Harriet Walker: Why not, if your daughter has style?

The real danger of dressing like one's daughter depends on the daughter

fashion becomes a perilous landscape after "a certain age": the words "mutton" and "lamb" spring to mind, unfair and misogynistic as they both are. A recent addition to the lexicon is the catch-all phrase "age-appropriate", whether it applies to Granny in PVC hotpants or Miley Cyrus exposing a bra strap.

When it comes to mothers who dress like their daughters, the response must be: "Well, duh." Daughters dress like their mothers too, as part of an inseparable bond that starts when they first latch on to feed.

As a daughter of a chic woman myself, I find her style influences mine just as often as she quizzes me about what's currently in vogue. Many mums and daughters end up dressing identically, whether it's nature or nurture at the heart of it.

The real danger of dressing like one's daughter depends on the daughter. If we are talking lacy, gothic regalia or a velour tracksuit, "mother knows best" is better than "birds of a feather", or you run the risk of looking like Dorian from the sitcom of the same name.