more involved and create conversations.”

Janis Gan (pictured above), founder of Fayth, a homegrown fashion brand that offers twinning outfits, thinks that the twinning trend is simply an extension of what kids across all generations have been doing – dress up like their parents.

Fayth launched its first Mommy and Me range of twinning outfits in 2019, around Mothers’ Day. They were a hit with customers, and are now a regular fixture on its online and offline stores.

Janis says: “Kids look up to their parents. Remember how you’d want to dress up or put on make-up like your mum when you were a kid? The twinning trend works both ways – parents think it’s fun to dress exactly like their kids while their kids look to them as inspiration.”

SG fashion brands launch twinning outfits

It also helps that there are now more Singapore labels carrying twinning wear for parents and kids, such as Love Bonito , Our Second Nature and The Missing Piece .

Sandy, who usually shops online, says: “It’s quite easy to find mother-child twinning outfits these days. There are many options with a number of blogshops coming out with self-manufactured designs.”

She usually spends around $80 to dress herself and her baby up in twinning wear, but thinks it would probably cost less if she had not coordinated their clothing.

Singapore-based label Elizabeth Little started out in 2016 offering vintage-inspired outfits for kids but its founder and creative director Eileen Tay (pictured above) soon discovered the “commercial viability” of coordinated outfits for families.

After making matching dresses for herself and her daughter, the mum of three kids, aged one, five and seven, started receiving enquiries on parent-child twinning outfits.

In the last two years, she has been incorporating adult versions of some of her signature pieces for children produced locally using organic cotton, Japanese linen and heritage Liberty prints. Based on outfit designs for kids, Eileen says mums and dads can also pre-order a matching outfit for themselves.

“Many of my customers love dressing up in the exact same style as their kids. It’s fun and twinning outfits look really good in family photos,” she says.

Janis agrees. She observes that many of her customers take twinning with their kids seriously.

“In our first Mommy and Me range, the coordinated outfits featured the same fabric and details but the design for adult and child were different. After that, we received a lot of feedback from parents who want the exact outfits as their little ones, and have been coming up with very similar styles for both parents and kids,” Janis shares.

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Having said that, Janis and Eileen point out that not all styles are suitable for both adults and kids.

Janis says: “For example, we have a playsuit with ruffles which looks really cute on kids but that style would not look good on Mum. So, we came up with an off-shoulder top using the same fabric for mums.”

Not everyone is big on dressing up like peas in a pod with their kids.

Momo’s mother, local singer Tay Kewei , is one of them. Alfred says with a laugh: She refuses to wear matching outfits with both of us. She feels that’s ridiculous!”

Eileen says her five-year-old daughter Elizabeth (Eileen named her clothing label after her) refused to twin with her during Chinese New Year even though she had already prepared their coordinated festive outfits.

“My daughter said she wanted to be different. Thankfully, her mummy makes clothing and she can still switch (outfits) on the first day of Chinese New Year,” Eileen says.

Style tips for twinning outfits

Your twinning outfits may look great on Instagram but can look over-the-top in real life.

Coordinate patterns, small details or colours

Instead of wearing the exact same outfit, Sandy suggests that parents get separates (top or bottom) to twin with their babies or young kids. For example, Mummy can wear a top in the same fabric as Baby’s dress. This also gives Dads an opportunity to twin with their kids.

Consider the silhouette

Janis advises choosing twinning wear in different silhouettes. For example, a baby-doll silhouette might look great on girls but can look tacky on Mum, who can opt for an A-line design instead.

Size up for Junior

Get mileage out of your twinning outfits by getting a size or two larger for Baby, Sandy says. Sandy does this by getting tops for two-year-olds for her 10-month-old daughter to wear as dresses. When she grows taller and bigger, she can still wear it as a top.

Do not compromise on comfort

You love miniskirts, but is your kid comfortable in it too? When considering twinning outfits, Janis says it is important to ensure that it does not restrict your kids' movement or comfort.

This article was first published in Young Parents.