Matchy-matchy

We are dressing for a dinner party, I in a black skirt with a porthole over which I have dropped an empire-waisted blue schmatte. Schmatte, along with "merch" for merchandise and "matchy-matchy," as in "That sweater and skirt are too matchy-matchy," is among the words I have picked up at Mlle [Madamoiselle].

"Shall we do it matchy-matchy?" Laura asks, holding up a teal top with teal flowered Bermuda shorts. / "Sooner or later, matching is going to be the new non-matching," Rodney states proudly.

Matchy-Matchy is no longer considered the height of chic. This was a throwback from the 1950's when women seemed to enjoy matching everything, shoes, bags, belts, lipstick, toilet paper, tissues, etc. Now it simply looks time consuming and complicated. Part of looking effortlessly chic is having the ability to look good but not matchy-matchy perfect. Matchy-matchy has been out for ages in the style world.

I used to really like matchy-matchy everything. If I liked he chair, then I wanted the sofa, end table, coffee table, and settee to match it. I remember hearing that matchy-matchy was bad because then your house would look like a catalog photo for a furniture store. […] Then as I got older, I finally agreed with that sentiment. Catalog rooms look nice, but they don't look like someone lives there. They don't have a soul.