Dappered

Affordable Men's Style

How To Wear It: Bold Prints in the Fall

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Prints were big this year. Floral. Camo. Etc. Especially during the summer. But one of the hottest trends of the last few of years doesn’t have to STAY in the summer. Now that the weather has cooled off, don’t be afraid to inject some prints of boldness into your outfits before reaching for that flannel plaid. Unless you are a lumberjack by trade, by all means, dress appropriately. For the rest of us; here’s a guide to wear bold prints going into the cooler months.

 

#1 – Working on working out

For the uninitiated to bold prints, I find it easier to fit this into your style by starting with the casuals, so you can feel,. uh, casual in them? The more relaxed and confident you feel wearing something bold (or any color that’s not part of your wardrobe) the easier it’ll be to help you move up to the more “dressier tiers” of bold print.

 

#2 – Camo/Corduroy

A step up on the casual scale while offering the functionality of warmth. Corduroy pants with a little stretch in a 5 pocket cut helps things look dressed down with clean white trainer sneakers for that bit of contrast. (If your size happens to be available, you might be able to get those Stan Smith’s for as low as $48 through Amazon.)

 

#3 – Monochrome-ish Blues

An easier bold pattern shirt to work into an outfit featuring pieces that the majority of us already have. A blue shade of camo in a polo shirt for the warmer part of the day fits the monochrome of blues- med wash jeans and a navy bomber jacket. Add your favorite pair of white sneakers to complete the look.

 

#4 – Warmer Days

The shirt’s darker red is enough to work into the spectrum of fall colors. Amazon’s Goodthreads bomber type sweater leans on the thinner side of material and works for earlier, warmer parts of fall and is easy to layer up with a thicker coat in the much colder days. Pair up medium to dark grey jeans or chinos with your favorite sneakers for a done deal.

 

#5 – Layered with a large print pattern

Using a bolder print pattern than a standard micro print dot shirt… but a dot would do great here too. Shifting up the smart casual spectrum by way of using a lighter gray cardigan makes for easy layering. Perfect for a date night in or out.

 

#6 – The Abstract… with a Sportcoat

“Speckled” shirts and the like might seem like designers are taking cues from Jackson Pollock. Just know that the mashup of colors are easier to match by simply choosing the color that is more “pronounced” in the shirt. Choosing shirts that have a deeper tone such as black, blue, or even white will make it easier to find colors of complimenting layers. Chukkas are pictured above but a darker grey derby also works for making the outfit more casual. Going with white jeans here. Which is gonna look off in many parts of the hemisphere, but if you’re in a warmer climate (like I am, in LA), then white jeans are still good to go.

 

#7 – The Floral… with a Suit!

Floral shirts. Very Bold. Not for the light hearted. But not completely over reaching for the Dappered reader that normally sticks to solids. This time, we’ll contrast the shirt’s lighter colors of white and grayish blue with a darker blue suit jacket. The white pocket square with its similar grayish blue border is a complimenting piece. Now… why recommend a suit when there’s probably no reason to at this current time? Wear it for yourself. Not just for a future pending event.

About the Author: Paul K., formally from Atlanta, lives and works as an IT administrator in Los Angeles. When he’s not busy freelancing as a photographer and videographer, you can find him getting his steps in on the many hiking trails of SoCal.