One of my favorite combos of all time was a trend this past spring, and has lasted through summer but flown under the radar with little recognition. Pairing bold stripes with soft floral prints has always been a hit to me, and I've had pieces with this combo for years and just this year it really took off but unfortunately, went unrecognized. Both of the following outfits did the hard work for me and paired this combo by themselves, so all I had left to do was style them. In my opinion, styling pieces that already mix the prints for you can prove to be a lot harder than styling an outfit you put together yourself. The colors are out of your hand, the length, and the proportions. There is no going back once you buy a piece that already has the flowers and stripes, so you just have to play around with different looks simply by styling your outfit well.
'The Pencil Skirt'
This skirt was free. Yes, free. After I racked up enough rewards points from my tax refund shopping spree with my boyfriend, I got $40 of free store credit to JCPenney. This skirt is one of the things I got with that store credit. I instantly fell in love with it, and being sold for $20, it took up half of my credit, but was worth every (free) penny in my eyes. I absolutely love a good pencil skirt because you can create a wide spectrum of diverse looks and silhouettes simply by picking different blouses. If you want a sleeker look you can tuck your shirt in, and if you want an effortless hourglass shape, pair it with a peplum. To play off the vibrant colors in the skirt I choose a lime green top, and belted it right at the top of the peplum to keep with the horizontal striped look. Instead of a cute summer sandal, however, I went with a super low bootie. If you choose an ankle bootie with a low heel you really won't look too fall, and the shaft of the bootie is so low that your feet can still breathe in the warmer summer weather. To finish off the look, I added another tiny pop of color with a turquoise ring.
Skirt: JCPenney
Top: Forever21
Belt: Kohls
Booties: Macys clearance
Jewelry: Aria
Top: Forever21
Belt: Kohls
Booties: Macys clearance
Jewelry: Aria
'The Full Dress'
Now here is where you are going to run into a problem. If you have a striped piece with floral print in the form of a dress, I have one quick tip for you: DON'T OVERDO IT! You already have two prints going on head to toe, so make sure you stick to solid everything else. For this look, I merely added a trench coat and a solid color shoe. If you want to add some more color however, pick a simple colored necklace or set of earrings.
VikTip* If you're going for color in jewelry, stones always look less flashy than a colored jewel/gem or crystal. Stone jewelry has a more casual, boho or western-y vibe if that's the look you're going for.
Dress: JCPenney again
Trench: Forever21 again haha
Jewelry: Aria, again.....seriously, I did not plan this.
Shoes: TJMaxx (super old) Jessica Simpson
Trench: Forever21 again haha
Jewelry: Aria, again.....seriously, I did not plan this.
Shoes: TJMaxx (super old) Jessica Simpson
Well, ladies, thanks for sticking around until the end of this style session. I hope you learned something from my outfits, and caught a tip in there somewhere that will inspire you to mix flowers and stripes on a day you're feeling a little bit more daring. As always, thank you so much for reading today, stay stylish.
xoxo
-Viktoria
