Do You Actually Suit Prints? (It’s Not a Matter of Taste — It’s a Matter of Physics)
“I find prints tricky, I’m not sure about finding my preferred shapes and colours when trends don’t necessarily reflect them. My daughter says I should just wear solid colours and neutrals, but I like some prints,” wrote a lovely reader.
Let’s get to the truth: your daughter means well. But she might be wrong.
The advice to “just wear solids and neutrals” is everywhere, and for some people it’s genuinely excellent advice. For others, it’s the style equivalent of being told to stop smiling so much. Technically possible. Completely wrong for you.
Here’s how to know which camp you’re in.
Your appearance is either solid or multi-tonal. And that matters.
Look at yourself in a mirror with fresh eyes. Is your hair one fairly uniform colour? Is your skin smooth and even in tone? Are the colours in your overall appearance relatively few and consistent?
If yes, you are a naturally solid person. Your physical harmony is already clean and clear, and a solid-coloured outfit repeats that back beautifully. A print on you can actually add visual noise rather than interest.
But if you have multitonal hair (highlights, lowlights, natural variation, or grey woven through colour), or eyes that are a distinctly different colour from your hair, or skin with warmth, depth, or variation, or hair that is curly or textured (which is itself a kind of pattern), then you are a naturally multitonal person. A solid block of colour can actually flatten you. A print gives your eye somewhere to travel and creates harmony with the complexity that’s already in you.
This is why the same floral blouse can look stunning on one woman and oddly dull on another. It has nothing to do with confidence or fashion sense. It’s about the repetition of what’s already there.
Your value contrast (the difference between the lightest and darkest elements of your features) is an important factor when choosing a print . When you have patterned skin, such as freckles or age spots, this too indicates certain sorts of prints will be more in harmony with you.
And of course, your colour contrast will also come into this decision – are you multicoloured and look great in multicoloured prints and patterns? Or are you monochromatic and suit one colour, or neutral with one colour prints? Find ot more here.
Prints are also a personality question
Once you know you suit prints physically, the type of print is entirely a personality conversation. Animal print, floral, stripe, paisley, abstract, geometric, these aren’t randomly assigned. They’re expressions of who you are.
And within each category, there’s an enormous range. Florals alone span tiny Liberty-style prints, loose watercolour botanicals, almost-photographic blooms, and florals so abstracted you barely clock them until you’re up close. The version you’re drawn to says something real about your personality, and it’s worth paying attention to.
Polka dots and florals are feminine prints
The fastest way to figure out your print personality? Go to your own wardrobe. Look at what you’ve kept, what you actually reach for. If there’s a dominant style in there, it’s not an accident. That’s your answer.
Stripes are more classic or relaxed patterns
Check out my post here on how to choose prints for your personality for more tips.
Is There Such a Thing as Slimming Prints?
Maybe your daughter has the incorrect idea that all prints add weight to your frame so she thinks solids are the better option. Absolutely, some prints are less than flattering, but in fact, prints can be used to disguise a tummy, or distract attention and can be more slimming than solids (if that’s something that worries you.)
Trends are not your problem
Fashion, at any given moment, delivers only a slice of what exists. Right now, checks and tartans are having a significant moment. If you’re a florals person, that can feel like the shops have conspired against you. They haven’t. Florals are always somewhere – you may just need to look a little harder, shop a little earlier in the season, or widen where you’re looking.
And if you genuinely cannot find what you love in the colours that work for you, digital fabric printing has quietly changed the game entirely. You can now search online for digital fabric printers where designers upload prints across every conceivable style, then you can choose a fabric, and have it printed specifically for you. It’s not as niche or expensive as it sounds, and it means your options are no longer limited to whatever a handful of mass manufacturers decided to produce this season.
A final note on taking advice
Your daughter may genuinely suit solids. Many people do. But that’s information about her, not a universal law she’s entitled to hand down.
Wear the prints that work for you, in the styles that feel like you, in the colours that make sense for your colouring. That’s the whole job.
Not sure whether you’re a solid or multitonal person? That’s exactly the kind of thing that we cover in 7 Steps to Style, along with discovering your best colours, colour and value contrast, you also learn so much more about how your personality influences every aspect of your style choices.
3 Essential Elements to Choosing Flattering Prints and Patterns
7 Things You Must Consider When Choosing a Flattering Floral Print for You
