If you’re afraid to wear prints

When assigning Signature Colors (600+!), I am shocked at how many ladies state that they don’t wear prints! I get that not everyone likes prints but this post is for you if you’re afraid to wear prints.

You might be afraid to wear prints if…

• you look at prints in the store but don’t know which ones to purchase
• you can’t seem to make prints work for your coloring
• you don’t know what to wear with a print
• you’re not sure whether to wear print tops or bottoms (or neither or both??)
• you have rules in your head about stripes and polka dots (but you’d kinda like to try them)
• you think floral prints are too old lady-like
• you admire prints or even prints mixed together on other women but aren’t sure how to do it yourself
• you believe most prints are silly, immature, zany or wild

Again, it’s OK not to like prints. It’s not OK when you WANT to wear prints but don’t know how.

I believe a lot of women are afraid of prints because they’ve formed a negative associations with them, like senior citizens wearing Hawaiian-print shirts on their cruise “(I’ll never do that!”) or the polka dot dress you wore in middle school and were made fun of (“Polka dots are for little kids.”).

By the way…how cute is this Hawaiian-print shirt and polka dot dress on these ladies?? 

 

Prints are fun…and they can also be tricky.

Maybe you’ve been wearing prints of the wrong scale so they overwhelm you or make you feel huge.

It could be a contrast issues–the prints you like are too dark or too light and overpower you or wash you out.

Or you simply may wonder what you’d wear with the stripes vs. the florals and just gave up.

I’ll address all of these issues!

SCALE

If you are around 5’3″ or under and a size 0 to 4, you should be wearing small-scale prints and small jewelry.

If you are around 5’8″ and a size 12+, you should be wearing large-scale prints and large jewelry.

If you are in the middle, you should be wearing medium-scale prints and medium-size jewelry. You can also go small or large depending on your height and weight. 

For my full blog post all about SCALE AND PROPORTION, click here.

Here are two great visuals from the above post:

CONTRAST

A problem you might be running into is that your print overpowers you…or underwhelms you.

Your print should complement your complexion and enhance your natural beauty.

Do you know your Color Code? Light, Deep, Soft, Clear, Warm or Cool? If not, go here.

In general…

Lights are low contrast.

Clears are high contrast

Softs, Deeps, Warms and Cools are medium contrast.

Please note that women who are tan with platinum blonde hair AND some ladies with darker skin and silver or white hair are also high contrast.

For my full blog post about CONTRAST, click here.

Here’s the visual:

WHAT TO WEAR WITH PRINTS

If you’re wondering what neutral to wear with a print, pair it with the print’s main background color.

In this case, this peachy-cream.

Or white.

Or you can pull out the print’s accent color, like this royal blue. 

WEARING PRINTS ON THE TOP OR BOTTOM

If you are “bottom heavy” (you tend to gain weight on your hips, thighs, backside and/or belly area), prints on your bottom half tend to accentuate your problem areas. We need to keep our prints on the top half. 

If you’re curvy and want to do a print on the bottom, just be sure your top or jacket covers the widest part of your hips.

Here’s something cool about wearing prints on top: they disguise a large OR small chest.

A print keeps the eye moving so I recommend print tops for my chesty gals as well as those like me with small bust-lines.

For my “o” body types (“overly-endowed”).

PATTERN MIXING

This is not my area of expertise but you can create some fun looks when you experiment!

All I can recommend is sticking with prints of the same color family and paying attention to scale. The scales need to be VERY different or VERY similar to work.

Here are some examples:

 

Black and white stripes are also easy to coordinate with many prints and patterns, just choose what best suits your figure.

Be aware of the size and contrast of your stripes.

I hope these tips and tricks help you to not be afraid of prints anymore!

Be sure to follow my “prints and patterns” Pinterest board here.

Do you wear prints? Or if they’re new to you, what prints do you plan to try?

Please pin and share.