His ‘n’ hers fashion tends to divide opinion – is it cute? Tacky? Romantic? Nauseating? Some couples relish the chance to wear matching ensembles, while others prefer to have a completely separate fashion identity to their partner’s.

From Pulp’s 1994 album His ‘n’ Hers to the (often ill-advised) his ‘n’ hers tattoos favored by many celebrities, couples have long embraced the idea of ‘partner culture,’ whether through accessories, lifestyle gadgets or fashion.

Some fashion labels offer similar, but gender-specific outfits, so both you and your other half can look (almost) identical, while other labels offer styles that can be mixed ‘n’ matched between you and your partner, should you want to fully embrace the androgynous trend – this is best illustrated by the boyfriend-fit jeans, cardigans and blazers that filled the fashion last year.

It seems that the stars and their partners have been spotted wearing his ‘n’ hers outfits quite a lot in recent months – so, could 2012 be the year of synchronized styling?

Kate Winslet and new boyfriend Ned Rocknroll were spotted recently at LAX airport, both wearing jeans, black tops, grey jackets, brown boots and matching necklaces. Meanwhile, Rooney Mara, star of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and her boyfriend Charlie McDowell hit the Beverly Hills shops recently in similar black ensembles: dark coloured jeans, black tops and dark shoes to match.

Late last year, Elizabeth Hurley and partner Shane Warne paraded their matching styles at New York’s JFK airport. And Jennifer Aniston and her new boyfriend, Justin Theroux, have been known to embrace the joys of matching fashions: both were seen several times last year sporting near-identical looks: jeans, black tops and leather jackets teamed with his ‘n’ hers sunglasses.

For your own foray into his ‘n’ hers fashion, make sure you check out the latest collection from Ted Baker - the brand specializes in mix and match fashion and accessories for both sexes, with everything from stone-set watches to skinny jeans.

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This is a post sponsored by an SF Indie Fashion advertising partner. We love our sponsors and hope you will, too. They make it possible for us to keep bringing you news and features about San Francisco’s independent fashion community, designers and upcoming events.

This week’s sponsor love: We go independent and local as often as possible, especially for special pieces and standout items that really make our wardrobe what it is. But everyone needs core items. Like the shoes you wear everyday. And for guys, it’s often the versatile, go-everywhere pairs that usually win out.

And then there’s the practicality factor. No matter how much you like to shop or how much flair you wear, a basic shoe packing go-with-anything character is something you’ll wear again and again and for tons of different occasions (which, we’d like to point out, saves you money, of course, to spend more on locally-made items from independent designers).

If there’s one style that holds the monopoly on practical and versatile in the men’s shoe landscape, it’s got to be the classic men’s oxford. Luckily, while it’s a classic style, it’s also got serious range. For a big selection of men’s oxfords and lace up shoes that range from boardroom-dressy to out-on-the-town sleek pairs with lizard skin and two-tone styling on down to rugged walkers perfect for weekends, Macy’s offers plenty of options at a variety of price points from brands such as Ecco, Johnston & Murphy, Stacy Adams, Cole Haan and Kenneth Cole.

As for our faves, we’re digging the Cole Haan Air Colton Plain Toe Oxford ($198) for its slick taupe upper and contrast laces, as well as the promise of Nike Air technology in the heel. The Stacy Adams Rafferty Oxfords in brown and cognac ($62.99) have a retro appeal we’d like to pair with a cold shaker full of cocktails on a Friday night, while Lounge by Mark Nason Vallejo Lace Up Oxfords ($96.99) in brown strike us as a great option for anyone whose kicks need to go from the airport to the office to the bar and back again.

Should you find yourself in the market for a new pair of men’s shoes, many in Macy’s online store are on sale at the moment, with more than a few options under the $100 mark.

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This post sponsored by Macy’s. We love our sponsors and hope you will, too. They make it possible for us to keep bringing you news and features about San Francisco’s independent fashion community, designers and upcoming events.

As you well know, we at SF Indie Fashion love us some vintage. And a you-won’t-see-it-everywhere-else aesthetic is only part of the romance. There are many more reasons to shop vintage these days – for yourself or someone else. Our friends at Ubokia recently gave us five good ones, and we thought we’d share.

Reasons your next handbag should be vintage:

1.    Save money. This one’s obvious, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important. A well-made handbag will last for years. When you buy a quality vintage handbag, you’re getting all the benefits of new at a fraction of the price.

2.    Greener. Handbags take a lot of resources – just think of all the raw materials that go into making a new bag, not to mention all the chemicals and dyes used to treat the leather or fabric. But when you buy vintage, you’re giving new life to old materials rather than contributing to the extraction of new ones. It’s a zero-footprint way to be fashionable.

3.    Vintage is in. Need we say more?

4.    Built-in character. While the new-handbag smell is nice, a vintage one has character and a story to tell. If you don’t know the story behind your handbag, make one up. When someone asks you where you got your gorgeous handbag, it’s way better than saying, “At the mall.”

5.    Make money. Like we said in #1, a well-made handbag will last for years. That means that only can you save money by buying vintage, you can also make money by selling it to someone else when you’re done. It’s a virtuous cycle, really. Buy a new-to-you bag, love it, sell it, rinse, repeat.

This post is brought to you by Ubokia, the place to buy, sell, trade and borrow gently used handbags and other fashion accessories. Be sure to check out their Perfect Handbag Giveaway, too!

To enter, create a free Ubokia account and post a Want for a handbag. That’s it! You’ll be automatically entered to win a handbag of your choice, up to $500. The winners will be announced on December 21, 2011.

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This post sponsored by Ubokia. We love our sponsors and hope you will, too. They make it possible for us to keep bringing you San Francisco’s independent fashion news five days a week.

Opening this weekend in San Francisco is STOREFRONT: Holiday Pop-Up brought to you by DNA (designers+artists) and Free Gold Watch. This free-to-attend event showcases local designers, designer vintage, art and great gifts in one sweet spot.

Here’s what you need to know:

When

Opening weekend: December 3rd & 4th
Hours of Operation: Saturday 12-6pm, Sunday 12-5pm

Where

at Free Gold Watch Studio: 1767 Waller St (xStanyan)

Why

Shop for your gift guide necessities from men’s and women’s clothing from Violet Boutique, great designer vintage, art prints, stationery, holiday dresses by Alyssa Nicole and one of a kind jewelry from Sophie Monet and best of local designers.

Get custom screen printed t-shirts done on-site by Free Gold Watch. Plus some exclusive items from DNA (the shop).

Complimentary drinks courtesy of Argo Tea and specialty cocktails by Root + Snap

Photography courtesy of Violet Boutique

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This post sponsored by DNA (designers+artists). We love our sponsors and hope you will, too. They make it possible for us to keep bringing you San Francisco’s independent fashion news five days a week.

We visited a long list of great San Francisco shops with unique items, including Ruby, Stone Pony, Mira Mira and Gravel and Gold in the Mission, Noe Valley's Shoe Biz, Ambiance and Isso, as well as Pearl in the Inner Sunset.

Earlier this month, the folks at PAPER magazine and American Express asked us to head out on a shopping mission to local, independent boutiques we love in honor of Small Business Saturday. We were only too happy to oblige. After all, small businesses are a seriously big deal to us. Read on for the details on our adventure, get inspired to visit small bizzies on Saturday and enter our $100 giveaway from American Express.

As you know, and we know you know (and we know you know we know), small businesses make our city what it is and keep our lives full of new, unique things to do, see, eat, drink, buy and give as gifts. In that spirit, we dove into a few of our favorite shops in the Mission, Noe Valley and a few other hoods to uncover cool finds from the kinds of shops that lend San Francisco its local flavor.

If you shop on Small Business Saturday, register your American Express card online in advance, then use it on a purchase of $25 or more at a business that accepts American Express, and you’ll receive a $25 statement credit on your account.

These boots from Gravel and Gold are cooler looking than UGGS and made by an artisan in Bodega Bay. And would you believe it: they're machine washable.

How's this for stylish and local: these platform wedges are by Seal of the Sutro, the brand from the owners of the local Shoe Biz shops.

The polka dot shirt dress hanging on the racks is a best-seller at Mira Mira on 22nd.

Lots of local jewelry on display at Ruby, located in the Mission.

Vintage finds at relatively reasonable prices stood out at Stone Pony in the Mission.

Accessories and jewelry were on display in the window of Inner Sunset shop Pearl.

If you’re looking for places to visit on Small Business Saturday, check out PAPER‘s San Francisco City Guide. It’s packed with cool places to visit and additional deals you’ll score only on Saturday.

Need some extra cash to shop? Don’t we all…We’re giving away $100 in American Express gift cards in honor of Small Business Saturday. To enter: do one or more of the following (each counts as one entry):

- Sign up for our newsletter (box on right)

- Tweet us @sfindiefashion with the name of your favorite San Francisco small business

- Post on our Facebook wall with the name of your favorite San Francisco small business

- Comment on this post with the name of your favorite San Francisco small business

(Notice a theme? Smart people will employ the power of copy and paste). The winner will be chosen at random this week and notified via email, Facebook or Twitter, depending on how you enter.

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This post sponsored by American Express, though all opinions expressed here are our own, of course! What does that mean? In the interest of full disclosure, we’re letting you know that American Express compensated us for this post with gift cards, but we did the legwork, took the pics and used it as a chance to showcase some of our favorite local small businesses. We love our sponsors and hope you will, too. They make it possible for us to keep bringing you San Francisco’s independent fashion news five days a week.