情侣装：中国有情人的示爱方式

Wu Zhuan and Zong Yinghong don't wear wedding rings, nor do they hold hands or kiss in public. Instead, it is their matching turquoise shirts decorated with yellow and black hearts that signal that they are man and wife.

　　The newlyweds plan weekend outings-wearing matching gray hoodies, striped sweatshirts or a set of purple pig shirts-to window shop and gin up glances in places like Wangfujing, Beijing's version of Times Square.

　　'We want everyone to envy us,' said Mr. Wu, a 32-year-old forestry and conservation consultant, sitting next to his identically dressed spouse.

　　Mr. Wu and Ms. Zong have stiff competition on their weekend jaunts. In a single hour on a recent Saturday afternoon, eight couples could be spotted walking down Beijing's hip shopping street Nanluoguxiang wearing either identical or matching outfits-black shirts with yellow hearts and smiley faces on them, or a skirt paired with a polo shirt of the same stripes.

　　One such couple, Jin Ying and He Yukun-wearing a blue-and-white-striped dress-shirt combo-said the first time they dressed alike was like a pledge to one another, an admission of feelings they hadn't fully expressed before.

　　In a country where matchmaking has traditionally meant little or no input from the young people involved, couples are wresting back control. As courtship gets redefined, one byproduct is a fashion trend that would make most high-end designers cringe.

　　A search for matching couple clothing-known as qing lü zhuang-on China's biggest e-commerce site Taobao, offers more than three million results from online stores that have launched to meet the high demand. In roughly the last year, searches for the clothing have increased by 57%, according to Alibaba Group, Taobao's parent.

　　The phenomenon has its versions in the West-say, portraits of families sporting matching Christmas sweaters. A move toward his and her clothing failed years ago. In China, though, the trend provides a framework for romance, something that hasn't always been the primary factor in a relationship.

　　For hundreds of years, parents and grandparents parsed out family trees, calculated dowries and read astrology charts to arrange marriages. And even in recent years, many matches have sprung from a plan for a better material life, the promise that a combined income could afford a new home and maybe even a BMW.

　　Ms. Zong, a 31-year-old accountant in Beijing, said she chose to marry Mr. Wu, whom she first met in 2007, because he makes her laugh. Mr. Wu said it was Ms. Zong's gentle nature that won him over. 'I would call her just to hear her voice,' he said.

　　Ms. Zong says her parents, farmers who grow corn and beans in China's northeastern Jilin province, sometimes wear similar colors-gray and black-and old Mao-inspired jackets from years past, though that is less an expression of affection than an old remnant. She could never imagine them deliberately wearing matching shirts as symbols of love, she said.

　　'The first time they met was on their wedding day,' Ms. Zong said. 'Surely they love one another, but our love is different,' she said.

　　For Mr. Wu and Ms. Zong, their coordinated-fashion debut wasn't long after they started dating. 'It made us official,' said Mr. Wu.

　　Sun Peidong, an associate professor at Shanghai's Fudan University, says the phenomenon reflects an increasingly materialistic society that is obsessed with logos and labels. People want BMWs to show they are rich; now they want matching-couples labeling to show they are in relationships, said Ms. Sun. And ultimately, matching duds is a way for people to feel secure, she said.

　　Bai Zhengping, just six months into a relationship, asked his girlfriend Ma Xin to accompany him on a shopping trip to buy twin Superman shirts. 'I felt proud, like I was saying, 'She's mine,' ' said Mr. Bai. 'I just wanted everyone to know,' he said, noting they have been together now for two years. She smiled and said, 'I was so happy he asked.'

　　Clothing designer Zhou Yougen launched online in 2011 his couples label Fei Chen, whose tagline says, 'Listen to the heart, the beating of one another.' He said the fashion category has evolved from mere matching T-shirts to trendy dresses and shirts that complement one another. Best-sellers like a yellow and blue cotton dress with accompanying boyfriend knit shirt helped Mr. Zhou's 2012 revenue reach 800,000 yuan, roughly $130,000, increasing 15 times from a year earlier, he said.

　　Mr. Zhou, who is 40 and sometimes pairs his outfits with his wife's, said the segment has so much potential that he is toying with the idea of designing more mature outfits for older couples, or for entire families.

　　Couples have the option of buying identical shirt sets or outfits that play off one another. For example, on the couples section of the site Wholesale7.net, 'Spring Lovers' shirts feature two separate heart halves and a disjointed message that is only readable when seen as a set: 'Let Love...Create Miracle.' The company says sales of its matching couple shirts jumped 30% last year.

　　Major brands have taken notice, pushing the fashion statement to new levels with his-and-hers underwear. PVH Corp., parent of Calvin Klein, creates sets sold especially for Asia. Calvin Klein also stocks matching pajamas in China.

　　Not everyone is immediately won over by the trend. Zhi Yingli, a 21-year-old student in Beijing, said she was mortified when her ex-boyfriend wanted them to flaunt identical clothes. 'It's like you're parading your most private feelings,' she said. After some months, it grew on her, she said.

　　But since they broke up, Ms. Zhi won't wear any of the half-set of the clothes she still has in her closet. 'Maybe only if I haven't done laundry for weeks,' she said.

　　Meanwhile, Mr. Wu and Ms. Zong say they hope to be dressing alike for years to come and plan to expand their matching wardrobes. Ms. Zong said they are preparing for winter and are even considering buying special mittens, consisting of one mitten for him and one for her and a muff in the middle so the couple can stay warm without ever having to let go of each other's hands.

　　吴专和宗银红都不戴婚戒，也不会在公共场合牵手或亲吻，他们彰显夫妻关系的方式是穿着印有黄色和黑色心形图案的蓝绿色情侣衫。

　　这对新婚夫妇周末通常到类似王府井的地方，身穿灰色情侣帽衫，或者条纹情侣运动衫，亦或是紫色的印有小猪图案的情侣衫，逛街和吸引人们的目光。王府井常被称作北京的时报广场(Times Square)。

　　32岁的林业和保育顾问吴专坐在与他穿着同样衣服的妻子旁边说，我们觉得别人看着我们羡慕的眼光感觉很舒服。

　　情侣衫：中国式恩爱秀像吴专和宗银红这样喜欢在周末穿着情侣装来吸引眼球的人不在少数。在近期一个周六的下午，仅在一小时内，就有八对穿着情侣装的情侣或夫妇走过南锣鼓巷。他们有的穿着黄色心形图案和笑脸的黑色情侣衫，有的穿着印有同样条纹图案的连衣裙和Polo衫。

　　金莹和何禹坤就是其中一对，他们分别身穿有同样蓝白条纹的连衣裙和衬衫。他们说，他们第一次穿情侣装时就像给了对方一个承诺，表达了他们过去没有完全表达出来的情感。

　　在这样一个有着包办婚姻传统的国家，情侣们正重新夺回主动权。随着示爱的行为得以重新界定，一个派生的影响便是形成了一股时尚趋势，而多数高端设计师将不得不迎合这样的趋势。

　　在中国最大的电子商务网站淘宝网(Taobao)上搜索情侣装，可以从诸多网店中得到超过300万个结果。这些网店都在努力满足这个需求。据淘宝网的母公司阿里巴巴集团(Alibaba Group)说，在过去的一年左右的时间里，情侣装的搜索量增长了57%。

　　西方也有类似的现象。比如说，西方家庭的成员会穿同款 诞服装在一起拍照。数年前，情侣装未能成为潮流。但在中国，这股趋势带来了一种浪漫感，而过去浪漫在情侣或夫妻关系中并不总是一个重要的因素。

　　几百年来，父母和祖父母通过检查家谱、嫁妆和算命来安排婚姻。即便是在近些年，一些人能走到一起也是因为这样可以带来更好的物质生活，意味着两人的收入加在一起可以买套新房子，甚至再买辆宝马车。

　　金莹和何禹坤现年31岁的宗银红是名会计，住在北京，她在2007年第一次见到吴专。她说，选择嫁给吴专是因为他能让她开怀大笑。吴专说，宗银红温柔的气质让他心动。他说，我会就为了听她的声音给她打电话。

　　宗银红的父母都是农民，在吉林省种玉米和大豆。她说，她的父母有时会穿颜色类似的外套，这些外套属于毛泽东时代那种黑灰颜色的衣服。但她说，这并不是表达感情的方式，而是一种旧有的习惯。她无法想象父母会故意穿上情侣装，以此作为爱的象征。

　　宗银红说，他们两个人第一次见面是在他们自己的婚礼上，他们当然爱对方，不过我们的爱情跟他们不一样。

　　对于吴专和宗银红来说，两个人从开始约会不久就穿着情侣装上街了。吴专说，她送给我，我才发现这是一个正式的的事情。

　　复旦大学副教授孙沛东说，穿情侣装的现象折射出一个痴迷于品牌和标签、越来越物质化的社会。她说，人们希望开宝马来显示自己的富有;现在又希望穿着情侣装来显示自己不是单身;归根到底，穿情侣装还是为了满足人们的安全感。

　　白郑平在与现任女友马鑫刚谈了六个月恋爱的时候，就让马鑫陪着自己去买两件“超人”T恤。白郑平说，当时我觉得骄傲，就好比是在说“她是我的人”了。他说，我当时就是想让所有人知道。白郑平说自己与马鑫已经在一起两年了。马鑫则笑着说，他当时开口的时候我好开心。

　　2011年，服装设计师周友根在网站推出了他的情侣装品牌“飞辰”，品牌标语这样写道：用心聆听，彼此的心跳。周友根说，情侣装已经从图案一样的T恤衫发展到了互相搭配的时尚裙装与衬衫。飞辰最为畅销的款式包括黄蓝棉布装以及与其搭配的男士针织衬衫。这些畅销产品使得周友根在2012年的收入达到人民币80万元，是2011年的15倍。

　　现年40岁的周友根有时也会搭配着妻子的着装来穿衣服，他说情侣装领域有很大的潜力，他自己还在考虑给年纪大一些的情侣设计更成熟的衣服，或为全家人设计服装。

　　情侣们可以选择购买图案或文字相得益彰的同款情侣衬衫或情侣装。比如，网站Wholesale7.net的情侣产品区，“春天爱人”(Spring Lovers)情侣衬衫各有半颗心，两件衬衫上的文字连在一起是“让爱……创造奇迹”。该公司说，情侣衬衫的销售额去年增长了30%。

　　主要品牌注意到了这一潮流，用情侣内衣将时尚宣言推到新的高度。Calvin Klein的母公司PVH Corp.生产专门在亚洲销售的情侣内衣。该公司还在中国销售情侣睡衣。

　　并非每个人都立即被这一潮流赢得了芳心。北京21岁的学生支英丽(音)说，当她的前男友想和她穿情侣装时，她觉得很窘。她说，就像展示你的最深的情感。不过她说，几个月后她就对情侣装爱不释手了。

　　但由于他们已经分手了，支英丽不会再穿她衣橱里仍留着的情侣装。她说，或许只有在几个星期没洗衣服的时候才会穿。

　　与此同时，吴专和宗银红说，他们希望今后继续穿情侣装，并计划扩大他们的情侣装储备。宗银红说，他们正在为冬天做准备，他们甚至考虑购买情侣手套，一只手套给他，一只手套给她，两只手套用一个暖手筒相连，这样两人就可以不必放开对方的手而保持手暖暖的了。