Nancy and Donald Featherstone have been wearing matching outfits for almost as long as they’ve been married.
Each matching pair of outfits is handmade by Nancy, who began the practice early in the couple’s marriage. As Nancy’s tailoring skills improved over the years, the outfits became more elaborate. The couple’s coordinated clothes now fill four wardrobes. A special closet contains 40 outfits made of flamingo fabric—an appropriate pattern as Donald Featherstone is the inventor of the pink lawn flamingo.
Nancy said "When I met Donald, he always wore a suit and tie. He had a very formal upbringing and refused to take off his jacket, so when he came to visit one hot and humid summer, I thought he was going to melt. I came up with a plan: I made him a short-sleeved shirt as a gift, knowing he'd wear it so as not to hurt my feelings. It worked, and after we married I carried on making his shirts.
The man at the fabric shop was always very generous when he cut my fabric, so, after checking Donald didn't mind, I would make myself a matching blouse with the leftovers. It was fun going out in coordinating shirts – in high school in the US, it means you're "going steady", which was a giggle to us, since we were married. We got lots of compliments and people who would normally just walk on by stopped to talk to us. We enjoyed the attention and we also enjoyed how we looked."
I think it is an amazing coincidence they found each other. Two people sharing a passion for hideous fabric patterns.
