The Rise of Matching Sets: Why Coordinated Outfits Are Taking Over Fashion

When it comes to summer dressing, nothing beats the simplicity of slipping into a coordinated outfit, making matching sets the leading trend on streets and in stores alike.

These stylish ensembles range from mass-market offerings at retailers like Zara and Mango to more elevated, contemporary designs. Elevated sets provide the polished appearance of a suit without the weighty formality. Picture coordinating solid or printed tops and bottoms, akin to pajamas—think of Anne Hathaway in her seasonal white set in New York City, or Laura Harrier sporting a black knit cardigan and shorts at her Reformation collaboration launch in L.A.

Image: Gilbert Flores/ WWD

Polished alternatives abound, too, like Natalie Portman’s tie-front floral top paired with a short skirt to promote her upcoming series “Lady in the Lake.”

Credit: SAG AFTRA for Getty

Retailers have reported a significant surge in interest surrounding this twofer trend. Online platforms such as Moda Operandi, Net-a-Porter, Nordstrom, and Revolve have all elevated matching sets as searchable categories on their e-commerce sites. Similar to this summer’s rise of boxer shorts as pants, matching sets often possess a lounge-y quality due to their easy-going nature and travel-friendly styling, yet they also cater to a variety of occasions. Brands are providing a wide array of matching sets suitable for office meetings, weekend outings, and beyond.

“Year after year, we’ve observed a growing trend in matching sets, with 2024 marking our highest sales in this category,” noted Divya Mathur, chief merchandising officer at Revolve, in a conversation with Women's Wear Daily. The site’s shopping data indicates that matching sets are among the top-visited categories in terms of both traffic and revenue. “Leveraging our AI-powered site merchandising capabilities, we were able to respond to customer interest by offering highly curated assortments within matching sets. Customers can now shop sets tailored for vacation, everyday, night out, special occasion, work, and bestsellers. This level of curation has significantly boosted conversions across the entire category,” she explained.

In response to the rising demand, brands have broadened their offerings beyond athleisure and vacation wardrobes to include day-to-night, work-appropriate styles. Fabrications now range from poplins, linens, and tweeds to crochets and sheers. Mathur attributes the sustained popularity of matching sets to their ability to “offer a complete and cohesive look without the hassle of shopping for coordinating items, making it an effortless way to explore new trends like hot shorts, monochromatic colors, or sheer dressing.”

This summer, she has witnessed the Revolve customer embracing matching sets with tweedy looks or pastel short sets—she even dubbed this summer “the season of the short.” “No matter the length, it’s all about a short set in linen, crochet, or an emotionally vintage-inspired print,” she remarked. “We offer a range of sets in our Helsa collection and cannot keep them in stock despite multiple restocks. The Helsa Elvira Scalloped Cardigan and Hot Short set is the perfect way to capture the ladylike retro trend that we love, and the Helsa sheer top back to a matching maxiskirt has also been a customer favorite in pink, black, and white,” Mathur said, highlighting the collaborative brand by model Elsa Hosk.

Additional labels that perform well with matching sets on Revolve include Alexander Wang, Simkhai, Self Portrait, Zimmermann, Alexis, Fleur de Mal, L’academie, and Agua by Agua Bendita. At Bloomingdale’s, the top brands for matching sets include Farm Rio, Staud, and Aqua, according to ready-to-wear fashion director Janelle Lloyd. “Matching sets are a shortcut to looking thoughtfully pulled together with minimal effort,” she stated. “Whether you’re going for a relaxed button-down and pants set or a more polished skirt and top look, just add a chunky button earring, slick bun, and woven bag and you’re out the door.”

Images: mademois-elle.com

In New York, advanced contemporary label Veronica Beard continues to adapt its takes on the trend, with matching sets being the “cornerstone” of the 14-year-old brand. “We’ve always loved a matching set. We started the brand around the idea of a uniform—and the different uniforms that make up the cornerstone of modern women’s wardrobes. Matching sets are such an easy way to guarantee you look chic and polished, no matter what you’re doing or where you’re going. Plus, ideally, you can break the set up and wear each piece with everything else in your wardrobe. We call them a wardrobe MVP,” Miele Beard said.

Over the years, the brand’s uniform approach to sets has expanded from tailored duos to more casual options, such as the brick-red denim Anzu jacket and Elijah Patch-Pocket short. This trend also resonates across the country in Los Angeles, where Staud cofounder and creative director Sarah Staudinger has observed rising traction for matching sets over the past few seasons.

“Summer sets make it easy to pack for wherever your summer travels take you—people are looking to bring less yet still have more outfit options, so it’s a no-brainer that the trend has really taken off. People are looking for easy ways to build their wardrobe that are still thoughtful and elevated; a set is the simplest way to do that because it can be worn in so many different ways,” Staudinger shared.

Within the “Summer of Staud” offering, Staudinger recommends her timeless chino sets for summer travel, like the white Dover top with the London skirt or moss-green Deck anorak over the Luca pant. “Pack those four pieces and interchange between them for a variety of looks,” she suggested regarding the carry-on-friendly duos.

The matching sets trend transcends cultural boundaries, resonating in both Eastern and Western fashion. The practicality and ease of coordinated outfits appeal universally, whether in the form of a relaxed kurta set in South Asia or a chic two-piece suit in Western fashion.

Brand: East Line

Matching sets allow individuals to express their style without the stress of complicated combinations, making them a perfect choice for a variety of occasions, from casual brunches to formal gatherings.