Urban Darling’s focus for February is “Mix & Match”…so I’m going to start with the obvious…pattern mixing! This is one of my FAVORITE (though potentially daunting…) trends to wear right now — Darlings, I swear there is a method to this madness if you’ll just bear with me!

FIND A BASE COLOR: trick #1 is to stick with a similar palette or color family. The easiest way to start mixing pattern is with black and white…that’s a combo that’s relatively difficult to mess up, as well as easy to find! (Check the windows and mannequins at White House/Black Market…they always do a wonderful job with this.)

MIX UP SCALES: one pattern should be more dominant, the other more subdued. For example, if you are working with my black and white example, you’d pair a small-scale houndstooth-check pencil skirt with a boldly graphic floral blouse. Look for strikingly different patterns that don’t fight each other…contrast is the name of the game.

KEEP IT SEPARATED: if you’re just dipping your toe into pattern mixing, another trick is to maintain some space between your patterned items. Maybe your look is about a floral skirt and a stripe scarf, but you keep the distance of a solid sweater as a buffer in between.

NEVER-FAIL MIXES: there are a few combinations that are relatively failsafe when it comes to getting into the mix. Florals + stripes or checks, leopard + florals, and tweed or houndstooth + nearly any print.

So Darlings, if you haven’t tried mixing it up before, you’re going to have a LOAD of fun with this! Mixing patterns can open your eyes to a veritable world of new possibilities in your wardrobe as you look at your familiar favorites in a fresh, new way! Enjoy yourself…and let us know what favorite combos you come up with!

written by our very own Darling Ashley Brooks