Matchy Matchy

It's always a challenge to figure out what to wear each day, but ultimately I sort out what top works with what pants and what accessories will tie everything together. I pay attention to the bag, the shoes, the way the hair is styled. It works most of the time and undoubtedly, most women do the very same thing every day. I say it's a special gift afforded to our sex.

With some exceptions, I daresay men don't begin to go to this degree when dressing each day. I think they have a standard weekday uniform which suits their needs. At the risk of generalizing...a button down shirt, a pair of pants, socks, shoes, underwear and maybe a tie and jacket. Easy peasy Japanesy.

Fang is no fashion plate. He's a loyal advocate of the recipe for dressing above. Weekend dressing for him means sweat pants and/or shorts, T-shirts, sneakers and baseball cap. No fuss, no muss. He laments my daily anguish at selecting an outfit. He shakes his head as I paw through my copious wardrobe every morning, trying to come up with the ideal ensemble as it matches my mood that day. He thinks this feminine process is rather ridiculous.

Fang and I were discussing this recently. When he was growing up, he was a fast fan of Garanimals. If you're not familiar with the childrens clothing concept that is Garanimals, it made finding the perfect matching outfit easy. You simply matched the animal on the tag with a top and bottom and voila, a perfectly matched outfit worthy of a personal stylist. You like the top with the elephant tag? Look for some pants with an elephant tag. It was a simply flawless concept.

Fang's argument was this: why don't they have Garanimals for adults? That's probably a good question.I imagined it going even further. Let's say you're in Bloomingdale's. The sections could be organized by animal genre. I go to the Zebra section. There is a blouse that matches some pants that match a jacket, some earrings, a nice bag and some mules. Well, OK, you now have one perfectly matched outfit. While the concept would work for men, I can't see it working for women.

The benefit (and curse) of being a woman is the tendency to mix up everything you have. You buy a blouse to wear with five different things. A pair of shoes should cover 20 different options. A good purse should cover 30 different options. And accessories? Fuggetaboutit.

When I used to shop with my mother and I'd find an item of clothing that appealed to me, she'd always say, "But what can you wear with it?" That was when I first learned to bluff. She was being practical, but why be practical? If you love something, you'll find something to wear with it. Hopefully.

On Project Runway, Judges Nina Garcia and Michael Kors often disdain fashion choices being "too matchy matchy." That's a clear reason why Garanimals are limited to childrens apparel. And perhaps, to men.