Crazy Mixed Up Style
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Pattern clashing...does the mere mention of this fashion no-no make you cringe? We used to be like you, faithful fashion law abiding citizens, but recently we’ve loosened the reins and loosened up on our strict rules regarding style. Pattern clashing or shall we say pattern mixing (much nicer don’t you think?) is a trend that we saw a lot of this year. We saw models, actresses and even designers rocking this style and no it wasn’t just polka dots, plaid and stripes, turns out there is a lot more flexibility when it comes to mixing patterns.
You all may be new to pattern clashing but we’ve had a head start so we’re going to share some tips that guided us in the beginning. For one, it's easy and you can never go wrong if you stick to the same family of prints. For example, you want to style a checkered jacket with another pattern. The easiest pattern to mix would be a check sweater of a different check size and color layered with an additional checkered pant of another color. Here, you are mixing multiple patterns but because they are the same style print, it’s not only easy to do, but it's chic as well. Another example would be floral prints, they’re endless and you can play with different flowers, colors, textures and sizes to create a carefully crafted chaotic look, and we mean that in the most flattering way.
Our next tip is easy to remember and easy to recreate with your own wardrobe. Sticking to the same colors throughout the outfit can make combining prints and patterns extremely effortless. Perhaps your chosen colors are black and white, maybe you have an abundance of these colors and you want to utilize them in a creative way, well pattern clashing here is going to help you achieve just that. For example, using the colors gray and white you can have free reign over the creation of your outfit because using these colors will be the golden thread keeping the outfit from becoming too tumultuous. Think of it this way, it's just like with the print rule previously mentioned, except its with color. They are your guiding light through this often complicated trend.
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If these two simple rules are still not making any sense or you’re still a bit shaky on the whole pattern clashing agenda then this next tip is for you. Start small. What we mean is start by using your accessories to mix and match. Imagine an outfit that you would wear and everything matches perfectly. Perhaps it's a beige trench coat, leather loafers, black pants and cream sweater. Now, lets try pattern mixing by adding a mini leopard print fur bag with a silk, larger leopard print neck scarf. See? Was that so bad? By using two prints that vary in size and accessory but are similar in style, we’ve added a punch to our look without fully committing to an outfit dedicated to pattern clashing.
Now we wouldn’t just send you off empty handed without any of our recommendations on some of our favorite pieces would we? No, of course not. We want to share with you some inspirational items that can serve as a jumping off point to create your own looks based on some of these fun patterned pieces. To begin we are loving the “cow” print, especially these Steven New York Fannie Block Heel Mules that come in a subtle caramel brown shade. The block heel and pointed toe are a modern take on this print that doesn’t make these shoes feel so western but more Carrie Bradshaw.
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Our next accessory is a snakeskin face mask from Modern American. We love that face masks have become another opportunity for us to accessorize our outfits and to stand out. This black and white snakeskin print mask would go well with any dual tone, black and white pattern outfit you may throw together or if snakeskin was your inspiration for a print clasher then this mask would be a perfect fit. Finally, did you like what we mentioned earlier about the leopard accent accessories? We thought you did, so our last recommendation is a Madewell Literal Leopard Print Scarf, and it's the perfect accessory for those who want to take it slow with this whole pattern clashing thing.
So, you have our recommendations and you have our permission. Now it's up to you to decide whether to clash or not to clash, to mix or to match? Deciding is the hard part and the styling is easy, especially when you don’t have to worry about clashing ever again. Enjoy!
xo
SS
Feature Image: Jacquemus
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