Stripes are everywhere this season! When you see them, you can't help but think about spring and summer. You might associate stripes with super casual beach wear, big, comfy sweaters or conservative preppy looks, but this is no longer the case - and it's certainly not the case this season.
As Dawn Yanek from Life & Style magazine explained, stripes have gotten a chic makeover, and they're being used in traditional and nontraditional ways. They're being featured in every trend and style, they're more affordable than ever, and there's something for every personality, style and body type.
Accessories are the easiest, most affordable and non-committal way to add stripes into your wardrobe. You can use them as a way to dress up a basic outfit you already own and update it for spring and summer. The interesting thing is that so many different trends are appropriating stripes, so you can get stripes with a safari feel, an '80s feel, a global feel and so on.
Shoes: Stripes come in every color, style, trend and type in this season. For example, blue-and-white nautical-inspired flats from Candies are a traditional way to wear stripes and one that never goes out of style. On the other hand, platform wedges by Harajuku Lovers use stripes in a trendy, color-blocked way with patent leather, giving them a funkier, fashion-forward feel. Same goes for these very colorful striped rain boots from Chinese Laundry. There really is something for every personality and personal style when it comes to stripes.Bags: Bags are another great place to put stripes. After all, these stripes will never be unflattering and will never make you look bigger. In fact, oversized striped bags can even make you look smaller! Jewelry, scarves, belts, hair accessories: You can completely change the look of a basic outfit with a few fun bursts of colorful stripes. And we're seeing a lot of accessories that incorporate various colors in their striped patterns, not just two basic contrasting ones. Bangles from Lydell NYC and cloth earrings from Forever 21 (which are only $4.80!) are a good example of that.As a general rule of thumb, stick to one or two striped items in an outfit. Stripes are bold, don't forget, and you don't want them to overwhelm you or having them going every which way. We'll give you some more guidelines on how to pair more than one set of stripes in your outfit as we go along.
Here are more details about the different looks presented on The Early Show, where you can find the items and how much they cost:
Look #1: Diagonal stripes
Model: Jennifer
Product info:
Old Navy dress, $19.50, Old Navy.com
Pink Striped Headband, $20, Amazon.com
Black/white striped watch, $68.93, Amazon.com
These are possibly the most figure-flattering and forgiving stripes out there. They work on a variety of body types because they draw the eyes down and away, not straight across. They accentuate curves where you want them and deemphasize the ones that you don't--in short, they're the stripes that multitask and solve a variety of body problems!
This colorful striped dress from Old Navy practically screams summer, and believe it or not, it's only $20!
When people think stripes, they often think a very casual and often preppy look. That definitely doesn't have to be the case. This sundress, which we paired with black sandals and a straw beach bag, is a funky take on the casual striped look. You can even put it with a cardigan to further dress it up, so it can serve a variety of functions in your wardrobe. And, as you can see with this fuchsia and white frock by Shoshanna that I'm wearing, slimming diagonal stripes also work really well in dressier looks. This dress is, of course, more formal because of its material and style, but it still retains a fun, whimsical and summery feel.
On our model, we've included additional stripes in this look with a fun, oversized black-and-white bracelet watch, as well as a fuschia headband with mini colored stripes. Because they're not as bold as the dress and take a backseat to it, they work when paired with these diagonal stripes. That's important to remember when pairing stripes with stripes. Look #2: Horizontal stripes
Model: Jessica
Product info:
Audrey dress, $32, Lulus.com
Striped plastic bangles, tan and red, $24 each, Lord & Taylor
White/tan striped belt, $59, Zappos.com
Large tan/orange striped handbag, $88, Rampage
Horizontal stripes tend to strike terror in the hearts of women everywhere. It's been ingrained in us to stay away from them at all costs because they make us look heavier. The truth is, they can, but not if you use them right. Here's a good rule of thumb: Use them strategically to add curves to the places you want to add curves, and keep them far away from the places you don't.
We've chosen a dress by Lulu ($32) that does just that. The yellow and navy horizontal stripes on the top add curves to the bust and draws the eye up there, while the A-line, darker and neutral skirt plays down a pear-shaped or generally curvier bottom. To further slim the figure and create curves where you want them, we've added a navy boyfriend cardigan and a skinny metallic belt. And voila! You now have an hourglass shape, and any body flaws on the lower half of the body are camouflaged instantly.
This is a great look for a nice brunch or, depending on your job, a day at the office. The cardigan, the belt and the heels work to dress up and pull together a dress that could also be worn in a very casual way.
Horizontal stripes--and the yellow stripes here--are obviously bold, so keep other pieces and accessories on the simple side. If you want to incorporate other stripes into a look like this, they should be more subtle and stripes of a different type. We paired this outfit with a vertically striped bag and safari-inspired light-wood wood bangles with metallic stripes. This is not the traditional way you'd expect to see stripes, and that's what makes these bangles ground the outfit and work with this bolder piece. Look #3: Vertical stripes
Model: Heba
Product info:
Blue/white vertical striped shirt, $43, Lulus.com
White jeans, $22.80, Forever 21
Gold striped clutch, $28, Arden B
The magic of vertical stripes is that they make everyone look long and lean--especially petites. Also, if you go abstract-even just a little like we did here-with your vertical stripes, they work to further camouflage trouble spots. It's all an optical illusion, of course, but that's what all good fashion is about--it works for you, not against you.
We've paired this navy blue and light gray striped top from Creative Concepts ($43) with white jeans for a chic look that's perfect for going out for cocktails on a hot summer night. We've added a fun burst of color with colorful heels as well as a gold metallic striped clutch from Arden B. This illustrates yet another way to incorporate more than one set of stripes-we paired a more distinct set of stripes (the top) with a more subtle, tone-on-tone version in the gold clutch.
The tapered style at the waist (here, it's cinched with elastic) tones down mixed vertical stripes. The cut can slim a curvy girl and add dimension to a thin one. TABLETOP DISPLAY
Handbags
Blue/white horizontal striped tote, $64, Endless.com
Turquoise/canvas vertical stripe tote, $88, Rampage
Yellow/white/gold vertical stripe braided handbag, $58, Arden B
Silver/black stripe clutch, $28, Arden B
Scarves
Peach/green/purple scarf, $8.80, Forever 21
Gray/white/purple/orange scarf, $19.50 each, American Eagle
Red and navy striped silk scarf with fringe, $40, (Fossil)
Shoes
Striped rainboots, $48, DirtyLaundryfootwear.com
Harajuku Lovers yellow and gray striped wedges, $90, select Nordstrom stores
Green/yellow strappy platforms, $65, Zappos.com
Red boatshoes, $19.99, TJ Maxx
Navy/White striped peeptoe pumps, $54.99, Candie's
Gray/black striped flip-flops, 25.95, Endless.com
Hair Accessories
Skinny stripe thin plastic headband, $20 each, Amazon.com
Skinny stripe cutout oval barrette, $28 each, Amazon.com
Lacoste wide headband, $14, Lord & Taylor
stripe silk loop headband,$45 each, Amazon.com
Belts
striped belts, $12.99- $14.99, Marshalls
Jewelry
Blue/white glitter enamel cuff, $85, Lord & Taylor
Striped plastic bangles, $24 each, Lord & Taylor
Diagonal stripe cloth bangle, $24 each Lydell NYC
Green/silver beaded cuff, $6.80, Forever 21.com
Thread wrapped hoop earrings, $4.80, Forever 21.com
Beaded bangles, $5.80 each, Forever21.com
Cloth multicolored earrings, $4.80, Forever 21