The draped fashionista’s guide to vogue

SPRING has sprung, the song has been sung and the brethren court (of fashion) is about to reveal the season’s trend.
It is the season to be bold and bright, after the grey and overwhelmingly drab winter. This is the time when one sees fashionistas experimenting with colour in preparation for summer, so one should not be surprised when they see nauseating neon colours.
Unfortunately, in a bid to avoid monotony, most people try to avoid the one thing that should help them usher in the season, which is florals.
One often hears talks about how florals have been overdone and how boring they are, however fashion stylist, Anthea Malgas begs to differ.
“Around this time people try to avoid florals because they have been overdone, but I think this is the time to embrace them. The trick is finding out which florals work for you and how to wear them,” she advised.
Malgas added that pairing the florals with solid colours and different textures of fabric will breathe new life into tired florals.
The mistake that most people make is assuming that they should wear florals from head to toe, with flower inspired accessories, but all that just makes them look like a giant Venus flytrap.
Floral pants are not easy to get away with, however if you have a pair that you have been dying to wear, try pairing them with a lace top, the texture gives it a classy yet edgy look.
If you have a sheer loose fitting blouse, you can pair that with a floral pencil skirt.
Instead of adorning yourself from head to toe in florals, you can wear your florals in the form of accessories. If you are wearing a solid black maxi dress, you can divide it (for lack of a better term) up by wearing a floral belt on your waist, this also aids in creating an hour-glass figure. Other accessories can be floral bracelets, earrings, light scarfs, chunky necklaces or head bands.
Florals are not always the print on fabric, it can also be texture. Floral lace or crochet clothing items in floral pattern can also be an alternative if you want to be subtle with your florals.
Floral patterns are usually printed on white, military green or brown colours, actually any earthy colours that highlight the floral pattern. However, those can sometimes be depressing and gives one the feeling that if you’ve seen one floral, you have seen them all.
Try floral prints in bright colours, these are your lime greens, or your bubble-gum pink or blue, any colour you would typically not expect to find florals printed on.
If you are feeling particularly bold, try mixing florals. Try matching large prints with smaller ones, you can wear a top with small delicate flowers, with pants or skirt with a larger floral pattern.
The possibilities are endless where florals are concerned; dare to be different this spring.