Last week, I found myself in the midst of a heart-warming reunion of college friends. They weren't my college friends, but instead fellow guests at a wedding, many of whom hadn't seen each other in maybe seven years. They quickly fell back into their jokey memes, and danced and laughed all night. But what was most striking about the scene was how similar they looked. It was as if they shopped for their printed dresses with nipped waists at the same boutique, visited the same makeup counter for their earth-tone shadows, and were bobbed by the same hairstylist, even though that was impossible—they were all here from other states, from the mid-west to the deep south. I don't mean to make these women sound like an '80s teen movie clique of clones, because that was certainly not the case, but there was a definite aesthetic taste present. (And a pretty one.)

The following day, I was at a bar, when in came a group of five similarly androgynous men and women, clearly just coming from a fashion show. They could have walked in one, that's how cohesive their look was: tight black bottoms (pants or skirt), black or white tops with funky patterns, sweaters with uneven hangs that matched their asymmetrical, bi-color haircuts.

Certainly, I've seen this kind of thing before, but I don't have personal experience with it. (I admire friends' sartorial and beauty choices, but there's rarely crossover.) So it made me curious to find out just how common this is, statistically. Back at the office, I searched for university studies about people being drawn to potential friends who have their same style, and so far have come up with nothing. (If you know of a study or even a poll, send it my way.) The closest I came was finding this 2008 study in which female friends who thought they were equally attractive had more stable relationships than friends who agreed that one of them was better looking than the other—but that's not really what I want to know. Nor does the finding that we pay closer attention to people we think are attractive explain this look-alike friend phenomenon.

Tell us: Do you share a beauty or fashion style with your friends? Is it a coincidence or was it part of the draw?


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