Patterns and Prints: Fall/ Winter 2012

Patterns appear to have taken a backseat to texture this year.  Both are still fairly prevalent, but it would appear that in an effort to winterize the trends, the fashion gods have decreed that texture reigns.

What few patterns exist are generally loud and aggressive.  Nineteen seventies psychedelics, bold geometrics, and color blocking are all over the place.  Some are keepers, some won’t last a month, and some a flash in the pans that can be made keepers, if you’re careful.

 I’d heavily recommend skipping on by the psychedelics.  It looks to be a 3 week flash in the pan.  Besides, you really don’t want to look like a hippie’s bad acid trip.  That said, if you like the psychedelics, keep it minimal.  A psychedelic purse, a trippy belt.  For the love of god, don’t go head to toe in this trend.  Verdict: Skip this.  It’s a flash in the pan and doesn’t look good on much of anyone.

The geometrics, if done right, can be friendly.  Think Navajo prints, batik dyes, plaids, and argyles. Positioned or scaled correctly, they can draw attention to a tiny waist or away from hips of which you aren’t particularly proud. Positioned and scaled wrong, suddenly even Barbie thin legs look like tree stumps.  The general rule of thumb is that the size of the print should match your fame size.  Tiny frame?  You generally don’t want the huge floral print.  Built like a linebacker?  You might want to skip the swiss dots.  These rules aren’t hard and fast, though.  There’s going to be the occasional article of clothing that breaks all the fashion rules and looks damn hot on you doing it. Verdict:  A traditional sized plaid, check, or polka dot would look good on most women, although beware the lumberjack and schoolgirl effects with plaids.  With the native and exotic styled prints, I recommend using them more as accents than the entire outfit.  It’s too easy to go overboard and look like caricature of the culture than pay homage to it.

Color blocking does wonders for the female figure.  It truly can enhance or create an hourglass shape like no one’s business.   Darker colors will cause the eye to flow away from the area; lighter colors will draw the eye.  Knowing that little bit of magic right there will help you make colorblocking work for you.  Too lazy/ cheap to go buy new clothes, like me?  Congratulations, wearing a shirt that’s a different color from your bottom is color blocking.  Add a different colored belt if you’re really pushing the envelope that day.  Verdict: Go for it.  As long as you watch where the blocks land and what color ends up where, this is a great trend.  It’s been around several years and will probably be around several years more.