O H | H E Y | A L I S O N

The Ins and Outs of Mixing Prints

The past couple days have FINALLY been starting to feel and look a bit like Spring. The sun has been out, the snow is melting and the air just has that fresh spring feeling to it. Needless to say, I could not be more stoked. I'm ready to ditch the coat and pull out all of my floral dresses. 

One of my favorite Spring trends is mixing prints and patterns. There's nothing better than a perfectly paired floral and strip combo! The only problem with this look is that many people are intimidated to try it or they don't know the print mixing rules and the look can go really wrong really fast. Here are my tips for mixing patterns the right way.

1) It's ALL about scale. Say you're trying to pair together a polka dot top and a floral skirt. If the size of the polka dots are the same size as the flowers, it's going to clash. The colors don't matter at all in this situation. It's all about the size. One pattern should be larger than the other. A bold polka dot top with a ditsy floral skirt? Perfection. A tiny dotted top with a large scale floral pattern on the skirt? So great. Stay away from equal size patterns!

2) Color. If the colors in the top and the colors in the bottom don't go together at all... you're going to have a problem. Now I'm not saying to go matchy matchy what-so-ever BUT the colors should make sense together. What I like to do is find one color in a top and pair it with a bottom the has that same color in it. This way you're not going to be head to toe in different shades of blue but your look will be cohesive. 

3) Have fun with it! If you're not used to walking out the door with a star printed top and striped pants, I understand the hesitation. Fashion should be fun. If you're look isn't fun, chic or something you feel great and comfortable in, then it's not worth wearing. Take a risk! Go through your closet and just try different patterns together. After a few pairings, you should be able to see what works and what doesn't.

Here are a few mixed looks that I LOVE:

Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 Photo 4

Have fun and let me know if you become successful with mixing prints and patterns!

Alison xx

Pops of Pink

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of color. Even though people have always been trying to tell me which colors I can and cannot wear ever since I was little because of my red hair ("You should wear green ALL THE TIME" or "Red will never work for you") I am open to wearing every color and all colors. Now with all of that being said, pink is one of my favorite colors of. all. time. BUT pink can be tricky because a little bit of it goes a LONG way. You know when you see that one women that is wearing head-to-toe pink and you're like omggggg pink doesn't work the same way black does giiiiiirl. That's why I'm a huge fan of the pop of pink.

Just these little pops make this outfits feel young, fresh and feminine without looking like the outfit is going way pink overboard.

Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3

Alison xx

Spring... Where you at?!

So what happened to Punxsutawney Phil predicting an early spring?! It has been FREEZING this week in Chicago and I don't know about you guys, but I am OVER it. There's nothing more annoying to me than putting on a cute outfit to go out and run errands for the day only to cover it up with one of the same two coats I've been wearing every day since November. I've been trying to mix it up by making sure I'm wearing some awesome pants or tights with a pop of color and some of my favorite shoes but it's just not cutting it anymore. I need spring in my life ASAP. Plus I've been shopping like crazy lately so even my wardrobe is fully prepared for spring. In an attempt to will spring into existence, here is some style inspiration!

Mixing prints has definitely been making it's appearance for many seasons now but this feels extra special with the mix of textures. There is also something SO right about that bag with this outfit.

This look is ADORABLE. Nautical looks usually scream summer to me but the sweater and nude heels make it very spring appropriate. 

This look is just so so so so good. You can't go wrong mixing mint, a peplum and a topknot all together into one outfit. So chic.

I love how laid back this look is. When I'm going for a more casual non-fussy look like this, I usually like to keep one part of my look clean and a bit more tailored. Not this girl! She just went all out boho from the messy topknot, to the untucked t-shirt to the flat sandels. Love it.

Are you guys looking forward to any particular trends for Spring?!

Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 Photo 4

Alison xx

Alice + Olivia Fall 2013 RTW

I take back ever saying that a collection was my favorite collection of all time because THIS is my favorite collection of all time. HOLY HOLY. Every single look is absolutely perfect and sexy and rocker chic and elegant and fashion forward and amazing. I would wear every. single. look. Here are my favorites:

I can't even talk about it anymore... It's too good.

Alison xx

You can view the whole collection here.

Burberry Prorsum Fall 2013 Collection

Today is the last day of London Fashion Week and there's no way I could let it pass by without sharing my favorite looks from the Burberry Prorsum show. I have to say that every look is totally amazing and that this is one of the most cohesive collections I've ever seen. The pieces scream Burberry without even a hint of their signature plaid and there's something really great about that. Here are my favorite looks from the collection:

Pretty great right? I'm loving the color palette of black and brown with pop of a super chic red. Typically my style can be decribed as something like: color color color pattern pattern pattern but after seeing this collection... I just might need to switch that up for Fall!

Now my only problem is, how am I going to convince Anthony to wear that leather bomber jacket with the fur? ;)

Alison xx

You can view the entire collection here.