Today I decided to rock a nautically inspired outfit with an edge. Not everyone may agree with the idea of a high-waisted skirt, but I happen to love high-waisted skirts. I think that depending on your shape and the cut of the skirt you could have yourself a very flattering silhouette. I might go into body shapes and clothing in another post soon, but I must let you know that I am an avid rule breaker when it comes to style, so take what I tell you in that blog post as just a guide to help you in determining what would best work for you, not as a rigid requirement for looking good.

So here I paired this most amazing casual skirt, which is a perfect mesh of fashion and function due to the pockets, and a beautiful striped top with embellished shoulders. Of course I have on my favorite tall boots and as an added touch of Jamila, I tied it all together with my gun belt. This outfit to me says feminine with a sprinkle of KICK ASS.

I also paired this outfit with two different necklaces because I wasn't sure if I wanted to present my self as a a more delicate form of myself, or a more fun vibrant form of myself. Then again with a belt like the one I am donning here...I don't think it matters, it all just kind of says I may be cute but I will roundhouse you if I need to.

Here I'm Wearing:

Black beanie made by a friend. $0 (Gifted)
Olive striped top with sequence embellished shoulders, from Old Navy. $15
Skirt from Conway. $7
Black leggings from Rainbow. $7
Tan tall boots from Forever21. $26
Jewelry from Burlington Coat Factory & the Wholesale District. $2-$7

As you'll also begin to notice that I am in love with blazers, work-wear, and twisting work- wear into something fun and sometimes unexpected.

Here I decided to play with the mixture of textures and prints. I have seen so many mixtures of prints these days, but I have yet to see polka dot and snake print.

I know you may cringe at the idea but trust where there is a will there is a way.

There are some guidelines to mixing prints successfully, as per http://www.realsimple.com:

Make sure one color repeats in every piece of the outfit (for example, navy paisley with navy, red, and white plaid).
Combine loose prints with structured prints (like swirls with stripes).
Blend small designs with larger-scale ones (such as gingham with bold flowers).

I mean at first you see this list and it's hard to imagine, then when you see it on you immediately can see why and how it makes sense, let's see some examples:

Image provided by: http://www.clutchmagonline.com

And though I'm not opposed to getting crazy with it, I am aware that people are scared of this trend and may want a more subtle but equally as daring way to wear it.

In my opinion this is the best way to achieve a slightly more subtle mix:

Pick a print that has one color to it (for example,the dots are one color, white, and the snake print is in one color, black) .
Choose garments with base colors that compliment each other without the print (for example. the blazer is navy and the pants are dark charcoal grey).

I also decided to ad pops of color, tones, shades and texture to this ensemble, from the shoes to the button down shirt and the necklace, no matter how bold or conservative you may be, there is interest all throughout this outfit that can appeal to all style types.

What I'm Wearing:

Jewelry from the wholesale district. $2-7
Blazer from Torrid.com. $29.99
White button down shirt from JCP.com. $17.99
Snake print pants from Target. $19.99
Nine West pink suede shoes from NineWest.com. $39.99

Out To Sea.

How To: Mixing Prints