Trend of the Week: Stripes

(dress -- Loft; top -- Urban Outfitters)

This week's trend may seem outdated and even over-the-top for some, but the use of stripes in fashion will always be acceptable. The "rule" that horizontal stripes don't flatter anyone is really just a lie because stripes will make any simple color ten times cooler. Plus, they can make you look like you just got back from a month long trip in Paris, which is always a perk. Obviously, we've seen stripes before, whether we like them or not (at least the I part of we is a huge fan of them). But in today's ever-changing world of fashion, we always have to find new ways to carry on old trends. Instead of blending two completely different patterns (which is extremely difficult and rare to pull off), why not blend two of the same patterns, just with different color schemes? That's what I did today by pairing my striped dress with a simple striped cropped tee. The original dress has a bottom of thin vertical stripes using white and tan, and the top, which is a simple racerback, uses thicker and horizontal stripes. The difference in the stripes gives a cool touch to the outfit, but it still is not unique enough for the look I was trying to go for today. To add unity and even confusion to the eye, I paired a top that has horizontal stripes like the top of the dress, but the stripes have the same width as the ones on the bottom of the dress. This brings unity to the outfit, but the different direction of the stripes brings just enough difference to where the two don't clash. Also, the dark scheme of the top balances the light colors in the bottom. One person even told me that my outfit looked like an optical illusion, and that's honestly what I was trying to accomplish today. Combining two types of stripes makes the overrated trend of stripes way more appealing, and it's possible in more ways than this. Pairing pin-striped pants with a subtly-striped top or even wearing a striped skirt with striped socks peeking out of ankle boots can still have the same effect as this outfit. In times especially like May, chaotic patterns and florals can get to be overdone, so it's best to try something new and wear stripes in a new way.