Summer Fashion Trend: Bold Prints

I'll be honest with y'all, I tend to shy away from prints and stick to solids. However, I've noticed that the few printed items I have in my wardrobe seem to get a lot of wear. I'm thinking I need to add a couple more printed pieces to my closet.

Thankfully, one of this summer's biggest fashion trends is a bold print. Now, for those of you who, like me, lean towards print-phobia, there are all sorts of levels of "boldness" in fashion. A black and white print can be "bold", so bold isn't necessarily about color...but then sometimes it IS about color. Let me 'essplain.

One helpful hint in looking for bold prints is that you don't have a lot of ONE color. You've seen dresses that are mostly one color with a dot or a stripe or pattern in another color? (Like a sweet retro/vintage-y swiss dot or pinstripe.) That's a subtle print. Bold usually means you have about the same amount of all colors.

Another key difference to remember is that a bold COLOR doesn't mean a bold print. Most of the time, subtle prints are in more pastel-like colors, but like in the red and white examples on the left side, these are both bold color schemes, but subtle prints. There is more red in the red and white dress and more white in the black and white dress. In the black and white bold printed dress on the right side, there is roughly about the same amount of black that there is white in the dress.

But there are certain prints that are what I'd call "high contrast", which could also be considered bold. These tend to be brightly colored or black and white prints and usually, exhibit one color more than the other. But they are more graphic than subtle. More "BAM" and less "mew".

Now that I've probably thoroughly confused you, I've provided some examples of bold prints at clothing retailers. You'll notice that some are brightly colored, some are more muted and some have a high contrast of color. ALL are considered bold.

WHERE TO SHOP FOR BOLD PRINTS
Target: here, here, here, here
Old Navy: here, here, here, here
Forever 21: here, here, here, here
ASOS: here, here, here
Modcloth: here, here, here, here


It's not a science, it's an estimate. Ultimately, for the print-phobic, ANY pattern is a step in the right direction...correct? And as always, there exceptions to every rule...it's just about the way it is all put together. Say it with me, "Prints are our friend."