Style Harmony

I’m mad about prints! Open up my wardrobe and you will see a sea of not black and white, but prints of all shapes, sizes and styles. I think prints make a great fashion statement and make an outfit more interesting. I know most people shy away from prints for a multitude of reasons e.g. not knowing how to mix and match prints with other clothings, fear of looking mumsy, loud and attracting attention. For a start, you can try a printed bag, scarf or cardigan. A leopard or zebra print cardigan instantly adds “oomph” to your outfit especially if you wear lots of neutral colours like black, white, gray, navy or brown. A floral or patchwork bag with long straps is great for your weekend casuals. Scarves are fun and come in a wide variety of prints. Prints can also camouflage your figure or otherwise. If you are heavy chested and curvy like Kim Kardashian (see picture on far left), avoid covering up your whole body in prints as it will amplify the larger parts of your body. The prints on Kim’s dress are concentrated on her chest and hips which are the widest parts of her hourglass shape. The high neckline also makes her neck appear shorter. Overall, she looks stumpy in the outfit. Equally busty Pamela Sue Anderson does it right by wearing a plunging neckline dress. The deep V-neckline is flattering and makes her look slimmer as it breaks up the space of her chest. It also elongates her neck. This style creates a balancing and minimising effect.

Spring accessories are making its statement loud and clear. The new trend in accessories are big bold necklaces in lightweight material like lucite (see photo, left) and semi-precious gem, rock (see photo, right). Because of its transparency, these necklaces will easily go with all of spring’s prints i.e. stripes, florals, digital prints and tribal. It instantly wows your outfit! And you can pile on the layers and go for chunky bold designs as the lightness of lucite will not overwhelm even if you are on the petite side. A friend of mine recently wore layers of chunky transparent necklaces over a white top and a zebra print cardigan. So chic and fabulous looking! (Rock necklace on mannequin is available from Image Harmony. Price: SGD$80)

Most people I know, including my clients are somewhat afraid of prints. Of course, some people just do not do prints, period! I am the complete opposite. Enter my closet and you will see a riotous mix of prints and patterns. Wearing prints may be a personal style preference but if you are open to experiment with it, here are some tips on how to make prints work for you tastefully.

Tip 1: Select a print that relates to your body lines for e.g. if you are curvy, prints like polka dots, flowers with rounded petals and paisley will flow harmoniously with your body.

Tip 2: Choose prints that are of the same scale as your body size. If you are petite, go for smaller prints to balance with your body proportions.

Tip 3: When mixing prints, try not to combine more than two different prints together. The prints must relate or have a consistent theme. For example, stripe and stripe, floral and floral. If the prints do not relate to each other, then one or more colours in each of the print must be the same or very similar (see picture below)

How delightful to smell the flowers and hear the birds singing! Sounds cheesy? Well, like it or not, dresses are it for next Spring season. The girly girl will love them! Black-and-white floral dresses are decorating the fashion runway and red carpets as seen below.

Be sure to balance the scale of the floral prints with your body scale, bone structure and facial features. If you are petite, big floral prints will overwhelm your small frame. Hence, choose a dress with smaller prints (see picture below) to achieve a harmonious balance. If you are not a fan of flowers, opt for dresses in tribal, geometric or abstract prints which are also trendy for next Spring.