Summer Series 2: Prints and Colors -Stripes

     This week we have decided to do another summer series..and from the title you would know that it'll be over summer prints and colors. This series will be a bit longer than the Summer Essentials series we did for a few weeks in June. Like we said, this series is over prints and colors that are hot this summer and just for any summer in general. We will of course give you tips on the different ways you can incorporate them in your wardrobe. So get out your pen and pad, write down a few tips and item suggestions, and then...go purchase them! Lol

     Today we are going to start out the post with a summer print that is always in for the summer and can be worn for 2 or 3 different holidays...we are talking about stripes!!

     Now we all know how versatile stripes can be and the different items they can be printed on like shirts and dresses. We'll show you a few different looks and how to achieve them without having the exact same pieces!

Look 1: Striped Top

       The striped top is probably the most versatile out of the 3 items that we will feature on the post today. Being that you can wear one with shorts (dressy and denim), jeans, slacks, and skirts. To the right, Sienna Miller is seen wearing a casual, navy and cream striped tank, a cream skirt, and cream flats. She accessorized it with a red beaded necklace, sunglasses, and a large red handbag. This outfit is very simple, but cute, and can be worn for a number of different occasions.

    

      If you wanted to get a look similar to Sienna's but make it your own, start with this Striped and Floral Navy and Cream Tank. This has print and stands out more than the tank Sienna is seen wearing in the picture. For bottoms, try something like these Natural Color Paperbag Shorts or if you just wanted to wear jeans, try this pair of Dark Wash/Black Skinny Jeans. For shoes you can go several different routes with these Nude Peeptoe Leatherette Flats if you went with the dark wash skinny jeans. If you went with the shorts, try something a bit darker like these Woven Trimmed Sandals,  Spring Day Flats, or..Platform Sandals depending on what look you're going for. To accessorize the outfit, keep it simple with a pair of hoops like these Gold Textured Flat Hoops and a bangle or two like ---> Bangle 1 and Bangle Set 2.  

 Moving right along to look 2...the striped dress!

    

      Now a striped dress can be worn casually or dressy depending on what type of dress you purchase. If you purchase a striped formal dress then of course you'll just be wearing it formally, but were going to show you a look you can dress up and down with just a change of shoes! Now seen to the left, Kristin Cavallari from OC, is seen wearing a black and white tube-top striped dress. Pretty casual but she added a dressy touch with her black blazer on top and nude strappy shoes. She didn't accessorize it much other than a watch.

     To get a look similar to Kristin's but not identical..all about trying to make it your own...try this Striped Racerback Dress in Navy/Cream. Instead of doing a black blazer, try something a little different by doing this Charcoal Gray Tailored Woven Blazer and cuff the sleeves. For shoes you can go the casual route and do Turquoise Lattice-Front Sandals or dress it up and do this pair of Fuchsia T-Strap Platform Sandals. These shoes will also add a pop of color to the outfit since the colors of the outfit are dark. For accessories, just do a pair of silver hoops like so ----> Large Hoop Earrings and Silver Etched Bangle Set .

Last but not least look 3....a striped skirt.

      Seen to the right, Fergie did a photoshoot wearing a yellow blouse and a black and tan striped skirt. We love the brightly colored top with the plain black and white and will tell you how to get a similar look.

     Start out with this Striped Knit Skirt. We know it comes in black and white and pink and white so we're going to tell you how to wear both colors!

     If you do the black and white skirt, you could do a pop of color in the shirt or shoes. To do some color up top, try this Pink Leopard Print Tank. This also will add something different to the outfit by mixing prints. Keep it simple with the shoes since you've already did color and a mix of prints, do something similar to these simple Black Platform Pumps . For accessories, you could do the silver hoops and bangle set that were listed above in look 2.

     If you wanted to do the pink and white skirt, you could keep it simple with a Knit Camisole. You can do black or you could add some more color to the outfit and do the turquoise or jade colored cami. Throw on the grey blazer over it that was listed above in look 2 as well. Then for shoes you can do the same black pumps listed in the paragraph above as well as the silver accessories. You are pretty much set!

     We really hope we gave you some helpful tips on the different ways you can wear striped items. Look out for next week's tip as our summer series 2 continues on summer prints and colors.

Also, thank you to everyone that has been reading what we have to say not just in the United States, but in other countries as well.  We appreciate the support that we've been getting. We will keep up our part by giving you great/insightful posts and we ask that you keep reading, commenting, following (the blog and twitter page), and liking the facebook page! :-)