I was super inspired after reading this morning's blog post to put together something a little maximal and maybe throw a few other trends in there, too. We are having incredibly warm weather for the time of the year in DC this week (highs in low 80s), so layers were out of the question. Thus I decided to go for a subtle pattern mix that wasn't all just black&white patterns.

The outfit was based on mixing two major prints: the paisley of J Crew pink ruffle silk blouse with houndstooth of old Express bag, with touches of two more minor prints: a bit of camo on the BR block-heeled oxfords and another geometric b&w print on the silk neckerchief scarf. The non-patterned pieces in the outfit are old olive military skinny Express pants with side black stripe and black studded belt. The pants are actually full length, but I employed a little trick of tucking the hem under for a cropped look that works on thicker, more structured materials. The pants and the shoes go together very well. My intent was to have everything tie together in some way, and that was a touch of black everywhere: all the 4 prints, even the pink paisley, have some black in them, and the pants have a black stripe and the belt is black. I hope it looks cohesive and intentional, not just thrown together. The other trends in he outfit are pink, ruffles, military, cropped pants and block heels.

I also have a new BR houndstooth silk scarf to go with the old bag on the way to me, and I plan to sue it in the future with the bag for more cohesiveness when mixing with other prints.