Paisley?

As Elle Woods states in Legally Blonde "no one looks good in Paisley" and yet as is so often true, other people know better.  I love Paisley, I love it on my soft furnishings, even for a sofa as it calls to mind the notion of a comfortably faded library chair, or the Ascot tie of a country gentleman.  It has not for a very long time evoked any thoughts of high end Fashion, so yes it was time it had a recall from the history books and again felt the heat of the Spotlight (I feel somewhat misty eyed at the thought.)

The essential question becomes how do you wear it without inspiring feelings of soft furnishings from the uninitiated and uninspired?  The reality is that this season is all about big and bold prints, be they nautical, globally inspired or from the tea room of Paisley.  The trick is to find one in the correct proportion to you.  Remembering that proportions can be changed according to style, colour and fabrication.  My second tip is too avoid the expected, when styling your item try to think outside the box, turn your look into a multi-faceted jewel with many different components in order to achieve a look you are comfortable with and that will attract positive attention from others.

Try to avoid heavy fabrics, which aren't much fun for summer anyway, stick to chiffon in lighter colours, so the Paisley becomes part of the movement of the garment rather than the stand out style feature.  Obviously if you are braver than me you can go the whole hog and nothing says trend allegiance (or fashion victim) quite like Paisley trousers.