How To Mix Patterns Without Overdoing It

While minimal style is relatively straightforward, incorporating patterns can be more difficult. Here’s how to do it well.

Pattern and print mixing is expert-level styling. It’s usually a bold move and is easily overdone, but it’s not impossible.

Pattern mixing opens the door to a lot of creative styling opportunities.

This guide covers the basics of mixing patterns and gives you a few styling ideas to walk away with.

Prints vs. Patterns

Before jumping into mixing them, it’s always good to know the difference between prints and patterns. They’re quite often mixed up or used interchangeably to identify a fabric as having something more than a solid color.

Patterns are repeating designs that are actually woven into the fabric. That means they’re part of the weave and integral to the garment. This article gives you the basics on common patterns in a lot of men’s clothing if you’re looking to brush up.

Prints are typically printed onto a garment. Even though they repeat and may even create a pattern, they’re not woven into the fabric of a garment.

They can also get pretty wild. Think animal, floral, or really anything at this point. Our floral print guide is a great introduction to wearing bold prints, if you need inspiration.

It doesn’t mean that all floral patterns are prints and can’t be woven into a fabric, but intricate designs get more labor-intensive to weave.

How To Mix Patterns and Prints

Before jumping into examples, let’s start with a few guidelines for mixing prints and patterns. As always, these aren’t prescriptive or absolute but are good to follow as you try this for yourself.

Fashion is all about personal expression. You decide if something is too much for you or not. In other words, you decide how to best apply these guidelines to your wardrobe.

If you’re new to mixing patterns and prints, these should help you think about proportionality and get started as you start combining.

Mixing and Matching

There are a few different types of prints and patterns out there. Generally, they’re organized into a few categories: Stripes, plaids (or checks), prints, and textures. As a side note, texture refers to the weave of the fabric and the pattern it creates (think lace, houndstooth, etc.).

You have a few options when it comes to mixing: You can either stay within a category and mix similar prints and patterns, or you can mix categories.

Staying within a category just means mixing similar patterns, like stripes with stripes, using some of the other principles covered below. Mixing categories means mixing different prints and patterns, like stripes with checks or animal prints. Both can make big statements.

Scale

Regardless of whether you’re mixing similar patterns or print categories or different ones, scale plays a big role. Scale refers to how large or small the design of a print/pattern is.

Some patterns are smaller, which means they have a higher density. Tighter patterns have a higher pattern coverage with less solid background poking through.

Some patterns are large-scale and more spread apart on the garment. That also means you may see more solid color behind the pattern. And, of course, you can have scales anywhere in between.

If you’re new to mixing patterns and prints, varying the scale of the patterns you plan to mix is key to balancing an outfit. Pair large-scale patterns with small-scale patterns.

Mixing patterns of similar design and scale gets tricky because it starts to look too busy. Pairing large and small-scale patterns together creates some breathing room. Small-scale patterns will start to look almost solid and more textural, allowing larger patterns to shine.

It doesn’t mean you can’t mix patterns of the same scale, but it’s much easier to mix ones of varying scale when you first start.

Color

Color is always a great bridge between different prints and patterns. As a beginner, use patterns that share similar colors as a throughline when mixing them. That way, you have some point of connection between the two patterns or prints, even if they are vastly different.

Just like you don’t want two big personalities in one room, you may also need a buffer between the patterns you’re mixing. Color is always a great buffer.

Think of it as a throughline color sandwich. If you’re layering garments, go pattern, solid color, pattern. The green turtleneck above catches the green in the pants and the vest. The color creates a visual break in the outfit and gives everything that oh-so-important breathing room.

If you’re going pro and understand color theory, you can also use contrasting colors to really punch up your pattern mixing. Rather than using color as a connecting throughline, you can use opposing colors to build even more contrast.

Intensity

Patterns and prints come with their own intensities. Something like a stripe is very simple, whereas a floral print gets bolder and buisier. This is different from scale because it’s not just about the size; it’s about the actual pattern design.

Similar to scale, you can choose to vary the intensity of the prints and patterns you mix. Simple stripes have the potential to pair well with busy floral or paisley patterns because the patterns don’t overpower each other.

Mixing two very intense patterns easily becomes overwhelming. If maximalist looks are not your goal, intensity is just as important as scale.

6 Ways To Mix Patterns and Prints in Your Style

With some basic guidelines in mind, these are a few pattern-mixing ideas to get you started. You’ll notice that many of them involve layering and accessorizing to create the desired mixed effect.

Use these as a way to see the guidelines used in action and inspiration for your outfit ideas.

Start Small

You don’t have to cannonball into the pattern mixing deep-end to get your start. Using small pops of varying prints and patterns is just as effective.

Think about bold ties and pocket squares mixed with striped shirts within your suit. You can add more intense and large-scale patterns in small doses. Bandanas and ascots are great options, too.

3-Piece Suit Mixing

Pattern mixing with a 3-piece suit (or suit layering with a vest) is such a good place to start. You have the option to vary the shirt, the vest, and the suit jacket to create the final look.

Most commonly, you’ll see a contrasting vest as the middle layer between the shirt and jacket. However, you can also add a pattern to the shirt to mix it up.

Use color as your throughline to connect each piece and vary the scale and intensity of the shirt against the vest.

Mixing Tops and Bottoms

You don’t have to be into suiting to mix patterns and prints. You can easily do it by mixing and matching your tops and bottoms.

This is where scale and intensity come into play. Mix a simple large-scale pattern, like a check in your trousers, with a more dense pattern, like a floral print polo.

The simplicity of the first pattern makes it easier to add a more intense one.

Bold Combinations

Sometimes, you just want to go all out. This leads to a maximalist kind of look, which means you just have to opt in and go for it.

You can tell in these shots that the theme was just big, bold patterns mixing. There’s a bit of blue in the pants that calls to the denim jacket. Overall, though, these are just two bold patterns working together. The contrast in materiality helps set these apart and makes them work together.

Sometimes, you just have to experiment. This won’t work every time, but as you get more comfortable mixing and putting your personal stamp on your outfit, you’ll naturally become a little bolder.

Mixing Patterns in One Piece

If you can’t decide on what patterns to mix, let one garment do it for you. There’s been a recent trend of mixing patterns in a single piece to create something more bold.

Even the likes of Ralph Lauren have introduced multi-patterned shirts.

This one makes it easy. The color is the same, but you get the effect of mixing horizontal and vertical stripes in one piece. It’s still pattern mixing, but it’s a lot more cohesive than trying to coordinate separate pieces.

Layering to Tone Down Intensity

You don’t always have to stack patterns on prints to get your mix. Similar to pairing 3-piece suits, you can use solid-color items as buffers between patterns.

Color blocks reduce the intensity of a pattern to make it easier to mix with others. If mixing patterned pieces isn’t clicking, try using a solid color piece to create some breathing room. The best way to do it is with a solid color that appears in both your patterns.