In a season that’s very much about PRINTS and how to wear them, it’s very difficult for someone like myself, a self-proclaimed non-print wearer in the past to write to this very important trend. So, I relied on some help from my print-savvy friends, Julie and Alyssa, to make it all register in my very solid-colored brain! It was also through my avid following of Neiman Marcus, Fashion Guru, Ken Downing, that I turned to for even more education on just the right way to wear prints this season and that way, says Mr. Downing, is by mixing them all up. Prints with Prints as a wardrobe essential this season, I feel to be an art, not a science but in my self-taught tutorials, learned many tips from the “print experts” on just the right way to pull off this very special style.
I must admit that as a long-time fashion person, I have had to do this in my career and/or for clients, so it’s not a totally foreign technique to me, just one that I found difficult to articulate. For this I turned to other “experts” in my field….let’s just say I found myself a little out of my comfort zone. Reality is that there are some very specific guidelines to follow to lead you down the path to some great looking, print style! Allow me to share some of these tips with you here.
Tips to Mixing Prints
1. Always safe to start with prints that are all within the same color family, such as the black & white examples below.
2. Another clever approach is to invert colors; black ground with white prints worn with white ground with black print for instance.
3. Play with size and scale; large prints work well with smaller ones
4. If using a fine print, good idea to make it the bottom print and the larger one on top
5. One print should be the dominant one and the other or others use as an accent
6. When in doubt and desire to mix it up, you can always add stripes and/or polka dots to work off of prints; stripes have become a print basic; very popular this season and a print many of you find easy to wear!?!
7. My last tip, is my Lucky 7th one….when a novice at print mixing, always safe to add some solid touches; a great black bottom (pant or skirt) or white for Spring/Summer can tone it down a notch; You can even make the solid your accessory in either your shoe, handbag or wrap
Have fun mixing it up for Spring/Summer with lots of great prints! Enjoy!
photos via Pinterest
Shop below some fabulous prints you can mix and match!
