I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: colored and patterned bottoms really know how to make a wardrobe go far. The main thing I love about patterned shorts is that they do the work for you, meaning you don’t have to work as hard to make an outfit feel complete with them. You don’t have to worry about accessorizing as much or finding interesting tops to make an outfit work. The shorts speak for themselves. This is great in the summer when you don’t want to add anything extra to your body lest it make you sweat (especially if you live in a humid place)! But, if you love accessorizing and playing with color you can still do that with patterned shorts very easily. That’s why they’re amazing!
Today I’m giving 3 super simple style tips for patterned shorts. My pair is a neutral pattern made of navy and blues, but next week I’ll show a collage putting these same tips into practice with more colorful shorts. Stay tuned!
1a. Solid Neutral Tee
I didn’t even bother wearing a necklace or other accessories because for a casual look you really don’t need it. Like I said, the shorts do all the work, so get a plain white, grey, black, or navy tee and wear it with your patterned shorts!
1b. Solid Neutral Blouse
I would hardly call this a “blouse” but, eh, depends who you ask. (And, I didn’t have a better example at the moment with my limited pregnancy wardrobe. 😛 ) Either way, whether it’s a “blouse” that’s close to a t-shirt like this, a button up, a neutral lace tank, a neutral popover, or whatever else, the point is if you want to go a step up from a plain tee, find a solid neutral top with some more interesting draping or details. It’s just as easy to pair since it’s a neutral and neutrals go with everything!
2. Use a Color From the Shorts
This one could have counted for 1b above as well since the colors in the shorts are neutrals, but it works here too. (Next week I’ll show a version of this that actually uses colors.) Since there’s navy in the shorts it was easy to pull out the navy and incorporate it to the top half. There’s also some light blue in the shorts which would have worked too!
3. Use a Contrasting Color
If you want to get a little fancy (said with an fahn-cy accent, of course) and play with color a bit, use a contrasting color from the main color of the shorts. Contrasting color–what?! If that has you stumped, use the color wheel and color guide from the Wardrobe From Scratch Series! These shorts’ main color is blue, so I paired it with a color on another other side of the color wheel, yellow.
Alright, those were the simple tips with neutral patterned shorts! Again, look out next week when all of this is put into action with another pair of more colorful shorts.
Below are a bunch of patterned shorts that would totally work with the tips above. And many of them are on sale thanks to HUGE July 4th sales! HUGE, peoples! We’re talking stuff like 60% off LOFT and 40-60% off J.Crew Factory. Anyway, I chose some with neutral patterns, some with more colorful ones, and I tried to incorporate some longer shorts since a few of you asked for those. I was pleasantly surprised to find good options for longer shorts!
Links to Shop:
