Fall is the season for embracing coziness, warm colors and the visual excitement of trendy prints! While designers may have walked some pricey, avant-garde printed looks down the runway this year, there are thankfully so many ways to work the season’s biggest styles into your wardrobe with wearable versions of fashion house favorites that still work for your budget.
From mixing leopard print with colorful stripes to creating texture with layers, here are eight fall and winter print trends to wear this year.
- Plaids and tartans bring a bit of ruggedness to an otherwise feminine fall look.
Plaid and tartan are such a big trend for fall and winter 2020, but the key to keeping these prints from feeling too masculine is to balance them out with a few frilly details. Style a tartan coat with a tulle skirt and ugg fashion boots for an edgy street style look with just the right amount of feminine flair, or layer a plaid poncho over a silk slip dress for a layer of warmth.
- Turn a spring-inspired motif on its head: Work florals of all sizes into your fall and winter wardrobe.
While florals for spring might seem like a no-brainer, there’s something so fresh about working this print into your fall and winter wardrobe, too. While a ditsy floral dress in rich, deep colors would be perfect for cold weather, it’s best to avoid prints, colors and materials that feel too tropical.
- The tie-dye trend continues into the chillier seasons with rich colors and heavy fabrics.
While tie-dye prints might send you back to memories of summer camp, deep colors, full coverage styles and textured fabrics feel grown-up for the winter. Rich burgundies, emerald greens and even rust and safflower are a fun twist on the traditional palette.
- Let your clothing be your canvas in separates dotted with paint streaks and splatters.
We’ve seen a bit of a 1990s revival in fashion over the past few years, and colorful, splattered prints and patterns feel like an elevated version of our old favorites. Give a sophisticated shift dress an unexpected dose of edginess with a streaked paint pattern, while colorful splattered sneakers make weekend errands a stylish affair.
- Add some visual interest to your outfits by mixing and matching different prints.
Mixed prints are absolutely major for 2020, and this trend applies to cold weather styles just as much as it does to your spring and summer favorites!
Here are a few tips for nailing a mixed print look:
- Keep color palettes consistent, but play with the sizing of your prints. A teeny ditsy floral top plays nice underneath a plaid coat, just as plaid print and stripes complement one another.
- Remember that certain prints–like leopard print, zebra print and stripes–can act a lot like neutrals. Don’t be afraid to pair them with bold colorblock, bright florals or neon polka dots.
- If you’re not fully committed to mixing prints, you can ease into the trend with printed accessories, such as by pairing colorful floral boots with a plaid dress or a zebra-printed scarf with a colorblock tote.
- To avoid overthinking your print mixing process, pick pieces that do most of the heavy lifting for you. There are so many maxi dresses, jumpsuits and two-piece outfits out there that have this trend built right in.
- Letters and verbiage look super chic in simple black and white.
A particularly interesting trend that emerged out of 2020 is the look of almost letter-inspired pieces. Random clusters of letters, as well as intentional verbiage in bold statements, were a hit on both the runways and street style stars alike. This trend is mature and sophisticated in black and white. Super colorful interpretations might be a bit too childish here.
- Apply prints to textured fabrics for a cozy combination that feels fresh and fun.
Fall and winter are all about the creative use of layers to keep warm while looking cool! While you might not think that prints could apply to richly textured fabrics, this is a great way to add some visual interest to your outfits in the colder months. Whether you pair a snake print top with a chunky cable knit sweater or layer a silky polka dot dress over sweater tights, get creative with different textures and materials.
- Unexpected animal prints bring some artsy flavor.
When you think of animal print, you might imagine a pattern that reflects what you’d see on the animal itself, but another trend has found its way to the runways this season: line drawings and prints of the actual animals. A colorful line drawing of tropical birds, an abstract pattern inspired by an elephant’s trunk or even scenes of a desert oasis are surprisingly sophisticated ways to rock animal prints this fall and winter.
On Trend All Season Long
When it comes to colors and prints, you might be tempted to stick to neutral solids–but there’s something so fun about welcoming an unexpected, colorful pattern into your wardrobe for the fall and winter seasons. Regardless of whether you ease into the latest print trends with more understated options or pick something bright and bold that steals the show, these options will have you bracing the cold in style and comfort all winter long.
