Prints Charming: How To Wear Print When We Don’t Like Print

I am probably more in the “don’t” than “do” category but there are exceptions. Seeing someone wear a fabulous floral dress and I wonder why I am not; a geometric blouse and I really feel like I am missing out.

Prints are difficult to get right and there are so many awful ones. The colours are dreadful, the pattern unfriendly and you end up looking a mess. The day starts out with the best intentions and by mid-morning thoughts are only on the slick and the simple. “Why am I wearing this” screams silently and essentially your day is ruined. Sounds dramatic, sure but it happens to me when I get waylaid by the wrong print.

There are prints and prints.

Leopard is legendary and in my mind doesn’t really count as a print. Think geometric and our minds conjure up the swinging ’60’s. Geometric can be fabulous if the print is friendly.

Florals are a little tougher to get right. Dolce & Gabbana understand floral print as well as anybody  – what’s not to love, especially in the summer?  Maybe the price? They do make me long to wear a flower spattered dress and promenade through the streets of Naples or picnic in the depths of Tuscany. Theirs is a romantic take and one that has me dreaming. The vision is successful; it is the execution that is though.

We all can’t be covered in head to toe pattern and look fabulous. It takes flair, personality and a pretty good shape. A blouse of the other hand is a way to get your floral fix and retain confidence.

Prints can go horribly wrong whereas a plain is a safer option. Undoubtedly true.

It might sound boring but a good plain is worth a thousand bad prints and yet, the right print is a game changer. Venturing into prints, this coming season prints are out in force is best done cautiously.

I started with the leopard and animal prints and became tempted by the geometric pattern. I’m still cautiously optimistic when it comes to floral. They don’t make up much of my wardrobe but relaxed and more casual styles for the summer do make an appearance.

I see some women gloriously showing off their pattern with 100% self-confidence and exuberance. They are sympatico with their look, which means the sense of who they are, and their style is at the forefront. Prints are a lot to do with confidence. And yet, I can’t always identify with such bravery.

I’m a bit-size kind of print person.

I find the classic, the simple and the plain elegant but and it’s a looming but it does get uninteresting to wear the same day in and day out. As we become experienced in knowing what we wear, investments are cautious and spending big on a “maybe” is not something I rush in to.

Prints are charming, beautiful and when worn in the right way a knockout. Like all fashion decisions, the key is to adapt them for us. xv