Why don't we see other people wearing the same clothes more often?

[pahwa]

it doesn’t seems to make sense.

In my college or anywhere else I go, don’t see anybody wearing the same clothes or accessories as me.

clothes designs are produced in mass, and I feel as if I should see other people wearing same clothes as mine.

it’s almost as if they have been personalised to an individual.

 

[DaveC426913]

So do some math.
How many different designs of clothes are there?
How many combinations?
How many people do you encounter in typical day?

And by the way, it does happen.

Do a Google image search for 'strangers wearing same outfit'.

 

[PeroK]

it doesn’t seems to make sense.

In my college or anywhere else I go, don’t see anybody wearing the same clothes or accessories as me.

clothes designs are produced in mass, and I feel as if I should see other people wearing same clothes as mine.

it’s almost as if they have been personalised to an individual.

I noticed this with caravans. Every caravan on the road is a different make or model. It's extraordinary!

 

[jedishrfu]

It happens frequently on old TV shows like Bonanza.

They did it to make scenes interchangeable and reusable between episodes throughout the series' run.

People favor different colors, styles, and designs. There is enough variety to make each person somewhat unique.

To get a perspective on it, consider the 20 people in a room and the fact that there is a 50% chance that two of them will have the same birthday. You think of those 20 people on a bus with 365 choices of clothing and accessories.

It is a very counterintuitive result but easily derived.

https://betterexplained.com/articles/understanding-the-birthday-paradox/

 

[PeroK]

It happens frequently on old TV shows like Bonanza.

They did it to make scenes interchangeable and reusable between episodes throughout the series' run.

People favor different colors, styles, and designs. There is enough variety to make each person somewhat unique.

To get a perspective on it, consider the 20 people in a room and the fact that there is a 50% chance that two of them will have the same birthday. You think of those 20 people on a bus with 365 choices of clothing and accessories.

It is a very counterintuitive result but easily derived.

https://betterexplained.com/articles/understanding-the-birthday-paradox/

This is the wrong argument. This suggests that in a class of 23, you should find two who are identically dressed. Which, typically you don't. The implication is that there are at least thousands, rather than hundreds, of clothing options.

 

[fresh_42]

it doesn’t seems to make sense.

In my college or anywhere else I go, don’t see anybody wearing the same clothes or accessories as me.

clothes designs are produced in mass, and I feel as if I should see other people wearing same clothes as mine.

it’s almost as if they have been personalised to an individual.

You haven't looked at the passengers on a Monday morning flight FRA - LHR.

 

[jedishrfu]

This is the wrong argument. This suggests that in a class of 23, you should find two who are identically dressed. Which, typically you don't. The implication is that there are at least thousands, rather than hundreds, of clothing options.

My illustration was the remarkable result of 50% given only 365 choices of clothes.

Of course there's thousands but for guys there are a lot less choices and to imagine that there are more box stores selling the same style vs boutiques. Also guys don't like to show too much variety. Steve Jobs liked wearing dark turtleneck shirts and jeans everyday.

Also considering business attire, there's a lot less choices for women than for formal or casual attire.

I was suggesting a method for making assumptions on the choices and figuring out the percentage.

The other point is the psychological notion that people may wear matching shirt and pants that are similar in color and style to fool the eye into thinking they are the same.

 

[russ_watters]

I have a set of flannel bed sheets I've seen repeatedly as clothes, at least in ads and on tv. Robes, pj's mostly.

Also, there was a guy at my gym who sometimes wore the same Star Wars shirt we got at Kohls.

But think about how many people you come into close enough contact with per day to notice their clothes. 10? 100? Depending on context, a single store might have a thousand options, there are hundreds of stores and they change stock about annually*. There may be literally 10 million different shirts, 1 million of which you might see at your gym, and 100 people each with 10 shirts that you regularly see at your gym. Odds could really be 100-1 against seeing the same shirt you are wearing.

*I have a 10 year old polo on its last legs and just found a near identical replacement. It looks like exactly the same pattern but with a blue collar instead of maroon.

 

[Baluncore]

There is enough variety to make each person somewhat unique.

The clothing variety has been increased subconsciously by the wearers, to prevent too many coincidences forming. Evolution is at work, creating variation.

The alternative is to have a uniform, or a national/tribal dress code.

 

[jbriggs444]

The clothing variety has been increased subconsciously by the wearers

I want to have 7 identical T-shirts so that I do not have to pick and choose. Right now I favor the two that read:

Define
"Adult"

 

[Baluncore]

I have taken to referring to adults as "grown ups", as if the adults I am speaking to are children.