Good Morning and welcome to the new Crazy Blonde Life! I’m so excited about the new look of the blog, and along with the new look come new ideas for content and discussion about all things important to women! I want Crazy Blonde Life to be an amazing space where everyone can learn a few new things and just have a really good time. It’s important to me that I’m talking about issues and topics that you are interested in…so PLEASE drop a comment at the end of the post and let me know what’s on your mind!

Keep scrolling to the very end to find out the winners of the Vera Bradley & Crazy Blonde Life Giveaway!

Today, I decided to step out of my box and wear an outfit that I normally wouldn’t choose. While shopping the other day at my favorite local boutique, I spotted the cute silk pants that I’m wearing and they were paired with a matching print blouse. While I liked that combination, my eyes were more drawn to a polka dot blouse. Knowing that I was looking for something different, I chose to pair the mixed prints. It’s an interesting and very versatile outfit that I would be perfectly comfortable wearing to any number of events. I had a little trouble with the shoes, but ended up loving these white booties by Jeffrey Campbell. All of this led to my first blog post on the new Crazy Blonde Life…so…here you go! It’s all about mixing patterns!

The only “fashion rule” that feels more outdated than “Don’t mix your prints” is “Don’t wear white after Labor Day”! Who made all these rules anyway. As women in midlife it seems that we have an ever increasing number of fashion “rules”…but never fear – you can mix your prints!

Despite season after season of pattern-clashing street-style inspiration, you still might hesitate before placing two different prints together, but it doesn’t have to be that way!  Leandra Medine, of the blog Man Repeller has built her entire brand on bending these old-fashioned “rules”; Tanya Taylor (you’ll love this brand) is all about mixing and matching bright floral designs;…and the list goes on. The point being is that there are some secrets to successfully mixing prints, but pulling it off is completely doable. Keep reading and I’ll let you in on the “rules” for seamlessly mixing and matching your prints as well as a gallery of fun examples!

Keep the palette consistent—in this case, black and white—and then add bold accents like a bold bag and white booties.

While scanning your closet for prints that could pair well together, think about how the colors complement each other.

Choose one print to dominate and one as an accent.

Pick two different prints that share a single color or, keep your fabrics in the same color family. Both prints need to be either inverses of each other or pick up on the same tones.

Pair mixed prints with neutrals.

Use the exact same pattern in a larger or smaller scale. Achieving the visual balance you want from print-clashing relies on the color palette. You don’t want to color clash.

Treat stripes and leopard as neutrals – try adding leopard shoes with your striped button down blouse for an easy to achieve look.

Break up patterns with a belt for a cohesive look as I’ve done here.

Pair the same print in boldly contrasting colors.

Polka dots and stripes always work.

Click on the arrow to scroll through this gallery of ideas for mixing and matching prints!

Mixing prints is an opportunity to really have fun and express yourself creatively through your clothes, so just have fun with it!

Drum Roll Please…

The winners of the Vera Bradley & Crazy Blonde Life Giveaway are:

Bekah Lansford and Trina Grandinetti

Congratulations Bekah and Trina!