The maxi dress is such a great summer outfit - so easy, work appropriate or play appropriate, simple to change from day to night and cray comfy. Prints just make it that much more fun. Florals, dots, toiles: they all add a different vibe to
the standard monochrome look. They also open up some new ground for throwing in that twist that creates the stylish je ne se quoi that makes a look stand out. The way Charlotte took this semi-floral print dress and made it work overtime by dressing down with flat sandals is a look I can totally get behind! Don't you just get so tired of pants sometimes? A maxi makes a great way to change things up. Char went with a simple metallic thong, which works perfectly with the femme, floaty vibe of her cap-sleeve, full-length piece. It's easy to gravitate to certain neutrals; I reach for metallics plenty often myself. And here, their shine hits just the right balance of fancy and carefree. On the other hand, you can easily branch out into more unusual pairings. While a neutral is a safe choice with a multi-colored floral, you can make a bigger splash by choosing one of the colors in the print for your shoe shade. Don't fear a tangential tone, either. The red in this dress is quite muted, but a vibrant cherry tone looks fab and makes a distinctive statement. So, fire things up: accent soft spring green with bright lime, pale aqua with neon turquoise, light mauve with magenta. The obvious choice for this black and blue print would be a black sandal. Chic, but who hasn't done it? And it takes the look in a more somber direction. For a lighter, summery twist, consider a so-hot-right-now bright white sandal instead. Go with a fierce, strappy style that brings some attitude, or a try carefree espadrille. The contrast of the white against the blue and black gives the look a big pop. A standout color (think orange, bright pink, yellow) would work similarly. Or, do a neutral... but an unexpected one! Instead of pairing this polka dot dress with classic navy or white, go with a jute-toned shoe. Give it a vintage beach-resort vibe with sandals, or a modern cool-girl feel via sneakers. Whatever you choose, try making a shoe change-up part of it. Think of what you usually do and wear anything but. Surprise yourself. Experiment! And have fun :) Happy styling, loves!
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Any time I get a chance to involve yellow in anything, I'm probably going to do so :). Therefore, it's no surprise that Emma's printed dress had me salivating over recreating some variations of it. It's my fashion philosophy that yellow goes with anything and everything, but if you're a bit more leery of the color (heeeyy..it's ok...you can come out of the farthest-possible-place-from-the-yellowness-in-the-closet now), blue is a great complementary shade to begin with for mixing. There's a subliminal sun-and-sky comfort level with the pairing that just makes it accessible and easy to play with. One option for doing this is the throw-and-go way by donning a printed dress a la Emma that contains said color combo. You don't have to do the yellow shoes (but you totally can if you want to :)). Go for full-on summer brightness by finishing the look with cobalt heels, or go with a bright bag instead. For neutrals on your feet, consider trendy white, classic navy (pulls out the blue in the print in subtler way) or the ubiquitous but still scalding hot nude tones. Similar principles apply if you're working with a skirt. Don't forget about yellow stripes or dots - breaking up the hue with this kind of print is a nice way to break into using the shade. Hint: if yellow on top feels like too much, go with blue or a classic neutral from within the print and add a yellow belt or wide bangle. You still get the sunshine-y effect of the color, but it's subtler. You don't need a ton of yellow to spark a look - a little goes a long way :). You can achieve something similar by doing yellow on the bottom via a skirt or colored denim...or wide-leg pants. That gives you aaaaaaalllll the attention-getting brilliancy without any worries about it clashing with your coloring. Along those lines, I will note that I find clean yellows (i.e., those created through being mixed with white, ivory or orange) are much easier and more forgiving to wear than the generally more common dusty/vintage-looking shades with brown or green as an undertone. (Olive-y yellows I find to be especially troublesome). Tip: the "clean" shades are usually brights, but can include pastels , for example, the color of butter. One last combo I'm a huge fan of is yellow with blue denim of any variation. It feels like a neutral so it can simplify pairings and styling choices, but still has that bedrock blue-yellow synergy. I hope this inspires you to try mixing blue and yellow sometime soon :) Happy styling!
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Welcome to the place where wrestling & fashion join hands. Inspiration. Reviews. Musings. Retros. FASHION. Covering and craving gear to gowns since 2011. May the Fierce be with you! ;) Peace & Glitter!
AuthorBrie: shoe-lover :) fashion-lover and generally glamorous semi-dork Archives
July 2019
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