How to: Pattern Mixing and Matching
One of the best ways to inject your personality into an outfit is to incorporate pattern. For a statement-making look, it can be even more fun to mix prints and patterns! Fashion is about creativity, experimentation, and personal expression, so give it a try. It’s sure to get you noticed for all the right reasons.
Many of us shy away from bold fashion choices for fear of “doing it wrong.” Don’t let this fear discourage you from playing with your style. Plus, if you find yourself wearing a plain tee and jeans every day to opt-out of fashion or to avoid making a faux pas, you’re only doing yourself a disservice. Learn how to create looks that energize you and imbue confidence. Let’s discuss some tips to get you started.
Mix Large- and Small-Scale Prints
Why We Love It
The easiest way to mix prints and patterns is to play with their scale. Choose one piece with a relatively small print, such as pants with a subtle pinstripe or a gingham top. Pair this item with a bolder print that you want to showcase elsewhere in your outfit, such as a large-scale floral or bold polka dots.
Check out how the fabrics look together. Amazingly, the small print will now read as neutral because the other print commands so much more attention. By tricking the eye into focusing on one print, the combination doesn’t get visually overwhelming (A.K.A. no clashing!). This is the easiest way to dip your toe in the water with pattern mixing.
Make it Your Own
Wondering what types of prints you can mix and match? For better or for worse, there are no rules! It simply depends on what type of look you’re going for. You can mix geometric prints (stripes, herringbone, plaid.) with more geometric prints, or mix them with organic prints (floral, paisley) – whatever feels right to you. There is no perfect print combo, so start going through what is already in your closet and see what you come up with.
If you’re still not feeling confident, there are a couple of ways you can do this trick more subtly. First up: choose a shoe or accessory for one of your two prints. This gives a smaller dose of the print to help you ease into things. For example, you can try a striped top with a leopard print bag or shoe. Another trick is to subdue an outfit full of patterns with a solid layering piece. This does double duty of giving the eye a break and unifying the prints. A solid jacket will work beautifully over windowpane pants and a floral blouse. Choose a layering piece whose color grounds the prints. If there’s a touch of white in both prints, try a white layer on top to bring it all together.
Keep the Same Color Palette
Why We Love It
Speaking of color, this is a great tool to use as you mix prints and patterns. A unified color scheme helps ensure that your pieces look like they belong together. A monochromatic mix of patterns offers softness and subtly to an ensemble, just like it would for solids.
The monochromatic trend is still going strong in the fashion scene, so there’s never been a better time to try this tip out! If you consider all of the elements involved in mixing and matching clothing (i.e. color, pattern scale, pattern type, fabric, fit, embellishments and design details), it can feel like a lot to coordinate. Eliminate the color variable to simplify the process of creating a cohesive look. Pairing a blue printed top with blue printed shorts no longer looks like a chaotic combo. Now, the prints could even read as varied textures within a single “piece.”
Make it Your Own
The best aspect of mixing patterns within a color palette is how much it cleans up the look. For those looking for a challenge, this opens an opportunity for even a third patterned piece within an outfit! First try adding this third piece in a small dose, such as a patterned headband, shoes, or a bag. Trust your eye to evaluate when you’ve achieved the right balance.
Not the biggest fan of head-to-toe color? Black, white, and grey are part of any color family and can be seamlessly incorporated into your patterned look. You can try two prints that are shades of white and grey, for example, or try a red and white top with grey and white bottoms.
Color Blocking
Why We Love It
Remember, a common color palette isn’t a requirement for two prints to mesh well – it’s merely a tool! Fans of color and extra bold looks should try out color blocking when creating their mix of prints and patterns. Color blocking can refer to a single piece of clothing with multiple bold panels of color, or in other instances, it refers to full outfits with contrasting “blocks” of color. These colors may be on opposite ends of the color wheel to amp up the contrast. When done right, color blocking looks intentional and powerful.
To incorporate this styling trick into pattern mixing, look for two pieces whose predominate color differs. Note that these don’t always have to be vibrant neon shades: pastels and even black and white can sometimes be used as color blocks. Just be sure that the final effect is a stark contrast and almost graphic effect that stands out across the room. Check out influencer Blair Eadie to get the wheels spinning!
Make it Your Own
Wondering what types of patterns work for this? Again, that’s no perfect rule for finding the right ones. Pattern tends to dilute bold color blocks slightly as compared to solids in the same shade. You could try a vibrant skirt with a pinpoint dot pattern and pair it with another lightly printed piece on top to let the colors stand out more than the prints. Alternatively, very large-scale patterns can also work well here. Color and overall contrast are the ultimate considerations.
Because this is one of the most attention-grabbing ways to mix print and pattern, it can be intimidating. Ease into it by incorporating some of the other principles outlined in this guide. You can still find bold contrasting prints that have small details tying them together. Unify by print by pairing green striped pants with an orange striped top. You can even unify somewhat by color! Try a bright blue top with a black panel paired with printed black bottoms.
Wrap Up
Wearing a mix of prints and patterns in a single look used to be a fashion no-no, which makes it even more fun to play with now. Prints are meant to evoke emotion. There’s no reason you have to downplay them by always pairing them with jeans or solid pants! Bring new life to your favorite patterned pieces by mixing them together.
Still, most of us don’t have a ton of practice with it. Use these guidelines as you begin experimenting. As always, we would love to help you out with creating these fun outfit combos! Reach out to us to set up an appointment to get started. We’ve got your back, from shopping for the prints that will pair well together (including an option to do this virtually!) to styling the pieces already in your closet.
Have fun putting together your printed and patterned looks! Be sure to check out our blog page to stay inspired.