Two Women, Two Methods, Same Outfit
by StyleList Staff (Subscribe to StyleList Staff's posts), Posted Jul 6th 2010 at 7:49AMThis is a post
Filed under: Fashion
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ShelterPop editor Allison Mezzafonte (left) and DIY Life editor Kristine Solomon (right). Photo: Jolie Novak, AOL
Last week Allison Mezzafonte, editor of AOL's ShelterPop, and Kristine Solomon, editor of sister site DIYLife, came to work in our downtown New York offices and did a double take as they turned and faced in each in their shared cube: Those dark-rinse, cuffed jeans. Those metallic sandals. That ruffled, buff-colored top. Hey, I like your outfit! No, I like your outfit.
Turns out they hadn't called each other the night before to plan their extremely similar -- though not perfectly identical -- ensembles. But, right down to a single bobby pin holding back a stray lock of hair, the editorial partners had inadvertently morphed into sartorial partners.
We asked how it happened:
Allison: The last few days in New York had been dreadfully hot and humid so when I saw the forecast last week of a high of 77, that seemed cool. I was still only in my bath towel, so in an effort to get out the door as quickly as possible, I threw on my jeans (our offices can get really chilly during the day), this ruffled top, my trusty gold sandals and some jewelry. I ordered this shirt when I was on a big eBay shopping spree -- I found a whole bunch of new, super cheap Anthropologie clothing on there. When it comes to jeans, I don't totally love wearing them, but these jeans stretch and they are so, so comfortable. Funny enough, I thought this was a quick thrown-together outfit on a day when I wasn't trying too hard and well, apparently, so did Kristine!
Kristine: I'd been wearing dresses all week, so I decided today was a jeans day. I always wear my jeans rolled up in the summer, so that was a no-brainer. And because I have a sunburn on my chest that's starting to peel, I opened up my closet and picked the first high-necked blouse in sight. I don't really wear those gold sandals too often, but I decided they matched well with the champagne-colored top. The whole outfit didn't require a whole lot of thought -- maybe because I was subconsciously channeling Allison!
It should also be noted that they both came to work one spring Monday carrying similar Elliott Lucca bags, purchased on separate outlet sprees in separate counties. Perhaps we should start to get suspicious.
Dressing for work can be one of life's daily challenges, or pleasures, depending on your mood. It's sort of intriguing to see the thoughts that go into the process each morning. What are you wearing today, and how did you decide what went with what? Leave a comment below.
Filed under: Fashion
Tags: jeans, matching outfits, ruffled t-shirts, ruffled tees, sandals, Summer 2010, summer fashion
Tags: jeans, matching outfits, ruffled t-shirts, ruffled tees, sandals, Summer 2010, summer fashion












Jeanette 7-06-2010 @ 12:07PM
The outfits are not the same. The blouses are different colors and the they are different.
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TJK 7-06-2010 @ 1:19PM
ANOTHER WASTE OF TIME FROM AOL . How about something interesting for a change ??
loulou 7-06-2010 @ 12:14PM
This is the dumbest story I've ever clicked on! Why is this a story?
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Dennis Webb 7-06-2010 @ 12:53PM
Because there aren't enough catastrophes to keep the media busy.
Brandy 7-06-2010 @ 12:29PM
This is a silly thing to write an article about...Even if it is about STYLE. It happens to people all the time. Its not worth writing about.
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Scooter Chic 7-06-2010 @ 1:19PM
I totally agree ! The outfits are not the same at all !!! This is a ridiculous article. It is a little comical when you run into someone dressed like you, but it is not the end of the world. I make a little joke about it & move on...
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Cutie 7-06-2010 @ 12:37PM
Are you people blind?? They are both wearing sandals for work; not heels and nylons or sneakers. They are both wearing dark colored rolled up jeans not acid washed boot cut etc. They are both wearing a short sleeved blouse not shirt not long sleeve. Each blouse has a decorative design in front not plain or with a writingon it or buttons. They are both wearing their hair long with a clip. Not a headband or a ponytail. Detectives you will never be.
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Amy 7-06-2010 @ 12:38PM
They look gorgeous. This inspires me to put together a similar outfit (though I don't have sandals as cute as either of these ladies.) Love this!
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Sienna 7-06-2010 @ 12:41PM
I taught for 30yrs and at one school for over 20 yrs. You can't believe how many times , many of us would show up in the SAME COLOR clothes on the SAME day and NOBODY had planned it! We would all get a kick out of it. ! In the 80's I remember when we would also show up in our jumper dresses, looking like a jumper fashion show! I still laugh when I think about those days. At one time Thursday DID become purple day and we all wore something purple. And YES they are wearing DIFFERENT blouses, so this article is silly!
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Diane 7-06-2010 @ 12:54PM
Thanks for your story, Sienna -- very interesting! We did add a line in the story to clarify that the tops are not identical as many folks have pointed out, but just extremely similar. Anyone else wearing ruffles this summer?
LuLu 7-15-2010 @ 3:41PM
WOW!! This is the LAMEST story I've EVER read!! WHO CARES ABOUT WHAT A COUPLE OF CO-WORKERS WORE TO WORK!!
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Ruth 7-06-2010 @ 1:22PM
I spent the first 20 years of my professional life in the military, talk about showing up in the same outfit! The first year or so of civilian life I copied others styles alot because I was so style defficient. More than once I showed up dressed very like my boss, the other really tall woman in the office. It was pretty funny to me but I always wondered what other people thought. I still look like I flunked girl 101 most of the time.
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JoJo 7-06-2010 @ 1:25PM
The writers/stylelist staff at AOL must be mentally challenged if they think these women are IDENTICALLY dressed. The blouse is a completely different style and color, the jeans are not the same color, the sandals are not the same color or style. The ONLY thing they have in common is that the jeans are rolled up and if that qualifies for something being indentical, then the education system is more screwed up than I thought.
Just goes to show how deeply the media is scraping the bottom of the barrel for writers. It's even worse when it comes to REAL NEWS.
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geri 7-06-2010 @ 2:56PM
It's nice that you guys made stars out of these girls for a day but you people really need some new writers with ideas that would surpass that of a high schooler.
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Joe 7-06-2010 @ 2:07PM
WHO CARES ??????
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Katie 7-06-2010 @ 1:38PM
This is the problem with this article. The StyleList Staff have a vocabulary problem. There is a sufficient amount of differences here that saying that the lady's outfits are 'essentially the same' (as in the Webster's definition of 'identical') is misleading. The colors and styles of the blouses are so different as to suggest they are -ta da- completely different. The jeans are jeans, most look very similar, but are different colors. The shoes lack enough similarity to say they are 'essentially identical' due to style and color differences, the shoes being sandals notwithstanding.
So, without further ado, I will educate them:
Main Entry: iden·ti·cal
Pronunciation: \ī-ˈden-ti-kəl, ə-\
Function: adjective
Etymology: probably from Medieval Latin identicus, from Late Latin identitas
Date: 1581
1 : being the same : selfsame
2 : having such close resemblance as to be essentially the same —often used with to or with
3 a : having the same cause or origin b : monozygotic
synonyms see same
— iden·ti·cal·ly \-k(ə-)lē\ adverb
— iden·ti·cal·ness \-kəl-nəs\ noun
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Yawnnnnnnnnnnn 7-06-2010 @ 1:53PM
The blouses are different, the jeans are different, the sandals ae different, about the only thing that is the same is that they are both women.
And OMG stop the presses, they showed up at work about a month ago carry similar bags. Will miracles never cease
What a bunch of dribble, freaking waste of space.
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n 7-06-2010 @ 2:01PM
LOULOU . you are among the many who are asking that same question.
>>> I have the answer for you >>> it's because BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM , they can't write a good article worth a CA-CA !
So , after much deliberation at the water cooler, this was the best they could come up with..
.A VERY COMPELLING story , DON'T YOU THINK ? LOL
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SLEEPYTIME 7-06-2010 @ 2:12PM
This asinine story was written because those two so called writers knew that some of us didn't get a FULL night of sleep, and they wanted to help us catch up on our sleep !
Hey , Allison and Kristine ,Your parents put you through school.... WHY < are you wasting their money.... Show them that you learned something .... ;0((
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Lorraine 7-06-2010 @ 3:19PM
I actually thought I was reading the wrong article! Come on, the shirts are different, the jeans are different and the sandals are different. The colors aren't even the same! This one really slipped by the editors. Must have been a slow fashion reporting day.
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