Mother-daughter outfits

Michelle and Sasha Obama did it, along with Angelina and Zahara, and Katie and Suri. They wore coordinating mother-daughter outfits. Cute, sure, but trendy? It can be for you if you do it right!

Generations
collide when fashion rules are rewritten. Today’s lesson: You don’t have to dress your age — 40 is the new 30. The younger-dressing women of today are more health conscious and physically
fit as their predecessors, and they refuse to be stereotyped by their age. Today’s 40- and 50-something moms are wearing the same big-name jeans and dresses as their tween and teen daughters,
while younger moms dress their babies, toddlers and school-aged kids in designer “mini-me” versions of their own clothes.

Today’s moms are among the first generations to grow up barraged with mass marketing, making us more brand literate and fashion cognizant than any generation before us. We follow seasonal trends
and buy designer labels, so why would we do any different for our children?

As fashion-aware mothers are dressing younger, teens are dressing older — no surprise when you consider that their fashion references and style icons are almost always older than they are, and are
often the same ubiquitous Hollywood stars and starlets that inspire their mothers.

If you thought teens were dressing older, consider the wardrobe of the average toddler, preschooler or primary schooler. You’re likely to find as many pairs of designer jeans, graphic
t’s and (for girls) pretty dresses in grown-up styles as as you’ll find in mom’s closet.

The increased availability of trend-inspired mini-me children’s wear makes following fashion trends for both mother and daughter easier than ever. Case in point: For the Antik Batik spring
’09 collection, designer Gabrielle Cortese wanted to dress up little fashionistas in training. Carrying over the lightweight Polynesian-inspired flower fabric used in her fashion line (which
recently hit store shelves), you now can find the identical summer outfit in a mini-me size.

The tradition of shopping together is not new, but actually enjoying the time together is becoming more and more evident as paparazzi post photos of famous moms shopping with their
daughters. Think Madonna and Lourdes.

Shopping together also happens online, where choices and discounts abound as many prominent retailers avidly promote their online collections.

Daughters in the past famously shied away from anything bearing even a remote similarity to their mothers’ style. In contrast, today’s daughters look to their moms for fashion inspiration,
mimicking their style. Whatever the pairing, the truly trendy mother-daughter ensembles — as with any great outfits — are well coordinated in their type, style and color.