I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: patterns are for mixing. Who can choose between stripes, plaids, dots, florals or graphics? They are all far too fun and playful to sit in your dresser unworn. So why not bring them out to play together in one outfit? You’ll feel like a fashion rebel breaking all the rules… and being rewarded for it.
This week’s Fashionista provides a perfect lesson plan for teaching reluctant pattern-mixers how to start channeling their inner clash vixen. She starts her outfit with a simple base — leggings, a military-inspired vest, and an Urban Outfitters plaid shirt, adding her first pattern to the look. But the other patterns in her outfit come in little eye-catching pops through her accessories choices: a cozy scarf with a subtle stripe and a peek of polka dot above the line of her boots. I think that having socks peek out from the top of shoes is hands-down my favorite way to add a surprise pattern or color to an outfit —Madewell has the best collection right now, like this red and navy dotted pair.
So now you have your new fashion mandate: pops of pattern for a mismatched look. Try adding a snippet of graphic print with this Anthropologie scarf or a hint of floral with these Urban Outfitters sunglasses. You can add a thick stripe with a bag from Madewell and top it all off with a tribal print straw fedora from Forever 21. Soon you’ll have four different patterns in a single outfit and I will be beaming with pride. Because that’s really why you get dressed in the morning, isn’t it? I thought so!