How Many Prints is Too Many? & Link Up On the Edge #323
If this outfit looks familiar to you, it’s because I have shared if before with the now dissolved Stylish Monday group for a post featuring Spring Trends. I bought the sweater and pants at Indigo Sun, a cute little boutique in Asheville, North Carolina, which specializes in festival wear, fair trade imports, and regional and local art. The sweater and pants were displayed in different areas of the shop but when both pieces individually caught my attention, I realized they were perfect for each other. As we were heading into spring at the time of my purchase, I thought the outfit would be fabulous for spring and summer festivals. As it turns out, however, both the sweater and the pants are much too heavy for the warm weather seasons. So I decided it was time to restyle this outfit for cooler weather and I definitely like it much better this way!
But if you know me at all, you know that I just don’t throw on any old clothes when I get dressed. I like to challenge myself so when I do get dressed, I get dressed with a specific purpose in mind. So for my restyle of this sweater and pants pairing, I challenged myself to combine as many prints and patterns as I could and still keep the look cohesively put together. Up until now, my personal best for print mixing was 5 different patterns in one outfit. In general, when I combine multiple prints into one outfit, I usually comfortably land in the range of 2-3 prints. It’s difficult to keep adding prints because we can only wear so many garments at one time. This is where accessories come in handy for a plentiful print mixing amalgamation.
In this outfit, I am counting 8 different prints and patterns, exceeding my personal best by 3 prints! But I had to wear a bounty of accessories to make this happen. The 8 prints are as follows:
- The fair aisle print on my sweater.
- The floral embroidery on my trouser legs.
- The map print (of Yellowstone National Park) on my scarf.
- The large polka dot print on my hat.
- The mandala print on my tote bag.
- Three of my hair scrunchies also have prints but you can’t see them very clearly. The top one is a mustard color with white polka dots.
- The second hair scrunchie is green with a floral print.
- The third hair scrunchie has a metallic ombre pattern.
Keeping all of the patterns in similar color palettes while combining small scale with larger scale prints helps to maintain cohesiveness in the look. Although if you were really bold, you could create any mismatched combination that you makes your soul happy regardless of the colors and prints. Who actually sets the rules for what matches anyway?!
Side story about matching: Someone once told me that brightly colored floral bouquets absolutely would not match dark green bridesmaids’ dresses. I was so confused when I replied, “But all flowers have green leaves so how in the world could any flower not match green?” By the way, I had my brightly colored bouquets and they looked gorgeous against the dark green velvet dresses. Flowers won’t match green. Sheesh. How silly.
Well, that’s all I have for today…my 8 print outfit that I absolutely love. By the way, I think I wore this outfit 3 times in one week because I liked it so much. And it is amazingly comfortable, too! If I recall correctly, these pants came in three different colors and now I am kicking myself for not buying them all! I will definitely be visiting Indigo Sun again on my annual North Carolina road trip in February.
So tell me, how many prints are too many?
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Keeping it on the edge,
Shelbee
Joining these Fabulous Link Parties.
Outfit Details: Pants and Sweater-Indigo Sun / Tunic-Torrid / Elephant Necklace-Thrifted / Mala Beads-Zen Spirit Malas / Beaded Tassel Necklace-Cato / Hat-Wona Trading / Scarf, Earrings, and Bag-Gifts from friends / Scrunchies and Fingerless Gloves-Amazon / Shoes-Old
38 Comments
Pamela
You did a great job, 8 patterns and yet the overall effect is incredibly pretty and calming!
Have a great weekend!
Pamela
http://www.style-yourself-confident.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Pamela! This outfit definitely was in tune with my bohemian soul! I wish you a lovely weekend as well, my friend!
xoxo
Shelbee
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
I think that all colours you see in nature work very well together. And although you wear a lot of prints, it doesn’t look like you do. It’s because the colours work great! Have a fabulous weekend. I’m off to Amsterdam!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Nancy! I hope you have an amazing time in Amsterdam! I can’t wait to go there with you! I am laying low today on this crazy rainy Black Friday, but my sister is coming to visit tomorrow so I am really excited for that! I last saw her in August and that was just for a quick brunch as we were passing through. I get the whole weekend with her this time. Yay!
Shelbee
Jennifer
These prints and colours look so good together!!!
Jennifer
Curated by Jennifer
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Jennifer! I thought so, too! Have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Tamar Strauss-Benjamin
This is such a fun look! You are so happy in it too which matters most!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aw, thanks so much, Tamar! I did feel extra happy in this look!
xoxo
Shelbee
Michelle
As many prints as you can manage! And you’ve managed these beautifully. I love this outfit! When you come to Asheville in February, let’s go to Indigo Sun together. 😀 And flowers won’t match green??? Craziness.
Michelle
https://funkyfashionstyle.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I absolutely, 100%, knew that you were going to respond to this post with that answer…as many as you can manage! I love it! And yes, let’s definitely go shopping at Indigo Sun and that other adorable place I went last time, Traveling Chic Boutique! I am so excited! February can’t come soon enough!
xoxo
Shelbee
Sally in St Paul
You made 8 prints look easy as can be! What a fun layered look. “Flowers not matching green” is priceless! Somebody needs to tell Mother Nature she’s coming a fashion faux pas, haha.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Sally! Oh my goodness, I just giggled out loud at your reaction to “flowers not matching green”! Isn’t it the stupidest thing ever?! Silly Mother Nature might need a class in color analysis! Hahaha.
xoxo
Shelbee
Midlife and Beyond
Love how you have styled these beautiful autumnal tones. This is my favourite time of year for the colours we see, just beautiful Shelbee. x
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Alison! I love fall colors, too. But now everything is covered in snow where I live! I hope you have a lovely weekend, my friend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Mica - Away From The Blue
Those are such gorgeous pants and they work so well with the knit! I think the scarf ties it all together so perfectly, such a well coordinated outfit.
Thanks for the link up! Hope you are having a lovely day 🙂
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Mica! I love these pants and they feel like leggings when they are on! Super comfortable with lots of stretchability! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friend.
xoxo
Shelbee
jodie filogomo
That is impressive although I couldn’t replicate the scrunchies, haha!!
XOOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Jodie! You could layer the scrunchies on your wrists like bracelets! Haha
xoxo
Shelbee
Niky
Shelbee, I always love seeing your fun outfits and the creative backdrop scenes for your photo shoots. Love that old rustic barn!
Happy Thanksgiving,
Niky
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Niky! My husband spotted this old run down barn on a road on the outskirts of town! I felt like I might have been trespassing (although I didn’t see any signs that said so), so we did a speed photoshoot! We snapped about 150 photos in less than 5 minutes! Haha. I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving filled with many blessings!
Shelbee
Marsha Banks
Shelbee, I love how you set a goal and then exceed it! This outfit is you 100%! I love the embroidery on your jeans…but then I love embroidery and I will always love a bell bottom! Such a cool, cool outfit! Thanks for the link party!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Marsha! My only regret about this outfit is that I didn’t buy this pants in the other colors! They are so comfortable, like leggings bu with bell bottoms! So I guess they are more like yoga pants. I am going back to this boutique when I visit Asheville in February!
xoxo
Shelbee
Patrick Weseman
You did a great job and look perfect. Very nice. Thanks for hosting and I hope that you and your family had a wonderful week.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Patrick! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
xoxo
Shelbee
Lovely
Such a fun outfit! I love those embroidery details on your pants.
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Lovely! I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!
xoxo
Shelbee
Alexandra
Wow! Love embroidered pants are gorgeous <3
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Alexandra! I really wish I had purchased these pants in the other colors they had, too!
xoxo
Shelbee
Donna B Reidland
What a fun outfit! I love the colors!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Donna! I really appreciate that! I hope you have a lovely weekend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Joanne
Wow! That definitely makes you a print mixing queen for sure. I don’t know that I have ever mixed prints.. it’s pretty unusual for there to even be prints in my closets.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Hahaha, thanks, Joanne! Now that you mentioned it, you really are more of a “solids” kind of girl, aren’t you?! I don’t think I ever mixed a print until I started blogging. Now I almost never wear just one print!
xoxo
Shelbee
chickenruby
I love how you’ve put all the prints together.Thanks for linking with #pocolo
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Suzanne! I appreciate that!
xoxo
Shelbee
Carol
What a cute outfit! I don’t typically mix prints, but you have such a good eye that you’re able to pull it off with awesome results. I think one of the keys is to pay attention to the colors and make sure the colors in the prints are not fighting with each other. Thank you for sharing this post in the Talent-Sharing Tuesdays Link-Up 43.
Carol
http://www.scribblingboomer.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Carol! Honestly, print mixes really do just come to me when I am standing in my closet looking around at all my things. If it pleases my eye, then I wear it! But yes, I think there is probably a certain art to making it looking intentional. Sticking in the same color palette and mixing different sized prints are good guidelines. I find accessories are always an easy way to add another print without going too far over the top. I hope you had a lovely weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Emma Peach
I love this mix of prints! The trousers are fabulous – I hope you find them in other colours when you go back to the store!
Emma xxx
http://www.style-splash.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Emma! I will definitely be visiting that store again when I go to Asheville in February! If I don’t find these pants again, I am sure I will find something equally fabulous.
xoxo
Shelbee