Patterns

Hi guys, hope you have all recovered from a lovely holiday - just in time for more celebrating tomorrow night for NYE!  I put together today's outfit because I wanted to show you how to wear a pattern.  I know some of you might not feel comfortable wearing patterned pieces, but the skirt below from Anthropologie is good for first timers or those uncomfortable with a statement piece; reason being - it is mostly made up of darker colors and the print is small-ish, so it doesn't attract as much attention as say... a zebra print.

I picked this ivory ruffle top from J. Crew because it works well with the colors in the skirt and has a little flare (aka ruffle) at the top, but it doesn't detract the attention away from the skirt.... and that's just what we want, because the skirt should be the star of the outfit.

I'm not a huge fan of mixing patterns, and I know some people can pull it off, but I prefer that the other pieces in the outfit add to the beauty of the skirt, instead of them competing with the pattern.  I picked two options to wear over the ivory top - a nude colored sweater or a black boyfriend blazer with rolled up sleeves.  Both would be great, it just depends on personal preference.  If you are looking for a more relaxed feel, the sweater might be better - but for a day at the office, you might opt for the blazer.  The little suede beauties are from Nine West and are on sale for only 30 bucks right now - score!  They bring a little more interest to the table than say, a plain black leather heel (and for thirty dollars how could you pass them up, come on!).  For the accessories, I added a yellow flower post earring from Anthro to bring out the bits of yellow in the skirt, and a "melon" colored bag.  Both pieces add a bit of brightness to the otherwise muted tones in the outfit and picks up the pink/orange/yellow colors in the skirt.


Items in this set:
Forever cardigan, $90, Jcrew.com
Kelsey ruffle top (ivory), $88, Jcrew.com
Whizbang Mini, $88, Anthropologie.com
Joezee Shoe, ON SALE FOR $30!, Ninewest.com
Filtre Knit Boyfriend Blazer, $39, Nordstrom.com
Peyton Leather Carryall in Melon, $358, Coach.com