Is Matching Shoes to Bag Seriously Uncool?

I have this thing about reading up on local fashion trivia while I'm travelling; some of the things I learned:-

In Paris:

- Chloé was one of Princess Grace Kelly's favoured brands

In Madrid:

- Zara, Pull & Bear and Bershka, all of which happen to be my favourite brands, are under the group Inditex. So is the brand Stradivarius, which I absolutely adored, so I learned to question WHY ISN'T STRADIVARIUS ALREADY IN MALAYSIA? (Another good question: why didn't I shop more in Stradivarius when I was in Madrid?)

In Tokyo:

- Upon looking up Uniqlo online, I discovered Ines De La Fressange collaborated with Uniqlo on a sold-out range, and upon looking up Ines De La Fressange, I stumbled on one of her quotes, "Matching shoes and bags immediately age you by 10 years."

You know what this means? It means I have (1) committed a major fashion crime a hundred times, and (2) unknowingly walked a hundred times not knowing I look like someone in her late thirties (note: not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, of course, but no one wants to look 10 years older than their age, unless they're 13 years old, maybe?).

But how much accuracy is there in Ines De La Fressange's saying, exactly?

First of all, let's put this out there: Ines De La Fressange is widely regarded as one of the chicest women alive. The fact that she's French certainly adds to her chicism (yes this is a made up word).

But does that mean women everywhere have to take her words to heart when it comes to fashion?

Probably not...isn't it? Because my answer to my own question that was posed in the title of this post is: YES, it is perfectly OK to match your shoes to your bag.

Evidence number 1: Luxe brown leather + luxe brown leather, from InStyle.com

There are so many style and fashion bloggers out there and one of the reasons for that is a majority of them has something unique to offer. I have my own set of favourite bloggers but then there are a number of other famous bloggers who I cannot relate to fashion-wise.

Ines De La Fressange might be an internationally renowned best dresser—and she does have a killer wardrobe and is painfully oh-so-chic, just Google her—but I haven't seen a photo of her in floral maxi dress, or of her carrying a bright red lip clutch, which are some of the things you would see coming out of my own closet. That is, as much as I admire her laidback, elegant style, I'm just choosing to be different.

Obviously, me getting a little philosophical here doesn't just apply to matching shoes to handbags, but really it's about the whole look. But let's get back to the shoes-and-handbag thing, shall we? My personal stance on it is it is perfectly OK to do a little matchy-matchy look but I have to admit, I might cringe a little bit if the shoes and the bag are in the same exact colour and in the same exact material.

Like if you see a pretty petite lady in a white dress with colourful watercolour floral on them, and she carries a bright pink crocodile print clutch while she has on a pair of bright pink crocodile print pumps, and you're thinking, "Wait did she get those made in the same exact shop? I mean, she has to have them made, because where can you find crocodile print clutch AND pumps in the same exact colour and material?" 

(Note: I swear this petite lady is fictional)

When I see someone carrying a bag or a clutch and cleverly matching it with a pair of shoes that simply enhance something in that bag/clutch, I think that's a real winner right there. Like this amazing pairing:

Evidence number 2: Orange heels + sweet fruity clutch, from InStyle.com

I must say though that I never purposely match my shoes to my bags; I do think it's always easier to match any accessory, bag and shoes to my outfit, rather than matching them to each other. But sometimes you get dressed up, take photos and discovered that your comfiest Timberland loafers are almost exactly the same shade as your Marc Jacobs bag, and the matchiness kind of just delight you instead of horrify you:

Check out my previous outfit post Duffle & Plaid here

My point is: dress as you. Dress as YOU. Because that is what will make you happy at the end of the day.

As someone who wears the hijab, there's one extra item in my outfit compared to most people. It can be a headache when you're trying to form a cohesive outfit using different colours, and if you let my husband tell you his woeful stories of the many times I've thrown a personal mini tantrum in front of my closet, you would understand why I used the word 'headache' earlier on (hint: it isn't necessarily mine). So I feel like if I've accidentally matched my shoes to my bag and it ends up looking pretty OK, then I say I've dressed OK for that day.

What say you? Matching shoes to your bag gives a good fashion time or is plain and simple a fashion crime?

Other helpful articles if you can't decide (correction: Articles that may help you agree with me):

• Matching Your Bag and Shoes, by Marie Claire
• It's a Match! 25 Perfect Shoes & Combos for Spring, by InStyle