How to Mix Florals and Stripes

For me, the perfect summer outfit always consists of either fun colors, bold prints or a breezy silhouette (or all three in this case!). Stripes and floral prints are both classic summer necessities and not only do they look incredible by themselves, but they look amazing when paired together as well. With that being said, I know that mixing prints can be intimidating, so today I’m going to show you can easily and seamlessly mix florals and stripes together for a chic summer look!

Outfit Details

Cece Sportswear Striped Top c/o (currently 30% off!) | American Eagle Floral Skirt (sold out – similar here) | Seychelles Rose Gold Mules c/o | Round Woven Handbag (similar here)| Sunglass Warehouse White Sunglasses c/o |BaubleBar Necklace c/o | Rocksbox Rings 

This was the outfit I wore for my actual birthday 🙂 I bought this skirt during our Ala Moana shopping trip in Hawaii and immediately fell in love with the gorgeous print! I’m not typically an impulsive buyer and it usually takes me a while to decide whether or not I want to buy something (it drives my husband crazy but he’s the same way haha!), but this was one of those things that I just had to have lol! The funny thing is was that when I was thinking about what I could pair it with, this top came to mind. A striped top… to pair with a floral skirt. And you know what? I’m obsessed with this combo!

Why It Works

As I mentioned in my previous post about mixing different floral prints together, you should always try to look for a color that both items have in common. In this case, it’s light blush and the top and skirt blend seamlessly together (almost as if they were a set). An easy way to mix items would be to draw out colors from one item and find a pairing item that includes one or more of those colors. You can also use variations of the same hue along with complimentary or supplementary colors. For this skirt, I could pair it with the blue or coral colors in the print, any lighter neutral like white, cream or grey, other pastels such as light yellow or lilac and even brighter hues like blue-green and bold pink. You would think that you could pair it with so many things, but the blush background it pretty much a neutral (to me, anyway) and the floral print only consists of two main colors that can easily pair well with others.

Another reason it works is because the print are different sizes. Mixing a larger print (the floral) with a smaller print (the stripe) is a great way to mix prints without looking too chaotic. You can even try the opposite by mixing a larger stripe with a smaller floral print. One you get comfortable mixing prints, you can start to incorporate more colors and sizes (and even more prints – *gasp!*). If you’re a newbie at print mixing, try adding in some printed accessories first to ease your way into it 😉

One more thing I like to do is to mix solid colors (usually neutrals) along with the printed pieces to break it up a bit, especially if you are wearing head to toe prints. If you are wearing two printed clothing items, you can do this by adding neutral accessories and if you are wearing printed accessories, you can wear a solid clothing item. Doing this makes the mix look more natural and classy instead of what could potentially look messy and chaotic.

Will you be mixing florals and stripes this summer?

xo

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