How Do I Mix Prints and Patterns Stylishly?

Just get clashing: Mix and match is a great way to get happy

Ask The Kit is the real-talk advice column you never knew you needed. Every week, writer Leanne Delap answers your pressing beauty and style questions. How can I find good plus-size options? How can I get shiny hair? How do I define my style? Send your Qs to ask@thekit.ca.

“Is there a styling secret to mixing prints? I love the look, but am fearful of looking like a dog’s breakfast if I do it wrong.”  —Pattern-curious in Toronto (no name submitted)

Way back, circa 1995, I wrote a feature story about what was then a brand new phenomenon: the rise of the fashion stylist. It seems incredible today that there was ever a time when fashion stylists didn’t exist. There have always been dressers and costume designers (for royalty, for Hollywood films). Fashion editors have “styled” shoots since magazines with photos began, selecting clothing and accessories in tandem with a designer or a photographer’s concept and vision.

But it was only in the ’90s that fashion editors morphed into this new, broader job title, with increasing prestige and influence, found in the dressing of celebrities for ad campaigns, photo calls and awards shows. This first wave of stylists became celebrities themselves (think Rachel Zoe). The job description came to encompass “off-duty” dressing for those in the public eye, so celebs could get good shots for the paparazzi on their coffee run/training session/Whole Foods organic outing. Princess Diana was the pioneer of setting trends with this kind of photo—especially in the athleisure arena, well before its time—for what she wore in paparazzi photos as they followed her around her day.

Today stylists are ubiquitous (like social media MUAs, which is the acronym used for makeup artists now, but that is a separate story), changing the game of how we shop and edit outfits. We now get fully formed “outfit formulas” passed down from on high (a.k.a., Instagram influencers), who cast themselves in their own fashion shoots. It is a wonder of chutzpah and hustle, but it obscures the message for consumers with so many individual takes on trends and style to sift through.

This fashion-history preamble is to explain why we became intimidated to boldly mix our own prints: The rise of the stylist meant that experimentation was left to the pros or at least, the self-declared pros. It can feel like there are secret rules and tricks we don’t have access to.

I admire fashion individualists, who fearlessly clash and take risks with new ideas (or re-mixed old ideas). I also admire people who have honed their styling craft the hard way, putting in the long hours on set with mentors (and spending much of their week on the decidedly unglamorous schlepping of goods around that is the invisible part of the gig). So I sought out Nadia Pizzimenti, a longtime Toronto editorial and advertising stylist, who most recently has been shooting with the Canadian brand Roots, to talk to us about the strategies and attitude adjustments we need to take our print mixing to the next level.

First of all, Pizzimenti reports that the tie-dye tidal wave is over. Because this was a sweats and comfy-casual-oriented stay-at-home trend it makes sense we are all officially tired of it. “I’m seeing lots of gingham and checks replacing tie-dye,” she says. “What I’m loving is that prints seem to be mainly on pants right now.” With all the lockdowns, she says, “fun is limited. We are looking for something fun, and pants are it.

Pizzimenti also sees a move away from fast fashion, a sector that went big on the comfort-dressing trend. “People are wanting something that feels special and more handmade,” she says, from smaller, artisanal producers, because we are “craving that kind of more intricate piece. There is a lot of patchwork and quilting, which is kind of a built-in pattern mixing.” She also cites kitschy vintage-style ’60s wallpaper or “couch florals,” as an eye-popping trend.

As for stripes, which are huge this season (and every spring, really, as it is such a fresh, crisp summer classic). “I’ve been loving the Breton stripe, that French Riviera summer look,” says Pizzimenti. “But then, I really want to go away, and that feels like the closest I can get to it!” Striped shirts, she says, are such an important staple she thinks of them as a neutral, meaning they can really be mixed with anything. A great pairing with a navy and white striped shirt is a flowy floral print for a romantic and breezy summer look.

The influence of designers on this season is a little hard to see due to the reconfiguring of the fashion universe without runway shows. But this pattern mixing and matching is part of a longer-term trend, playing with optical effects. The master of print and texture and colour clashing is Alessandro Michele, who revolutionized Gucci from the start of his tenure, in 2015, introducing a romantic retro maximalist vibe into the larger culture. Pucci, says Pizzimenti, has been re-introducing vintage patterns riffing on its archives to great success. Dries van Noten, long the king of painterly pattern, continues to innovate and drive the look forward. “There is a smaller label I love, Mira Mikati,” Pizzimenti says, “that is a print and colour explosion.” Mikati’s motto is “putting the fun back into fashion.”

When it comes to how to mix and match, “It’s all about balancing,” says Pizzimenti. “Mix a small pattern with a big pattern. Pair up colours that go together.” A great tip is to keep it monochromatic, as that will tie the prints together. “Also when you are head-to-toe monochromatic it lengthens you.” Mixing solid colour in with prints is another nifty styling trick; it helps balance out the transition from one print to another.

Pizzimenti says we should also adopt the stylist’s habit of saving reference shots for inspiration. Create a mood board, or examples of how someone has put something together in a unique way that you think might work with your own style. “It’s a great opportunity to reach back into your closet, find things you haven’t worn for a while, and try them out with some unusual print mixes. You never know what will work until you try it. That really is how stylists land on the right balance in an outfit.” Hey, we all have some time. Maybe playing with pattern could become the new sourdough bread?

Shop the advice

Mixing and matching prints should be a fun project, in a spring where we really need some fun! There are no rules—at this moment in fashion time, really, anything goes—but a few guidelines might help you start clashing things up. Balance out little prints with big prints; monochromatic colourways are a way to lend unity, balance and the illusion of length to an outfit. All the regular concepts of balance in an outfit formula—minding the overall shape and silhouette, choosing where to add in emphasis on detail or oversize fits to counter slimmer or shorter elements—still apply! 

CosCos top, $31, cosstores.com
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The Breton-style horizontal striped top is a classic for a reason: It is dependably chic, looks fresh and add punch to any outfit. It can be mixed with most any pattern or print. 

 

Hilary MacMillanHilary MacMillan shorts, $175, hilarymacmillan.com
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Canadian designer Hilary MacMillan is celebrated for her high-quality, her great fabrications and prints, and her dedication to a broad range of sizes. 

Victoria BeckhamVictoria Beckham hat, $195, simons.ca
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Not ready for a full-psychedelic couch-pattern mash-up situation? Take on the challenge of pattern mixing with a great accessory. This VB bucket is guaranteed to lift spirits! 

 

SmytheSmythe pants, $395, simons.ca
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Fun trousers are the impulse buy of the year: Just having some in your closet will make it a more enjoyable place to visit.

 

MangoMango jacket, $120, mango.com
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On-trend gingham paired with a classic, easy to throw on shape will make this jacket a summer favourite, ready to mix with any pattern

 

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