Trend Report : Print Mixing

Print Mixing is one of the scariest trends at the moment, but I think it’s one of the most exciting and liberating. When in life have we had the opportunity to break all the fashion rules and actually look awesomely cool doing it?

Celebrities are starting to hook on to the trend, but it still hasn’t reached that totally commercial market just yet. I still think this is an upcoming trend which will make others envious of your eclectic and quirky style. There are a few tricks for those shy of jumping straight in, a la Dries Van Noten (my favourite print mixing designer, who I think actually coined the look almost a decade ago)

 I’ll go into the different ways to wear mixed prints further on, but first take a look at some of the famous stars rocking this look! (Including the amazing Miranda Kerr - right-, who would look good in a big black sack anyway, but hey!)

Whitney Port

                                           Gwen Stefani                                          

Miranda Kerr with raggamuffin & friend

If the idea of print mixing seems intimidating or like a bit of a visual overload, you can tone it down a touch in the following ways...

Print Mixing for Wimps :

1.                                      Keep it tonal, i.e. blue print with blue print

Keep it Tonal

2.                                               Mix a neutral print with a neutral print

Neutrals Together

3.       Keep each print to two or three colours max, so there is not too much going  on at once

4.       Another easy way to wear, is to match your print with a stripe (see below stripe top with floral pant) Stripes are so common place that people don’t think of them so much as a print, meaning you can get a relatively watered down version of this look, quite easily

Having an oufit made up of two of the same type of print, but in different scales and/or colours is another fun way of mixing print. For example, large spot with small spot or large scale stripe with small scale stripe. See below :

Stripe on Stripe

                                               

      Stripe with Floral in Neutral Tones

Stripe as an Easy Mixing Piece

GET THE LOOK

From left: ASOS, Karen Walker, ASOS, Kate Sylvester 

...and I LOVE this clutch, so let's end on a fab note! :)

ASOS

x

Changing it up!

People who know me know I have serious issues with spending money on clothes.. I either buy a LOT and end up regretting the bad choices in clothes I made OR I just buy nothing and my close friends over the years have constantly provided me hand-me-downs. I am the youngest of 3 children so the excitement of receiving these second hand items is ingrained in my very being.

Fellow wolverine Kimberley is a perfect example of one of the many people who provide me goodies - However her hand-me-downs are often in perfect condition and barely touched... the joys of working in the fashion industry!

My bank account is drying out this month after a busy summer and instead of being able to buy new things I dug up a few garments and my sewing machine and set to work...

My first items were: A hand-me-down singlet from my friend Hechan (This must be at LEAST a few years old now, a bit out of shape but I still love to wear it!). I always wore this singlet tucked into high waisted pants or skirts but found it was too long and so sometimes looked a bit strange... Next was my awesome acid-wash high waisted jeans I got from my lovely friend Erika and her store Vintage-Me. These jeans either shrunk or my legs have got fatter... so to the point they no longer are comfortable to wear and I am always scared I am going to split them!

So I made the grey singlet a crop top with a pocket made from the left over denim from my jeans. I love high waisted pants so I just chopped off the tight legs on my jeans and now they are a pair of nice shorts for the summer!

It wasn't till after I made the alterations that Kimberley told me to blog about it, so I apologise for the 'Before' photos! I just had to dig up what I could find!

My second item: A play-suit bought from a second-hand store in Toulouse, France with my friend Raukura. I LOVE this playsuit and have worn it so much over the past few years that it started to get a bit raggy looking. From the beginning this playsuit was quite a lot too big for me but I didn't mind at all. Now I have taken the floppy sleeves off and hemmed it with a blue ribbon. I also took it in quite a bit from the 2 front seams. I love it!!

Get creative this summer and save your money I say!!

Shopping and Stereo and Shopping

Quality mother daughter time and crazy partying are not usually two things that go together (unless you’re the Ridges) but it seems to be the perfect way to describe my amazing long weekend away in Melbourne.

Our trip started with a 6:30am flight out of Auckland allowing Mum and I a full day of shopping yeee! After checking into our perfectly suited 2 bedroom apartment in Little Lonsdale Street, we set off to Bourke Street Mall where we spent the majority of our time in chain stores you just wished would make the final move over the ditch to NZ; Zara, Sportsgirl, General Pants Co, Bardot…sigh.

After a very well earned sleep, we started our Saturday morning at Federal Coffee Palace for some of the best coffee in Melbourne and the most divine bircher muesli before visiting the Myer jewelry and shoe departments.

Reluctantly I bid farewell to mum to meet up with my long time friend Lisa. We made our way to our friends place in Northcote (pronounced north-cut in Australia, filth) where we “sipped” a few champagnes before making our way to Stereosonic. My favourite act at Stereo was by far Carl Cox who was conveniently playing in a tent when the rain decided to pour down!

After shopping all morning and dancing all afternoon/evening I am still surprised I managed to wake up early on Sunday to spend another full day shopping! But I guess I had too, I was in Melbourne after all! Mum and I spent the day exploring the arcades and laneways off Little Collins Street, Collins Street and Flinders Lane where I could only admire the amazing designer clothing and footwear on offer while mum was able to treat herself to some lovely shoes. Monday morning was spent (you guessed it!) shopping before making our way to the airport for our flight home.

If you haven’t been to Melbourne before, I highly recommend booking some of the cheap flights that pop up often and get yourself over there. Apart from the shopping, Melbourne also has awesome restaurants, shows, museums and art galleries worth visiting. But when the shopping is so good, why do anything else?

For more information about Melbourne visit www.visitmelbourne.com and keep checking www.airnewzealand.co.nz for flight deals!