STYLE ADVICE OF THE WEEK: Pattern Envy

July 29th, 2015 at 2:00am

The summer season is a time to set aside the neutrals from fall, dust off the patterns and colors that you forgot were in your wardrobe and create some pattern envy. The fashion world offers a large variety of patterns and colors in clothing. Off the top of my mind, there is paisley, floral, geometric and stripes to name a few. The choice is yours!

For this look, this Fashionista is looking stunning in a patterned bell-sleeve dress. Bell-sleeve dresses are a flared sleeve trend for the spring/summer season. We have tackled the reappearance of flared bottoms; it is only fair to also mention the return of the flared sleeve. This look demonstrates dresses with statement-making sleeves and patterns. It seems that this spring/summer season is a time for ‘70s revival, consumed with the throwback to decades-old silhouettes (flares) and fabrics. Though these ‘70s-style trends return today, there have been modern tweaks and fresh color combinations added to the groovy design.

Lately, I have seen variations of these dramatic bell-sleeved dresses in almost every fashion retail company. Fun fact regarding bell-sleeves—during the Renaissance, women would ingeniously hide things in the sleeves of these dresses. These trendy dresses guarantee a fun and flirty statement in your closet and look on campus, as well as a means to keep or hide items in the sleeves.

This Fashionista effortlessly showcases a combination of comfort and style with her patterned bell-sleeve dress paired with a beige cross-body handbag and finished off the chic look with a neutral strappy sandal. This bohemian patterned look can also be achieved using any pattern and material bell-sleeve dress of your choice. This Fashionista is most definitely creating pattern envy across campus in this bohemian floral pattern.

What is your STYLE ADVICE OF THE WEEK? “Never be afraid to try out different patterns; taking risks is a necessary part of life. You never know—you might actually like playing with patterns. Style is about wearing what you love and using your favorite pieces to successfully construct a chic outfit.”

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