How to Wear Mixed Prints and Patterns

You are here: Home » STYLIST ADVICE » How to Wear Mixed Prints and Patterns

focus on

How to Wear Mixed Prints and Patterns

Mixed prints & patterns from the Spring 2010 runways

Spring Trend How-To: Mixing prints and patterns is a top trend but how do I pull it off without looking like a lunatic escaping a fire?

I’ve been seeing reading all sorts of tips about how to mix prints but whenever I try to wear a combination of different prints, I always feel like a fashion disaster. I must look like a fashion mess as well since I feel like people look at me cockeyed.

Are there any styling tricks to combine different prints that I should know about to avoid looking like fashion victim?

Spring Trends: Print on Print at ShopBop

It’s not that difficult to wear a combination of prints if you find the similarity in each piece that you want to mix.

While sometimes the result can look more than helter-skelter, including some of the runway combinations, there should be a bit of a glue to keep it all together.

Fashion tips to wear mixed prints:

The easiest way to mix prints is to remember to combine prints with the same or very similar background color, like black or any other neutral.

Then counter balance out the scale of each print. A large floral against a tiny floral of the same colorations.

Keep to a similar theme of patterns. A safari-themed flora and fauna combination accented by a small leopard print.

Pick up a detail in the bolder allover print. This is usually a no-brainer when the designer does it for you but you can combine an all-over print with something that just has touch of it’s pattern as the focal point on a more solid article of clothing.

Use accessories to do the mixing. Pair a solid or very muted print with bolder accessories, like a scarf or patterned shoes to add some interest.

Never forget that no matter how on-trend or fashionable something may be, if you don’t feel right about wearing it, it is the making of a fashion disaster.

Sometimes it’s easier to wear mixed-prints when the designer combines it for you. Take a look:

More Thakoon…

_{Photos:catwalking}

Published on March 18, 2010

Sharon Haver

Resident fashion expert- With just about 20 years experience in the glamour industry as a New York-based photography fashion stylist, syndicated columnist, contributing editor, lecturer, on-air television/radio fashion expert, and founder / editor in chief of FocusOnStyle.com. Sharon Haver knows the modern-thinking woman wants easygoing style that suits her individual needs, spiced with just the right amount of flip and wit to make it personal.

See Sharon Haver's Bio | View Press Clips | Watch Sharon Haver & Brad Boles

Tags: combine prints , how to wear , How to Wear Mixed Prints and Patterns , mixed prints , patterns , prints , spring trends