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fashion Tips for Women Archives - Style Clinic

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A STRIPED AFFAIR

By | Coordination, Line and Design, Understanding Prints & Patterns, Wardrobe Savvy | 13 Comments

This week I’m changing up my feature up a bit by focusing on a pattern – stripes to be precise.

They are almost as wearable as solid colors and a must-have in any woman’s wardrobe. Their versatility allows multiple ways to coordinate them with your favorite garments and depending which stripe you use you can easily create either a relaxed vibe or a serious edge to your look.

And I’m starting at the beginning because I’ve often found that when you start with the historical aspect of a garment, fabric or pattern, it often yields many insights that make sense of their use in the present, and why we perceived a certain way when we wear them.

Historically, women have borrowed or have been influenced by many menswear items. Stripes were originally a major part of men’s suiting and casual wear, but many important historical and fashion figures have influenced the way they have been used within fashion.

Vertical Stripes

History

The world famous London Savile Row is considered by many to be the capital of menswear tailoring. Hugh Holland, the managing director of Kilgour French Stanbury, one of the stores on Savile Row, states that the pin stripes we know and wear today originated from bank uniform around the 19th century. London, being a commerce capital during that time, was definitely the place where fashions emerged. A striped trouser paired with a casual morning coat was the uniform of the financiers of the 19th century. More interestingly, each bank had a specific type of stripe so  their brand and employees could be easily identified.

History PinstripeSource: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4

No one is really quite sure of the exact starting point when the vertical pin stripe was introduced to the public. However, there is another popular theory that the pinstripe came about in the glitzy decade of the 1920s where fashion was such a huge part of everyday culture and lifestyle. Inspired by the boating outfits from the late 1800s, the 20s showed off pin stripes in a fun and fashionable way. Pre-Gatsby era, formalwear was quite subdued so more casual suits came forward as a way to make menswear more playful and vibrant. Take a look at vintage photos of men in pin stripes suits and you’ll start to really understand what makes these vertical pin stripes so wearable and chic. The thinness of the stripe makes it work appropriate, but you can just as easily jazz up vertical stripes with bolder accessories and styling. Pin stripes wouldn’t be the first trend that women have adopted into their own fashion realm and it certainly won’t be the last, since fashion is always changing and borrowing inspiration from the opposite gender. Here are some perfect examples of women’s tailored suits, from vintage to modern:

women pinstripe1Source: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3

If you want to look toward current trends, bold and graphic stripes are the vertical stripe look of the moment. While historically, pin stripes are the reigning kind of vertical stripes, current trends and style have been dictating more graphic, statement-making large vertical stripes.

How They’re Perceived

With a history associated with professional endeavors and formal events, the vertical stripe is seen as powerful, professional and authoritative. Variations of the stripe include pencil and chalk with each gaining their name from the width of the line created by the pin, pencil or piece of chalk. The narrower the stripe, closer together and more classic the stripe color, the more formal the impression they will create. If you are seeking the most professional look, opt for stripes in color pairings of neutral hues like black, navy, and white.

women in pinstripesSource: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4, Image 5

One last vertical stripe worth mentioning is the gangster stripe. Stereotyped more from movie myth than truth, the fact remains that if you wear it, you run the risk of being seen as theatrically contrived than stylish.

Gangster Stripes

Visual Effects and Styling Tips

It’s virtually a no-brainer that vertical stripes are slimming. The vertical line naturally encourages the eye to travel up and down elongating and visually slimming the area. Here are some more vertical features you may want to look for if you want to increase the slimming effect:

  • One central stripe as a focal point of the garment
  • Many thin stripes close together
  • Low color contrast in between the stripes
  • Vertical stripes worn over your largest area
  • Long length vertical garments
  • Don’t wear vertical stripes over areas where you are curvy as the stripes will stretch out of shape.

Try to avoid wearing one prominent stripe to the side if you are wide, as this can make you look wider. A central stripe is best when you wish to look taller or slimmer. When opting for vertical striped pants, avoid fabrics that stretch as this will warp, hug, and expand over your fullest areas.

To read more about styling with vertical design lines see: The Vertical Advantage

Wearing vertical stripesSource: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4 

Horizontal Stripes

History

Dis you know that during medieval times, you could get sent to prison for simply wearing striped clothing? It’s true. Stripes were for prisoners, and well, evil people. We, along with the fashion industry, have definitely evolved from that belief. Now, stripes have moved on from their negative medieval connotations and have become one of the most coveted patterns for fashion.

From the 1800s onwards, horizontal stripes became one of the fashion staples that we know and love today. Queen Victoria dressed her son Prince Albert in a striped sailor suit aboard the Royal Yacht, and from then on stripes were firmly in the public eye. The 19th century then saw the popularity of the horizontally striped Breton shirt worn by French navy men. Coco Chanel, however, gets the ultimate credit for bringing horizontal stripes into the 20th century when she sold it from her store. From then on, pop culture and fashion icons like Audrey Hepburn, Pablo Picasso, Brigitte Bardot, and Andy Warhol further popularized the striped Breton Shirt in the following decades. Nowadays, modern fashion icons like Kate Moss, Emma Stone, and Alexa Chung are huge fans of stripes, and are often photographed wearing this eponymous pattern and styling it in different ways.

History of Horizontal StripesSource: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4

CelebrityStripes

Source: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4, Image 5  

How They’re Perceived

Definitely more laid-back than vertical stripes, horizontal stripes are the more casual and sporty of the two kinds of stripes. For business wear they are best left for your business casual days.

One of the most famous and frequent fashion comebacks is the Breton top and it can be relied on to give your look a chic, nautical image. While these stripes do have a definite sporty or casual stereotype there’s no need to feel trapped into the looks as there are many ways to dress the stripes up through the use of tailoring, color, sheen and shine, texture and accessories. 

CasualstripesSource: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4

DressyHorizontalStripes

Glam up Your Horizontal Stripes Ideas

Source: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3Image 4Image 5  

Visual Effects and Styling Tips

Horizontal stripes can be a bit tricky, but don’t listen to people that say they aren’t flattering. Pulling off a pattern is all about styling and finding the right fit for your body and personal style. With the right elements, horizontal stripes can even be, dare I say it, slimming. Here are some tips to make sure that horizontal stripes slim you down:

  • Look for garments with many thin stripes close together
  • Choose low to medium color contrast between the stripes. Think monochromatic like navy and midnight blue stripes or red and maroon stripes
  • Ensure the garment is longer than it is wide (the middle photo below is too short).
  • For pants and skirts look for sturdier fabrics with some elasticity.
  • Wear the horizontal stripe over your smallest area.
  • Consider your body type. Full figured women can get away with slightly wider stripes while petites should opt for thinner lines.
  • Be mindful of the garment silhouette a striped item comes in.

Horizontal Styling Tips

Source: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3

To read more about styling with vertical design lines see: Horizontal Help.

Ann2015Blue

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Ann Reinten AICI CIP
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HOW TO MIX PRINTS, PATTERNS & TEXTURES

By | Colour, Coordination, How To... | One Comment

Do you get a little bamboozled when it comes to mixing prints and patterns together?  It’s not really that difficult when you have a few tried and true guidelines to follow. 

The more prints and patterns you try to combine in one outfit the more skill it takes, and when the fad/trend is at its height you’ll see designers pushing the boundaries to imprint their ideas on the fashion forward.  The wiser of us will pull back a little from their flights of fantasy and create outfits that work for our height, weight, shape and age.

Know When to say No 

When you peruse stores and fashion magazines you’ll be bombarded with photos of models wearing all manner of weirdness, and just because a model is wearing it or a designer has deemed it to be ‘in’ does not mean that it’s worthy of wearing.

When you see a look you’re attracted to ask yourself:

  • Will I be the focus if I wear this?  If the outfit is the clear attention winner – pass it by.
  • Do I feel a sense of confusion looking at this?  Yes –  pass it by. 
  • Is it ugly? Yes – pass it buy.
  • If I wear this will my best or worst features be highlighted?  No need to give you the answer here.
  • Will I get my money worth in wearings from these pieces, or, it it a one season only look?  One season – pass it by unless you have plenty of cash to spend. 
  • Can they be separated to create other outfits?  No- pass it by.

Get insync

To appear harmonious the colors and/or shapes within an outfit need to look as though they belong together.

Here are how to to mix prints and patterns together:
  • If you are a novice max out at two patterns
  • The busier or more complex the pattern/print, the better you are to coordinate it with a solid colored garment or a garment with a simple pattern or texture.g, pin stripe   
  • When mixing prints and patterns look for a characteristic that you can use to unite the patterns.  This may be a colour (the easiest), the theme or design line.
  • Texture should be considered a pattern if the pattern is obvious when you stand 1 meter (3 feet) away from the garment.
  • Different textures are often easier to mix than different patterns.
  • One pattern should be dominant so the eye has a place to settle on first. And that place should be your best area given that’s where the focus will be.
  • Adding a solid colored accessory or skin between patterns can lock them together and/or calm the overall effect.
  • Ask store assistants if there were other items that were designed to team with the garment you have chosen.  Often designers put a story together that consists of several mix and match garments but always keep your in mind that every item in your wardrobe should go with at least three other items if they are to be a good purchase.

Mixing solid colors and patterns

This is a task that businessmen need to master as they commonly need to coordinate a suit, shirt and tie.  However, the rules are just as relevant for women when a ‘mix everything together’ pattern trend is in.

Failsafe coordination comes from mixing two patterns and one solid color or two solid colors and one pattern.

Coordinating 3 Patterns

  • Look for a common theme color, line or design.
  • Each pattern/print should be a different scale: small, medium and large.
  • Select each print/pattern in a different value – light, medium and dark.   
  • One pattern should stand out from the rest.
  • The smaller the prints or patterns, the easier it is to mix them.  However, avoid mixing two patterns of the same size as this can appear to busy unless there is a significant colour difference.

Now you’ve got the gist of pattern coordination you’re ready to look at the catwalk with a educated eye.  Test what you’ve learned by casting your eye over the following websites sites showing Fall 2013 mixed pattern looks.