It's just all two much to take in whenever people get chatting to Geeta and Malissa Vaiwala.
Wherever this elegant pair go, they are asked if they’re twins...
Well, not exactly twins, Geeta and Malissa tell admirers.
“Oh, so you must be sisters then?”
That’s usually the point in the conversation when the pair burst into laughter as they wait for dropping jaws.
Because there are 25 years between them – and Geeta is Malissa’s mum.
“Getting mistaken for someone in their 20s never gets wearing,” says Geeta, who is an incredible 45. “I’m pretty sure anyone in their 40s would love to be told they look half their age.
“Funny thing is, I can see we are similar, but I honestly don’t think I look that young. I take care of myself, but I never compete with Malissa. It’s just nice to receive compliments.”
Malissa, a 20-year-old student, chips in: “Some people might think it’s embarrassing to be compared to their mum – and when 18, I wasn’t overly keen.
“But now I love that we are mistaken for sisters, it’s just a bit of fun.”
As they pose for our photographer, Geeta tells how their tastes in fashion are also so similar they share wardrobes.
And they never tire of people falling for their sister act. “It’s fun confusing people,” says Geeta. “We’ve gone along with it a couple of times, pretending we’re sisters while talking to someone.
“Then we’ve told them the truth at the end of the night – and the looks on their faces when they realise I’m Malissa’s mother are priceless.
“I remember we were on holiday in Portugal once and booked a trip on a catamaran. As we sat down, someone turned around and said, ‘You two sisters look so alike’. I replied, ‘We’re mother and daughter’ and everyone turned around to look at us. We all ended up talking about it for the whole boat trip.
“But when we’re abroad, both wearing shorts and little tops, we do look even more alike. Once on a night out we were both in short dresses when someone referred to us as twins. We burst out laughing. We were both wearing winged eyeliner, which I think made us look even more similar than usual.”
Dressing the same gives them a kick, but they are still mistaken for sisters when their outfits are different.
Recalling a Mother’s Day two years back, Geeta says: “Malissa had booked a table at a restaurant and the woman at the desk said, ‘Is it just the two of you? Is your mum coming?’ I said, ‘I am her mum.’
“I don’t really dress my age, which is probably why I look younger than I am. She thought we were sisters.”
Geeta says she’s often asked about the secret of her youthful looks. “I wish I had one to share,” she says.
“But I just swear by moisturising and going to the gym three or four times a week. I’m lucky I have good genes. My dad’s in his 70s but looks 50.”
Facilities manager Geeta, of Manchester, has been a single mum since 2005, after splitting from Malissa’s father. “When she was little, she looked just like her dad,” she says.
“But at 16 and verging on adulthood she started to look more like me.
“She was starting to care about her appearance, wearing make-up and styling her hair, and suddenly we looked the same.”
The duo love nothing more than going shopping together – knowing that with Geeta being 5ft 3in and a size 8, and Malissa 5ft 4in and a size 6 – they can swap whatever they buy.
Malissa says: “We tend to favour the same style of clothes, but we’ll avoid buying the exact same, as that seems like a waste of money.
“Instead, we buy similar but in different colours or slightly different styles so we can share wardrobes and always have something new to wear.”
Geeta adds: “When Malissa is away at university, I look forward to seeing her, not just because I miss her but it means I usually have a whole new wardrobe of clothes to choose from.”
She recalls one wardrobe match-up when they both HAD to look identical.
“We wore the same outfits, floral-print Karen Millen dresses, to a party with a twins theme,” she says.
“We both wore our hair down, with the same eye make-up and lipstick, and that was it – we looked like twins. It was great getting such a good reaction. There were many twosomes who had gone to such huge efforts, but all we’d had to do was wear the same dress.”
Aside from clothes, their personalities are similar too. “I’m more of an extrovert,” Geeta says. “But we have the same opinions, the same sense of humour, but thankfully we don’t share the same taste in men.” Malissa even gives her mum relationship advice. Geeta says: “Once, she told me a man I was dating was no good, he was bad news
and she didn’t like him. I sent him packing that day.”
Malissa, who is studying psychology, says men her age fancy her mum. “When they start chatting her up, it gets a bit weird,” she says. “There are times I’ve had to interrupt the conversation to say, ‘Er, that’s my mum you know – she’s 45’.
“They never believe it. And that’s what makes our nights out so hilarious. I love clubbing with my mum. It really does feel like I’m hanging out with a sister or best friend.
“When she started coming out with me and my friends, they loved having her there. She’s great fun, but when on a night out with a group now, Mum always leaves by 1am.
“She can’t hack the late nights any more. But she’s amazing –like my mum, sister and best friend all rolled into one.”
