Pastels, Petals, and Pattern Mixing

Nothing says springtime quite like rocking subtle shades of pastels—I’m thinking eggshell blue, baby pink, lavender, and muted sunshine-yellow. The only problem? I’ve learned over the years (and especially through all my blog photos) that I just don’t look very good in pastels. My skin tone lives for the “go bold or go home” mentality when it comes to what colors to wear. That’s why when the stylish ladies of the Magnificent Eight group asked me to participate in a special “pastel pattern mixing” post, I struggled a bit to put together a fashionable outfit!

First, the look had to include pastels, which I already don’t own a ton of options. Second, the outfit had to involve mixing prints, which is hard enough as it is! After trying on at least three looks, I finally settled on this one—various shades of pastel baby blue tied together (see what I did there? ‘Cause the shirt is tied in the front?) through subtle pattern mixing.

This shirt is one of my all time favorites for spicing up an outfit—I mean, it has the pattern mixing built in! As if blue and white pinstripes weren’t enough, you go ahead and throw some polka dots in there too and BAM, your outfit is instantly stylish. I decided to go even further with the pattern mixing by adding this textured blue skirt. One of my favorite tips for combining prints is to not only mix patterns of different colors, but also to focus on monochrome pattern mixing through use of texture. Sure, the skirt is all one shade, but the design in the fabric acts as an additional print in the outfit. For more pattern mixing tips, check out the links below. And even better, you can scroll to the bottom of this post to see how the rest of the Magnificent Eight group also styled pastel pattern mixing!

Baby Steps for Pattern Mixing

1 Simple Tip for Print Mixing

Easy Pattern Mixing

Even though this outfit may be a little less traditional in the pastel sense, I really love how it turned out! I wore it on Monday (happy belated-Earth Day, everyone) to explore the Denver Botanic Gardens. Having just started “living” in Denver in the fall, since I’m attending school here, I have a long list of city-related bucket list items to accomplish before the end of my four college years. The Denver Botanic Gardens was definitely one of them!

Though it was a rare, gloomy day here in Denver, it was still a great time to explore the gardens. The lush green, fresh and perfumed smells, and clusters of flowers everywhere (hello, tulips!) made the perfect backdrop for photos, not to mention the prettiest location for a long walk of quiet contemplation (what am I, a monk?).

There was so much to see, including a massive tropical greenhouse with poison dart frogs, abnormally large papayas, funky pink spike balls (possibly my favorite plant from the excursion), and leaves at least three times bigger than me. I felt like I was transported to Jurassic Park! Jeff Goldblum didn’t show up, but thankfully nor did the dinosaurs.

Outside the greenhouse, there were so many gardens to explore, like a Japanese garden, a large tulip bed, a “birds and the bees” garden, and lots more. I loved seeing all the sprouting flowers and plants, but more importantly, I loved smelling them!

While I have written a travel post about Denver, I’ve been wanting to work on a more extensive guide for visitors (and staycation-ers) alike. The Denver Botanic Gardens will certainly be included! Not only is it inexpensive (for a student it was $9), but you can also bring food into the garden to enjoy a nice picnic, surrounded by some of nature’s finest. You bet I’m gonna go back!

Do you like exploring gardens? What’s your favorite type of flower? Let me know in the comments below! And be sure to check out how these awesome ladies decided to style pastels and pattern mixing together as well. So much inspiration!

The Magnificent 8 is a collaboration among 8 stylish women from every decade of life showcasing our style one generation at a time. The mission of this collaboration is to show you just how ageless style is, how we can each dress however we’d like and in ways that make us feel fabulous. There are no age restrictions on style. So wear what you want, when you want, add a smile, and strut your style with confidence. And be sure to check out all 7 of these amazing gals!

Every quarter, we choose a theme and each create an outfit that suits our own personal tastes and fashion choices and we post them on the last Wednesday of every third month. So be sure to go check out everyone’s posts for lots of style inspiration at any age!

Let me introduce the ladies of The Magnificent 8.

• Grace of Graceful Rags is representing teenagers.
• Michelle of Michelle’s Pa(i)ge is representing the 20-somethings. 
• Roxanne of Glass of Glam is representing the 30-somethings.
• Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge is representing the 40-somethings.
• Rena of Fine Whatever is representing the 50-somethings.
• Eugenia of Age of Grace is representing the 60-somethings.
• Nancy of Jodie’s Touch of Style is representing the 70-somethings. 
• Charlotte of Jodie’s Touch of Style is representing the 80-somethings.

We are showing that you can’t put a number on style!

 

To check out my last collaboration with the Magnificent Eight, click below:

Healthy Living: Fitness, Self-Care, Eating Habits, and More

And finally, to wrap up today’s post, don’t forget to wear your jeans today in support of Denim Day 2019! If you missed last week’s announcement, you can read all about the cause by clicking: Wear Jeans, Support Survivors: Denim Day 2019 and learn how you can make a social statement with your fashion statement.

Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

 

Miles of smiles,

Grace

 

Blouse: JCPenney, $20 // Textured Skirt: Francesca’s, $38 // White Studded Mules: Rebecca Minkoff via Saks Off 5th, $70 // Grey Purse: Charming Charlie, $15