Color coordination

Years ago when my future husband showed up at the dorm for our first date, we were amused by the fact that we were both wearing the unlikely color combination of red and turquoise. This story has led to the inevitable comments about us being meant for each other (not always intended as a compliment, I suspect).

At the office when our teams meet, we often note that a majority of us are wearing the same color -- often an uncommon color. Over the years, this has developed into a ritual comment: "Ah, I see you got the memo!"

Last weekend my son drove into town for a quick weekend visit. When I saw him drive up, I went outside to welcome him. He stepped out of his car, smiling, and then stopped. He looked down at his clothes and back at mine. We had on the same color jeans, same white t-shirt, and a coral-colored overshirt (his was a polo; mine was a hoodie zipped up halfway). Weird, he said.

What is going on with this stuff? It seems to happen more often than the usual random event. For a while, I thought it was a result of the fashion industry controlling what colors or color combinations are popular/available, but that doesn't pan out. Then I thought that I just hang around with people who have the same taste in color that I have, but it happens with strangers.

Perhaps it is time for a think tank somewhere to address this phenomenon. As a friend of mine remarked, "Why do we end up looking like the coordinates section of the Sears catalog?"