Thinking Outside The Box: "PRINT IS THE NEW BLACK"

There is a huge difference between "dressing well" and being "fashionable". In my opinion, just because you dress nicely does not automatically mean that you are stylish. Being fashionable means being daring and trying out new things, and most importantly, it involves thinking outside the box.

Gone are the good ol' days when basic black was everyone's favorite go-to outfit. Now, clothes are becoming more and more vibrant -- prints, patterns, and colors are worn together to create striking ensembles. Basically, the bolder, the better!

I used to be the type of person who almost always wore black. To me, black was classy and chic. While that may still be true today, people are becoming more and more competitive in the world of fashion and somewhere along the way, style has evolved into something more eye-catching and daring.

When the TV show Gossip Girl first came out, the first thing I noticed was the characters' wardrobe choices. Let's face it, we all watched that show mostly because it provided a lot of style inspirations in the form of Blair Waldorf and Serena van der Woodsen. 

What I noticed about the characters of Gossip Girl back then was that even though they each had their own personal style, they all had one thing in common: their clothes were always bold and colorful, which was part of the reason they attracted so much attention. Gossip Girl characters are perfect examples of mixing and matching done right.

As soon as I realized this, I started experimenting more with colors and various prints, and the rest is history (or so they say). While wearing simple black and white outfits will always be something I'll go back to every once in a while, I must say that I prefer wearing a creative mixture of patterns and different colors.

I deeply encourage all of you to be more experimental when it comes to fashion because ultimately, that's what it's all about -- fun, creativity, and expression.

Someone asked a friend of mine recently for ideas on what she could pair with her new floral leggings. My friend responded, telling her that "a plain black top or plain white top" was the only option.

This somehow saddened me because as much as I love my friend, I realized how narrow-minded some people still are when it comes to fashion. Now, please don't take this the wrong way. I am not saying that my friend has no sense of style. I'm just merely pointing out that a lot of people become complacent when it comes to picking out their clothes, and they no longer try to think outside the box.

If you ask me what you could pair with floral leggings, my answer to you would be an endless list of possibilities: Perhaps a leather jacket? Or a striped sweater? Or maybe polka dots? Stripes? Or a white top, yellow top, blue top, green top, red top, etc.? Like I said, the possibilities are endless. Definitely not just a white or black top.

With my blog, I really hope I can inspire people to become more creative when it comes to picking out their outfits. If you're not comfortable wearing so many prints all at once, maybe you can try mixing and matching colors first? There is no hard-and-fast rule on what works and what doesn't. The key here is to experiment with different things and various combinations until you find what looks good on you.

I do understand that everyone has their own personal style, and not everybody will like the whole "print on print" trend. My aim here is not to force you all to wear things that you don't want to. I only want to inspire you to go beyond the norm.

In life, you're given a choice. Do you choose to be plain and blend in with the rest of the crowd? Or will you choose to be daring, unique, innovative, and be remembered?

After all, nobody ever made their mark in history by playing it safe.

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