Hi Ellie and Mac Readers,
I am Sequoia and I normally blog over at Sequoialynnsews.wordpress.com. Today, I am guest blogging here at Ellie and Mac and I am talking about prints. More specifically, I am here to share my tips for mixing them! Color blocking is always fun, super trendy and it is a perfect opportunity to use scraps and small cuts of fabrics. You can also layer your prints to get a great look and often extend the wear of some of your summer favorites deep into fall. Even though I mix a lot of prints in my wardrobe, I still get nervous that other people may not ‘get it’, but as long as I follow the print mixing rules, I just go with it!
Have you ever seen a runway show or a fashion spread and you thought, “Wow, I never would have wore that!” Then a few weeks later, everyone is wearing it! Here it your chance to be a trendsetter! Don’t forget “Mixing Doesn't Always Mean Matching.”
There are a few rules I follow:
- Mix up the Scale.Large, bold prints work well with smaller prints. This creates interest in your outfit or garment and the contrast allows your eyes to focus on the main print. This is your chance to mix a geometric print with animal print and floral or even plaid and chevron. Here I am wearing the 24/7 Top which is a color block ready pattern. That takes the work out of it for you and you only have to pick prints!! The mid-sized polka dots compliment the busier, smaller scale repeating print I used. The dark blue with white dots is the dominate print here, but the smaller scale print is a great compliment.
- Stripes and dots work with most other prints and I will always put them with floral!These small gray and white stripes look great with the floral print on this top. The scale of the floral is large while the stripes are small. This is why it works! I flipped the bottom front piece to run the opposite direction for some additional interest. Again, I used the 24/7 pattern because the pattern is already designed for color blocking.
- Your prints should share a common color.In this example, Both the Be Confident Dress and my RTW Cardigan have dark reds and brownish blacks in them. I even threw in a multi colored stone necklace because it has similar colors to the dress. If my cardigan was bright pink or even bright red, this would never have worked.
- Black and White prints can go with anything. As long as you keep scale in mind black and white will work. I paired a RTW black and white striped cardi with the Sunny Day dress. The cardigan will make this summer staple perfect for wearing into fall. Try pairing a black and white striped pant with your favorite band T-shirt or a red cheetah print cami and denim jacket! You could even get brave and try striped pants and solid top and a floral jacket. Here is my link to theSunny Day Top!
- Camo is basically a solid.I have a coworker who literally cringes when I say this. I can only imagine what she thinks when I show up to work wearing camo pants and a floral cardigan. Most camo these days in fairly monochromatic. They are either greens, blues, grays or pinks so why not treat treat them as a solid and then go wild! I am wearing the Be Confident Tunic with the Be Mine Cardigan. In myoriginal pictures, I wore the Be Mine Cardigan with RTW galaxy print pants! Don't be scared guys! Just do it!
I hope this post helps you to see the possibility of a million new combinations that are already buried in your closet and gives you a little extra confidence when putting your outfits together.
So now that you have been introduced to print mixing, please show me what you come up with!
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- “Don’t let the world define your beautiful!”
