Yes! You Can Wear Stripes

They look so good on those thin French models.  But when you put them on, you feel like an escapee from an old prison movie.  It might cause you to turn away from that tee shirt or pair of pants because you tell ask yourself, “I can not wear stripes!”

But, of course you can!  It is the width, color contrast and style of stripes that can make or break any outfit. For example thin vertical stripes, often called railroad stripes and most often seen in jeans, can elongate your legs and give you a slimmer appearance.  Their color differential, most often light blue to medium blue paired with white does not provide a stark contrast. Now let’s change that around to three inch vertical stripes in black and white.  Those pants would be the first thing that someone would see when you came walking into a room.  If you are going for that look – great, but for many of us, the impact would be too overwhelming.

The same principal will work for horizontal stripes.  The majority of the time, you will not want a stripe larger than one inch. Or you can try a combination of sizes.  For example, a one inch stripe and a quarter inch stripe would be attractive.  Or a series of quarter inch stripes will give you the look you want, even if it is in a high contrast color.  Experiment to determine what striping patterns are the right ones for you. 

The typical stripe pattern that we see for the spring and summer is navy and white.  It is a clean look which can be worn easily as long as you adhere to the size of the stripe.   If the high contrast makes you uncomfortable, then look at stripes that have a softer contrast such as pale blue and white or pink and white. 

Stripes also come in a wavy variety so if you do not like how the more traditional striped pattern looks on you, select one that looks like a radio frequency.  You will often see these with tone on tone coloring.  For example, the base of the sweater is yellow and the irregular striped pattern is a golden tone. 

The fit of the stripe is important as well.  A striped top, dress or pant should not be tight.  It will accentuate every ounce of your body that it surrounds.  Instead look for a more casual fit, one that will say you are going out on the yacht today and you just threw this sweater on to keep warm in the event of a cold breeze.   So hopefully you will include some stripes into your wardrobe. They are a fun, effortless way to update your look.