Prints, they are everywhere right now. It can be very daunting walking into a shop to face a barrage of bright colours and crazy patterns, but I think we need to try a few out. I will be the first to admit that I am a little scared of a loud print. Sometimes they can wear you rather than the other way around and there is a real fear of looking like Su Pollard*. Although saying that, I once spent an afternoon with Su Pollard, she is so lovely and was telling me all about her ‘ladies problems’ within 6 minutes of meeting. Yet, she has a ‘unique’ look that won’t suit us all.
There is a summery feel to wearing a loud print though. I think wearing something bold would make it almost impossible to be miserable. How can you wear a Tropical Hawaiian shirt and be crying into your gin at the end of the evening? Surely an outfit like that would make you the life and soul of the party, right? I do think we need to ease ourselves in gently, so I’ve come up with a few ‘themes’ to get us into it…
THE FLORAL PRINT DRESS
This is easy, especially if you stick to a more ditsy print. A perfect look for a summer party with a heel, but also super simple to wear every day with a trainer, an espadrille or a flat sandal. I love love this ‘See By Chloe’ dress. My friend Arlene bought the same one in white a while ago for a party, but I think it will be the gift that keeps on giving this summer, It’s so nice. I want it.
1. See By Chloe Black Floral Midi Dress (White one here)
2. & Other Stories Sandals (20% discount code SXD20)
3. Mango Floral Maxi Dress
4. The Outnet Tori Burch Espadrilles
THE TROPICAL PRINT SHIRT
I do love a Hawaiian shirt. My husband owns many, but they are massively oversized so annoyingly I can’t steal for myself. The kids also had excellent baby versions when they were little. I’ve never been to Hawaii but I imagine it’s mandatory to wear a Tropical print shirt and drink Pina Coladas for breakfast over there and I’ll totally down with that. Let’s keep it casual and wear with boyfriend jeans but push the boat out a tiny bit and add a printed shoe…
1. Top Shop Jungle Print Shirt
2. Stradivarius Tropical Print Shirt
3. The Outnet Iris & Ink Boyfriend Jeans
4.The Outnet Frame Boyfriend Jeans
5. New Look Palm Print Espadrilles
6. Vans Floral Slip On Trainers
THE LOUD PRINT SKIRT
An easy way to dip into this trend would be to pair your loud printed skirt with a simple plain white T‑Shirt and white trainer. M&S do good plain t‑shirts, I’ve got some from there that are older than most people I work with. If you were feeling more adventurous you could go the full hog and match your skirt to your top. Warehouse have got a lot of coordinating tops and skirts in right now, I kind of like it. I ordered this orange skirt, will report back on it via Instagram next week…
1. M&S Autograph White Cotton T‑Shirt
2. Stradivarius Tropical Print Midi Skirt
3. Adidas Classic Stan Smith
4. Warehouse Floral Shirt
5. Warehouse Floral Midi Skirt
6. Puma Rubber Soul Trainers
THE PRINTED JUMPSUIT
Finally, something for you adventurous ladies out there. Go full-on and try out a printed jumpsuit. I think this would be a great alternative to a dress for a wedding or a summer event.Add a classic summer espadrille to complete the look. Possibly not the wisest move for a festival though. The toilet struggle is real.
1. Mango bird print jumpsuit
2. Mango Tropical print jumpsuit
3. &Other Stories Espadrilles (20% off with SXD20)
4. Top Shop Wedge Espadrilles
*If you don’t know who Su Pollard is, then shame on you — or you might be too young to remember Hi-Di-Hi. Here’s when I met her a few years ago. I look mildly terrified and I clearly forgot to put any make-up on. Su would never do that…
K x
