My Top Four Tips for Mixing Prints

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Happy Tuesday loves!

My apologies for the late post. I’ve had a crazy couple of days with yet another family member in the hospital 🙁 It’s been one thing after another lately. Ugh! And thank you all for the amazing support and encouraging words you showed regarding the special announcement in my last post <3 You guys are the best!

Anyway, mixing prints is one of my favorite ways to style an outfit! It’s a fun way to inject more personality into your outfit and can either be bold and eclectic or subtle and streamlined. For this outfit, I chose to go more subtle 😉 Read on for my top four tips for mixing prints!

Outfit Details

Mixing prints is an art form all it’s own. It can be easy to go from sleek and subtle to cluttered and crazy, which is why I follow a few simple rules for mixing prints.

1. ) Use Similar Colors

Using similar colors, whether that’s a color from the background or from the print itself, will help the two look more cohesive creating a seamless look. In this case, the light pink background of my top brings out the light pink of the florals on the skirt. I also have touches of navy in both prints. The colors are the same intensity as well, which I think is also important (example: pastels with pastels, brights with brights, etc…but you can also group together different intensities in the same hue – example: light pink with bright pink). You can also mix black and white with a colored print.

2.) Use Varying Sizes

When you use two prints of the same size, they tend to clash. Two larger prints can be overwhelming and two smaller prints can be too busy. The quick fix to this is to use one larger print and one smaller print. When you use two of the same print (example – florals with florals), it’s especially important to vary the size. Pairing a smaller print with a bigger print not only looks more polished but also makes the outfit as a whole flow better. You can use this tip when pairing together two different prints as well (example – florals and stripes).

3.) Use Certain Prints

Naturally, certain prints go better together than others. Here are some of my favorite combos:

Florals with florals (different sizes)
Florals with stripes (vertical or horizontal)
Florals with polka dots (or anything that mimics polka dots like the mini star print above)
Stripes with stripes (different sizes)
Stripes with polka dots
Polka dots with polka dots (different sizes)
Abstract prints with stripes
Plaid and polka dots
Leopard print and polka dots

4.) Pair With Solid or Neutral Accessories

If your prints involve a lot of color, I’d recommend pairing them with neutral accessories. For example, my outfit is pink/purple based so I paired it with a white handbag and solid lilac heels so break up the prints. I could also layer on a solid, neutral jacket on top for an even more polished look. In the case of mixing black and white prints, neutral accessories always look super chic but if you want to have fun with it, add a pop of solid color with the handbag or shoes.

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