patterns

Flower and Fashion: Some Thoughts

The Fashion Folks 14 Comments

There’s something pure to appreciate in the revitalizing of flowers each spring (cause that’s the word for it). How warmer temperatures allows flowers to bloom (literally) again. And with fashion’s constant reflection of society, no wonder Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada is more than right when she sarcastically says: Florals? For Spring? Ground breaking.

Flowers and Fashion

The use of flowers as print has a long history (longer than me being able to cover it today). It’s been in and out of fashion for centuries. People taking things from nature and translating it to fashion is nothing new, but a basic urge of expression of our surroundings. Not to forget, the captivating nature (of course) of a flower. They are majestic in their colors, their shape and the symbolic value we’ve given them. Flowers are an endless source for fashion creators with the ability of realistic interpretations and twists of surrealism.

The variation floral patterns comes in (ranging from minimalism to maximalism), makes it possible for all different kinds of feelings, themes and stories the patterns can show. To the dark romantic florals of the 16th century to the bright and energetic ones of the flower power era. The history of floral patterns touches all cornerstones of art history, with Baroque, Modernism and Rococo all having their own impact on the fashion life.

18th century dress (Sack-Back Closed Robe)

Designers and Floral Patterns

There is yet to exist a fashion season in modern era where floral patterns aren’t used, that’s how much of a basic feature they are. One of the most famous floral patterns in the world, is the finnish label Marimekko’s Unikko print. Arts & Crafts movement and William Morris in specific also created a good amount of famous floral patterns (read here). Designers such as Dolce & Gabbana and Valentino are always fond of using flowers in their design. Valentino in specific, often comes back to nature and the life of flowers.

Designers such as Mary Katrantzou have also used floral pattern successfully, with the SS14 collection being a hit. The greek designer took the flowers a step longer by using pearls to create floral print (yes the collection is as charming as it sounds, see below!). For this season, french fashion house Chloé used a 70s inspired floral pattern in their collection. Honorable mention is the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen who used real flowers in his Spring/Summer 2007 collection. Where the flowers fell to the floor as the model walked down the runway. Dramatic, artistic and a statement of creative geniusness. See the collection and the dress here (dress at 12.22).

Some thoughts

So what’s the intention or declaration of this post? Nothing really. I just never say no to an opportunity to explore fashion’s relation to nature/society. And I definitely never say no to look at some dreamy clothes embracing the beauty of life - flowers. There’s something humble in the idea that we find inspiration in the same way our ancestors did. That we, as they, extend the life of flowers by wearing them and that we, as they, remains true to the core of nature through the expression of fashion.

How To Wear Floral In The Fall

The Fashion Folks 44 Comments

I know fall is soon to be replaced by the holidays, with all its glitter and Christmas fashion. But I’m not yet done with fall, I still have a major crush for floral patterns x fall (and I know you do too)! So here’s how to wear floral in the fall:

Choose the right pattern

So floral in the fall is preferably a floral pattern in fall colors. That is, darker colors in floral shapes. Instead of doing baby blue and pink, think burgundy and emerald green. The patterns should also be more fairy tale-like and more Red Riding Hood than Rapunzel (if you see what I’m going for lol). More melancholic than happy bubbly life. Both Dolce & Gabbana and Valentino are experts when it comes to finding the right mood for floral in the fall, with darker and more mystique flowers. This season in specific, 70s flowers are kind of stylish, with oversized shapes and bolder colors.

Style the pattern

There are different ways one can pull of floral patterns, some more specific for the season than others. Here are three ways I like to do the floral pattern.

  1. Style them with fall colors. This is easy to some, but to avoid going for the black and basic jeans, pair the florals with another fall color. As discussed in this post, fall colors are keen to match with one another. So if you do a burgundy floral pattern, it’s likely to match well with the mustard yellow shoes (or whatever match your prefer).
  2. Fabrics. There’s a current trend with floral patterns in sheer fabrics. How much as I love this trend on its own, it gets even better when styled with heavy fabrics. Like knitted, faux leather, suede and all the fabrics that are synonymous with fall. The fragile touch of the floral pattern and sheer fabric paired with heavy fabrics is just so good!
  3. Mix floral with prints. I can’t stress enough how chic it is to style floral pattern with other prints. Especially stripes and fall floral in combination is genius. The geometric and simple lines of the stripes with the messier look of the florals balances each other perfectly. Other prints you can mix with is dots, zig zag or why not with optical patterns? Read more here on how to mix patterns with patterns.

Final note

What it all comes down to is to contrast the lighter feeling of either the flowers or the fabric. The way to do this is by “meeting” the floral pattern with heavy fabrics, colors or prints. When it comes to how to wear floral in the fall, it’s truly what you prefer and like. Match the floral pattern with your favorites of the season and you’ll get an updated and fun look that is you! Just go for it, really!

Folks, how do you wear floral in the fall? Leave a comment below! Xx

How To Mix Prints (Like A Pro)

The Fashion Folks 88 Comments

As you know by know, we love to push fashion boundaries, and playing with patterns and colors is a big part of it. To some, wearing pattern at all might feel like a big step, but don’t worry, we covered the subject here. To the rest of you, here’s how to mix prints:

How To Mix Prints Like A Pro | The Fashion Folks

Why one should mix prints

To begin with, why should one even mix patterns with one another as one piece of it can be quite the statement? Well, there are several benefits, let alone the fun part of doing it. But matching and mixing prints makes any outfit look fashionable, with a little effort to it. Two or three patterns in one outfit don’t need accessories, statement silhouettes or matchy details. The patterns are enough as they are. This leads one to days where an outfit can be done within the minutes, and you’ll still look chic. Not to forget if you need to be dressed comfortable (but an outfit without details is boring) you can do the pieces in pattern and it’ll be fun as it is!

Three Things To Think About

When mixing patterns, there is mainly three things to think about. Or three different ways of doing it. These are not exclusive fashion rules, and doing them other ways works as well, but these are some guidelines on how one can pull it off. But as always, we encourage you to go beyond and trust your fashion eye!

Keep them in the same color scale

As one pattern can be crazy enough for the eye to register, keeping the patterns mixed in the same color is beneficial. This will make the outfit look more pulled together, and the patterns will blend as one. If you can’t do two patterns in the exact same color scale, we suggest that you keep at least two colors in common for the matching part. As humans register things that looks alike, the patterns will look matchy together, due to the common color. To make it even more difficult for you:

  • Having the color base of two patterns as the same color, will make the outfit appear softer.
  • Pairing the color of the base with a same colored detailed pattern, will make it appear quite balanced.
  • Having two detailed patterns in common will make it look more messy.

Now we don’t stress one to be better than the other. But if we’re going to be harsh, the softer look is easier if you’re just starting out. After that, you can work yourself up to a more messy look (aka go fashionista pro).

Larger and smaller patterns

Another way to make a mixed pattern look work, is by focusing on the size of the prints. A larger pattern in combo with a smaller one will appear more basic and enhance the smaller print. This can be favorable to do when playing with silhouettes and body shapes. The fashion rule goes that smaller prints slims down and larger patterns makes it wider. If you want to enhance or tone down a body part, match it with a pattern of the wished size! And if you want to do both at the same time, well, go for a mix of prints!

Similar patterns

If the two pieces are similar in the pattern, the outcome is often quite genius. You can go basic with two different kinds of stripes, of why not two floral patterns? This also comes back to creating balance for the eye and make the patterns easier to register. Similar prints, or even the same, is a great way of doing sets of clothes. Like a blazer and some pants, or a crop top and a high waisted skirt. They cover different parts of the body, but are united by the print and will create a more coherent look.

Or….

Just forget everything we just said and match patterns that are completely different from one another. A colorful floral pattern usually works perfect with a simple striped piece, obeying the fashion rules that are. Contrasting patterns is bold and quite risky, so we’d suggest doing this when you’re more comfy in wearing prints.

One last thing

A pro-tip that follows the last point is to have a third piece in a neutral color. This might be an accessory such as a belt, or why not a blazer or a scarf? Having a third piece in a neutral color, will “smooth” the mixed patterns, but still keep the balance right.

And that’s a wrap folks! Hope you enjoyed the post, leave a comment on your best tips, and if you want to read more of these posts, let me know!

Why You Should Wear Patterns (In The Summer)

The Fashion Folks 30 Comments

We know that we just go on and on about patterns and the pros of working them. But we listed some awesome reasons why you should work white during summer, so why not do the same with patterns? Here is how and why you should wear patterns!

Why You Should Work Them

Because, when we wear patterns, the (fashion) world gets better! Patterns often brings out the best of summer clothes such as rompers, off shoulder pieces or maxi dresses. As the summer is a rather vibrant and lively season, why not “sing along” to the rhythm? As colors do bring out certain feelings, patterns can also make you feel more energetic, and frankly speaking, happy. It might sound superficial, but lively clothes sends both you Off Shoulder Top Trendand people around you happy signals!

What To Think About

We’ve stated it before and we’ll state it again, patterns are not for everyone. But we do believe that everyone who are interested in them can find some that works! Do stripes, small dots or a pattern in a subtle color if you want to head minimalistic. Do florals, tropical patterns or just artsy statements if you want to step up the game. If you want to tone down the patterns, wear neutral statement pieces to it. If you want to give the pattern all the spotlight, let the pattern be the statement piece. See the difference between a statement pattern and a more minimalistic one below (not that minimalistic perhaps, but rather discrete and a lovely pick for someone who’s unsure).

Patterns and clothes

Some summer clothes are extra favorable and fun for patterns (almost everyone though). But we’re particularly in awe of patterned maxi dresses, culottes, jumpsuits, rompers, and off shoulder tops(see our picks above we did in June!). These pieces are easy to match with other clothes as their style doesn’t require too much effort from you. For instance, a pair of patterned culottes with a white tee is a lovely summer look. A patterned romper with a colored sweater is another easy one. The combo of light fabric and a vibrant pattern is simply a perfect go for the vacation!

And that’s why you should wear patterns in summer!

 

why you should wear patterns1

How To Begin To Wear Print

The Fashion Folks 55 Comments

We love to talk about our prints (how about floral, stripes, dots or chess) and we love the wear them as well! As it is May, the season of prints is here and we’re too excited to gush in the world of patterns. But wearing print is not an obvious choice to everyone, and too many believe that prints are not something for them (we don’t believe them honestly). So folks, this is how to begin to wear print!

Pick your print

A good pattern can be anything from small dots, stripes and squares to paisley, floral or different motives. By that said, you can find anything that suits you. From minimalistic to maxi, there are prints and patterns out there just waiting to be worn by you. So first step is to track down some prints that suits you. Don’t be afraid to go for the one you really want regardless if you dare to wear it or not (you’ll get around it eventually)

 

Know how to match it

If you don’t want to head for matching pattern with pattern, the best way to start is by playing it down. By playing it down you pair your print with a neutral color such as black, grey or white. By doing so, you’ll tone down the intensity in your outfit that prints often causes. If you want go be a bit bolder than that, try the tips we talked about in this post! It’s quite genius.

Another way to begin to dare is letting the printed clothing piece be the supporting piece in the outfit. For instance, it can be a floral tank top matched with a blazer. The tank top will be a detail and not a statement. Or a printed dress beneath a jacket where only a part of the dress is visible. It’s all about playing it down!

 

Just do it

Start now. Spring and summer are truly the best season for print, they’re fun, vibrant and goes well with the style of spring and summer clothes. You dress for yourself, and no one else. If you’re still not sure about beginning, why not start with a simple scarf? A scarf will give your outfit an extra touch but still not dominate your outfit. It will also get you used to seeing yourself in print without taking over completely.

There are too many perks of prints than for people to ignore their existence if you ask us. So dare to begin to wear print, life kind of gets funnier with it (not a scientific proof, but definitely worthy!). What are your tips for wearing print? Comment below folks!