This is probably one of the most exciting things I started trying in the last year or so.  Because this is such a big topic, I’m going to divide the post into floral & stripes (this blog) and dots & floral/dots & stripes (future blog post).  The first time I realized I liked pattern on pattern was after I purchased a Harper Bazaar’s Runway Report in 2010. I’d never purchased a Runway Report before and I was definitely second-guessing my decision after thumbing my way past things like this (these are from the “ready to wear” collections):

But, I continued flipping through those pages and my curiosity/determination to finish the darn thing was rewarded when I spotted this gorgeous outfit…my mind was blown:

My faith in fashion (and purchasing choices) was renewed!  Yes, I know she looks like she’s wearing a bathing suit/diaper underneath that cute little sheer skirt, but the idea of it is what blew my socks off.  Mixing patterns was something that my little OCD demon cringed at – order, neatness, perfection were the rules I followed, so in my mind at the time, mixing patterns = messy.  So, why on earth was I so drawn to this?  It’s because it looks so put together.  Nothing about this screams MESS or WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?…it just looks smart and exudes chicness/chic-atude to the max.  That girl is going to get looks walking down the street, and not because she looks crazy, but because there’s something powerful about knowing what looks good with what and daring to push the boundaries a bit. I wish I could say that after 2010, I rethought my entire wardrobe and started mixing patterns left and right.  But, that wasn’t the case…I let this idea simmer for quite sometime before I got the courage to try it on for size…4 years to be exact.  In one of the Style Me Challenges on Alison Lumbatis’ website, I was given the little push I needed.  The task was to pair leopard flats with a striped black and white top.  Here’s what I came up with:

As you can tell, I was pretty pleased with myself!  l love how this outfit takes aspect of my favorite D&G outfit, but makes it appropriate for my off-the-catwalk life….and I can’t resist throwing in some kind of novelty/cutesy item – in this case, zebra earrings.  My husband thinks that I’m too old for things like dino dresses, zebra earrings, cat/rabbit watches, etc., but they’re ME – a little cooky.  Don’t tell him, but I just bought these, too:

Who can resist doughnut and cupcake earrings?  I certainly can’t…I named my cat Doughnut, I could (but don’t) eat doughnuts for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so of course I’m going to get Doughnut earrings!  I digress…Pattern mixing! My mom, who runs the blog onceuponatimehappilyeverafter.com, and I decided to write about one of our favorite Spring 2015 fashion trends, and we both gravitated toward outfits with a mix of patterns: stipes and dots, dots and florals,or stripes and florals.  Here are some of our favorite runway and street style looks for this season:

My mom captured a similar trend, dots and flowers, on her blog this week.  I’ll be discussing dots and flowers and dots and stripes in my next blog.  Here’s what she came up with:  She looks pretty darn cute, don’t you think?

I love everything about this outfit.  Here’s my take on the flower and stripe trend (I got the inspiration for the outfit from the ModCloth Style Gallery):

The top is from J. Crew Outlet, the shoes are from Forever21, the skirt is from ModCloth and the bag is from Target (gift from my mom…thanks, mom!!)  What do you all think?  Have you tried pattern on pattern?  Looking forward to hearing from you!

Take care,

Lauren 🙂

Update – March 8th, 2015:

In the middle of watching The Walking Dead, and had to give a shout-out to Carol for her great stripe and floral pattern mixing…who says you can’t be tough and look fabulous at the same time?