When a friend of mine once asked me ‘I’d really get a pair of bold animal print leggings, but what would I wear them with?‘, and I told her: ’Well, animal print looks amazing mixed with animal print, and also black and white stripes.', you do not wanna know the look she gave me.
And really, until a few years ago mixing prints was a massive faux-pas, as were unmatched shoes-bags-belts a century ago, and people really get stuck on what’s comfortable and easy to do, rather than explore a domain – fashion – that they really do find unappealing.
By now though, pretty much every human being who’s wearing clothes knows that (1) rules are obsolete to a certain extent, and (2) mixing prints is a definite do in fashion. More so, it’s the embodiment of sophistication, ultimate luxe, and trendy coolness. Mixed-prints looks translate into fabulous styles and outfits in any season, for any occasion. Especially office wear. How so, you might ask?
Instead of wearing a two-toned or one toned outfit to work, putting on mixed prints in a pencil skirt and blouse is an instant style re-make, making you appear so very chic, fun, yet professional still. Nevertheless… mixing prints, as chaotic as it may come across is one trend that actually comes with a tiny guide, in order to nail this look to its very core.
1. Mix & match prints according to colors and textures, not the prints themselves. It’s more about the overall image and strong visuals than getting it right, so forget about everything you knew in fashion, and think about your outfit as a dazzling crazy puzzle that needs to be put together. A painting that makes no sense, if you will, but looks fabulous.
2. Different textures, but mix on the same color palette (different patterns of slightly same colors).
3. If you’re wearing similar textures you can do different colors and prints, those bold styles at Fashion Week for example (skirt in one print, blouse in another and jacket in a totally different one).
4. Stripes are the easiest to mix, as they’re the basic definition of a print, which makes them super versatile against any other. They look amazing mixed with:
- florals
- tropicals
- dots
- different stripes
- checks
- graphic
- animal prints
5. Florals are definitely the most common print in summer, but don’t do it like everyone else, paired with white pants, or black top, or denim. Instead have fun with it. They look great mixed with:
- other floral prints (remember: same colors, or same textures)
- tropical (tricky, but do-able if they’re in the same color palette)
- stripes
- graphic
- black & white
- dots
6. Animal print. The infamous animal print some love and some hate, is actually a pretty basic print that goes great with most of its siblings:
- other animal prints
- stripes
- checks
- florals (this is pretty tricky, but I’ve seen it done and it’s worth tones of tries until you get it right)
7. Checks – though a lot more worn in the cold season, they have that classic vibe to them, which can easily turn into glam grunge, and paired with a different pattern they look very eclectic.
- different checks
- stripes
- dots
If you’re doing them – kudos to you, and don’t stop!If you’re hesitant, the only tip you have to remember is to have fun with them, and if the overall outfit looks great, wear it! It’s about making a very sophisticated fun & bold fashion statement. And once you get the hang of it, you can forget all the above rules and do your own thing.
