Oh man do I love having this week off from my full-time job! I know it’s only Monday, but I feel like I got a ton accomplished today! And – bonus! – I put an awesome dinner on the table for the fam (Cheesy Pizza Hotdish with ground turkey – recipe here) with no “just-got-home-from-work-so-what’s-for-dinner” stress at all. (Don’t get me wrong, I love my career – but sometimes it’s nice to have a few days to focus on the home front. I am totally digging it.)
I’m actually going to delve into my world of LuLaRoe fashion with this post, which I know will not be everyone’s cup o’ tea. My foray into selling LuLaRoe is a creative outlet for me – in addition to being an additional financial resource for my family – and I want to spend a little time talking about colors and pattern mixing.
I know – cue the scary music, right?
Except it really isn’t that scary once you get the hang of it. I promise. You can go minimal or you can go big – there are very few “rules” and it’s all about what feels right to you.
The biggest rule I stick to is this: life is too short to wear boring clothes.
Think about that for a moment.
Let’s repeat: life is too short to wear boring clothes.
My Grandma Doris – the queen of animal prints, bright colors, ginormous jungle animal earrings, and 1,001 different nail polish bottles in her bathroom – would approve and no doubt she is looking down at me in heaven and telling me to rock these outfits I’m going to show you. Trust me on this.
Just consider these tips to get you started:
- Monochromatic patterns can be considered solid colors.
- When you are combining two patterns with multiple colors, make sure there is one unifying color in both patterns.
- Vary the sizes and scales of your prints – for example, large floral goes well with small stripes.
- Leopard is an amazing neutral. (My Grandma Doris was ahead of her time.)
- However, there are NO rules. I promise. Just try on some options and go with what feels right for you!
Here are several examples of what I’m talking about – all styled with LuLaRoe from head to toe, of course:
Here I mixed a stripe in the royal blue Cassie skirt with a small floral pattern in the Perfect Tee – this is one of the easiest ways to mix patterns.
Here’s the Cassie skirt worn another way – with a patterned Perfect Tee that really brings out the royal blue in both pieces.
This is a subtle way to mix patterns – the red and white Amelia dress is a bold statement in itself, so I paired it with red leggings with understated roses on them. The reds match perfectly so it works!
Same leggings, different Amelia dress – this one with a fun floral pattern that doesn’t compete with the leggings.
Here’s another Amelia-leggings combination. The dress is mustard and brown with a very subtle striped pattern. I paired the dress with dark green floral leggings – the flowers in the leggings carry the mustard color through and perfectly pair with the tiny stripes.
Here, I’m being more bold and playful with a polka dot Carly dress and patterned leggings that bring out the blue/teal hues of the dress. I love this combination!
Another Carly dress with a black and cream chevron pattern, paired with these gorgeous and bold monarch butterfly leggings, which include black and that same cream. I am THIS CLOSE to keeping this outfit for myself. (Someone should save me from myself. LOL)
More polka dots! (Okay, I have a slight obsession.) This was the very first Carly dress I bought – navy and red geometric pattern with tiny pops of lime green (that you can’t really see in this picture). I love how fun the red and white polka dot leggings make this outfit!
Now I’m getting brighter and bolder here. This is a Julia dress with a subtle reddish-orange pattern, paired with a Perfect Tee that brings out the reddish-orange and adds a beautiful deep purple as well. One bigger pattern with a smaller pattern – both anchored by the reddish-orange. So fun!
And this is going a bit bolder … taking a dark-hued Carly dress (blacks, greens, reds, beige) and paring it with a decidedly summery Sarah cardigan with its almost vintage-y red and beige floral look. I think it totally works and, in fact, makes it easy to “summer-ize” a dress that looks pretty wintery on its own. Perfect for in between seasons like we are now – just throw on some slip-on sneakers and you’re set! (Plus hello, this Carly – this super cool pattern! I want to wear this all year long – and why not?)
And perhaps my boldest pattern-mixing combination … this gorgeous Nicole dress paired with a black Sarah dress with matching purple and teal green hues. At first glance separately, these two pieces may seem unsuited for each other – but the colors tie them both together. Plus, one is geometric and one is floral. Boom! To me, it works. 🙂
My best advice if you’re a newbie to all of these colors and pattern-mixing combos is to start small and don’t hesitate to ask your LuLaRoe Retailer (like me!) for ideas and suggestions. I love to help people find their perfect combinations and explore colors and patterns they may have not thought were for them.
And remember … life is too short to wear boring clothes. 🙂
- My Facebook LuLaRoe group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lularoelaradurben
- Follow me on Instagram – @LuLaRoeLaraDurben
XOXO
Lara