I Want What She's Wearing: A Floral Statement

- By Teresa Greenfeld -

Every season, we compose our fashion shopping lists; the hottest, the must-haves, the face-social-exile-without-it items. We scour the stores, click endlessly through a bevy of bookmarked shopping sites, and finally, upon a job well done, we begin mentally creating outfits. We picture how great we’ll look in our bright Helmut Lang pants, 3.1 Phillip Lim top, and hot pink CC Skye bag or that Elizabeth and James dress (perfect for those studded Zara sandals). The inevitable problem with this? The trends that top our lists every season often vary so widely, resulting in what I like to call “fashion compartmentalization”. Simply put, we separate each trend into it’s own look, independent of the rest of the season’s must-haves, ever fearful of the “a fashion magazine threw up on me” look. Dinner on Friday? Yes, I’ll be playing the role of Nancy Neon. Monday meeting? Of course, I’ll be appearing as Patty Pastel. Sorry, I can’t make it for drinks – I’ll be at a party as Caroline ColorBlock.

Jacket by Alberta Ferretti, jeans by Paige Premium Denim, handbag by Christian Dior, shoes by Alexander Birman

In order to integrate our wardrobes, (and hopefully the accompanying personalities), learning to properly mix and match trends is essential. Olivia, taking two of the season’s biggest trends – floral denim and brights, shows that the key to combining this particular look is tone. When you’re mixing two standout trends, their tones should reflect one cohesive image, in both color and style. Start by picking your statement piece; in this case, it’s floral. Then structure the rest of your look around it. To show how this is done, we’ve recreated Olivia’s look three ways: