In my SIA Dali post, I shared my best tips for mixing stripes with stripes for a fun but not crazy print mix look:
(#1) Separate the two striped pieces in space (such as a striped top with striped shoes).
(#2) For adjacent or overlapping striped pieces, mix two items with stripes in different orientations.
(#3) Keep your color palette tight, mixing striped pieces that share at least one but ideally two or more colors.
(#4) Vary the width of the stripes in the two pieces, either the amount of space between the stripes of the width of the stripes themselves.
Today I'm sharing 14 OOTD that feature double stripes and analyzing how they incorporate the above tips. You'll also notice that there are certain double stripe combinations that I repeat because the pieces work well together.
Let's start with some striped top + striped shoe combinations. This is an easy way to get started with double stripe mixes because the two pieces are very separated in space (#1). Here I have combined blue/red/white striped ballet flats and a navy/white/red/pink striped short-sleeved T that share 2-3 colors (#3) and have stripes of very different widths (#4). For those who are leery of wide horizontal stripes because they have a reputation for being unflattering, adding a lightweight topper piece that is open in the front to create vertical lines where the top + topper meet can help mitigate that widening effect.
Here's another combination I like: a striped sweatshirt + striped flats (#1 separated in space). The pieces share a couple of shades of blue (#3) and the width of the stripes are very different (#4). In both cases I have added a long print scarf to introduce another print and to add some verticality to the look (which also mitigates against any widening effect from big horizontal stripes).
I have a variety of blue/navy and white striped knit tops that I wear with these striped flats too (#1 separated in space). They clearly share the blue/navy color (#3) and have varied stripe widths (#4) with the shoes having the wider stripes in this case. These outfits also show two ways that I wear scarves in warm weather: a lightweight open weave scarf draped simply around the neck with knots on the two ends (L) and a lightweight sheer scarf worn like a men's tie but not tight around the neck (R).
In this last striped top + striped shoes example (#1 separated in space), both the top and shoes are a navy/white stripe (#3 shared colors). Even though the orientation and stripe widths are the same, I think this combination works really well, which goes to show that you needn't follow all four tips to get an outfit that looks cohesive! In this case, the fact that the colors are absolutely identical in the two pieces creates so much coordination between them that they have a simple "repeat" look that totally works. I did cover a good deal of the top with the utility vest (which diminishes the impact of the top's striped print) and added a leopard print scarf (that shares the navy color with the stripes).
Next let's look at some outfits where the two striped pieces are either adjacent or overlapping (so #1 separated in space is not in play). Here I am wearing a pair of navy/white pants with such narrow stripes that at any distance appear to be a textured soft mid-blue solid rather than a print. They look great worn adjacent to the striped flats that differ in orientation (#2) and width (#4) but have identical colors (#3). A very thin stripe that sort of disappears with distance is a great choice for getting started with mixing stripe prints!
In this print mix mash-up, the striped T and striped pants are also worn adjacent to each other, though the utility vest and anchor print scarf do create some separation (#1). The pants are navy with thin cream and red/maroon stripes while the T is red with thin navy stripes, so they have a two color overlap (#3). Although both have thin stripes, there is more distance between the stripes on the T than the stripes on the pants, so they give the appearance of differing widths (#4). Again, the pants have a vertical orientation while the top has horizontal stripes (#2). I'm sure pants with horizontal stripes do exist somewhere, but in my experience the vast majority of them have vertical stripes, which makes them a good piece for a double stripe mix.
In this outfit from 2017 (!!), I paired a horizontally striped cardigan with a skirt that has wavy vertical stripes (#2 different orientations) for another adjacent stripe mix. To your eye, the skirt may not register as being "striped" at all, but I think the same principles of stripes with stripes apply here. The two pieces share white and black (#3 color) and the width of the stripes are quite different (#4). This print mix is a bit more on the maximal end so I kept the rest of the outfit very simple and neutral using the black and white colors from the look.
This outfit features my circus tent striped midi skirt with a rainbow ombré/striped scarf that I purchased specifically with this kind of print mix in mind. Worn long this way, the scarf is adjacent to the skirt, though it could certainly be styled so that there is a spatial separation with the skirt (#1). The two pieces share many colors (#3: the scarf has no black and the greens are different, but otherwise they are the same) and the stripe widths differ a lot (#4).
Finally, I also have a couple outfits with overlapping stripes. As you can see, I like this striped shirt + striped jacket + fish print scarf combination! The two striped pieces have different orientations (#2) and stripe widths (#4) while sharing a very well matched pink color (#3).
A striped T + striped scarf combination is not an obvious one, but I loved how this outfit turned out. The scarf has a classic men's tie color scheme with diagonal stripes that gives the combo a match of 2 colors (#3) with different orientations (#2) and stripe widths (#4). The marl knit vest adds great texture to the t-shirt knit top, silky scarf, and suede loafers combo.
So of the four styling principles (#1 separate in space, #2 different orientations, #3 same colors, #4 different widths), I typically incorporate 2-4 of them into my double print mixes, with most outfits using 3 of these principles. It's interesting because I didn't create these outfits with the 4 principles in mind; it's just that with trial and error, I found that I liked outfits that used some of these principles better than ones that did not. It makes sense to me that I tend to use several of these tips in my outfits rather than just one because I generally prefer wearing highly cohesive outfits. But if you like your outfits to have a freer/less tightly cohesive vibe, incorporating only one of these 4 principles into your stripe mixes might get you a result you like.
Do you like wearing stripes? Do you print mix with them? Have you worn double stripes...or would you? Do you have any other tips for styling a stripes with stripes print mix?
Blogs I link up with are listed here.