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Style Tips: Get the Skinny on Prints, Part 2

October 11, 2019 By Sozo Staff Leave a Comment

valentino large leopard print calf hair rockstud flap bag
Valentino large leopard-print calf hair rockstud flap bag

Maybe you’ve reverted to wearing only solid colors because, well, prints can be tricky. We’d like to help take some of the confusion out of why different kinds of prints are flattering on different people.

Just like being able to choose suitable colors and color combinations, being pattern-savvy isn’t just about trends and personal taste: there’s also a science to it. We started in Part 1 with looking at how they generally affect those of different heights.

Prints to Minimize Well-Rounded Parts

Louis Vuitton Yellow Epi Bucket Bag, Multi Color Sheer Scarf, and Blu Epi CC holder
Louis Vuitton Yellow Epi Bucket Bag, Multi Color Sheer Scarf, and Blu Epi CC holder

Whether it’s your hips or your bust that’s proportionately larger, the basic idea is the same: you want to visually minimize that area. For pear-shaped bodies with larger hips, you want to keep any patterns on your bottom half small in scale. To help balance out your appearance, you can also pair that dark, solid-colored (or subtly patterned) bottom with a brightly colored top — perhaps one with a large-scale pattern such as classic horizontal stripes.

By contrast, if you have a larger bust and have an apple-shaped body, you want to highlight your hips. You can do that by pairing a dark, solid-colored top with brighter or lighter bottoms, possibly with a large-scale pattern. A skirt with horizontal stripes might also work well for you, and if you do decide to wear a patterned top, be sure to go with a small or very subtle print.

Color & Contrast and What They Mean for Prints

Chanel White & Black denim large tote
Chanel White & Black denim large tote

Choosing prints isn’t just about making your body appear to be a different size or shape than it really is. There are three basic principles relating to prints that you should always keep in mind, and the first is color and contrast. This relates to your personal coloring; depending on your skin tone and hair and eye color, certain colors will make you appear vibrant and healthy, while others will make you appear tired, washed out, or older than you really are. Most women have an idea of which colors look best on them, but often they fail to consider the issue of contrast.

If you have a very light complexion but dark brown hair, you have high contrast; if you have blond hair and a medium complexion or both a dark skin tone and dark hair, you would have low contrast. If you have medium brown hair or dark blond hair, you’re probably somewhere in between. Depending on the amount of contrast that your appearance has, you want to essentially mimic that amount of contrast in the patterns that you wear. A print with a high-value contrast might be black and white, whereas one with low-value contrast would have a far more subtle difference in color contrast. The prints themselves also vary in intensity, from bold and dramatic, high-value prints to more low-key, low-value prints.

In Part 3, we’ll take a look at two more principles relating to print choices.

Penny Pincher Boutique

We’re Westchester County, NY’s upscale consignment store offering women’s designer clothing, handbags, jewelry, shoes, and so much more. Visit our boutique at 184 Harris Rd in Bedford Hills, NY or shop online at www.pennypincherboutique.com. We also offer a selection of our items for sale on eBay. Shipping is available across the U.S.

All images are from the Penny Pincher Boutique Instagram page and may represent consigned products which have already been sold.

Filed Under: Shopping

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