by NICKY CHAMP
I’ll admit it, when Mamamia publisher, Mia Freedman, first coined the term ‘car crash prints’ in an editorial meeting, I was stumped.
I quickly racked my brain for any pictures of celebrities I’d seen wearing printed garments with dodgem car motifs. What Mia meant – of course, ahem – was the latest fashion trend, call it clashing prints, mixed prints or the art of wearing everything you own, at once. Like this:
Stripes and florals. Plaids and paisley. Polka dots and tropical prints. No printed garment hanging in your wardrobe is safe. This could be one of the easiest catwalk trends to pull off in real life and also make use of all those trend pieces (the stripe Breton jumper, animal print scarf, check shirt, polka dot dress) you may or may not have been collecting – no judgement, I own about 34 navy and white stripe tops.
What do you think, likes or yikes? What trends are you wearing?
Comments
31 Comments so far
I actually really like this look. Although I do feel that it is one of those more “model only” looks and if I were to attempt to clash prints in such a way i would look like a fashion victim as opposed to fashion forward
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I think it looks awesome on others, but on myself it would just look “to much going on”.
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No, No, No! Just awful. Busy and far too much going on to focus on one standout piece. Less is more ladies…these images are simply Tackfastic!
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i clash my florals together but i havent tried anyother patterns its fun and so fashion should be!
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I’m going to go against the grain here and say I actually like a lot of these outfits! I was about to say I think this would be hard to pull off for non-model types though, especially without a stylist to say what pattern goes with what, and especially if you can’t affort expensive fabrics and tailoring….
Then I realised I have a pair of high waisted zebra stripe pants I wear with a pastel floral top. I’m a non-model type with no stylist and a sporstgirl budget. Yikes! Never realised how many people must think I look like a hot mess when I wear it. Ain’t gonna stop me though!
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Oh my goodness..no! to me it just looks as though they’ve just dragged something out of the wardrobe in a rush and couldn’t care less what they looked like.
When I first started going out with my husband, 20 odd years ago now, he turned up to take me on a picnic in brown plaid shorts and a lime green and pale green striped t-shirt. He was a beautiful dag and really had no idea.lol! Still, even tho inwardly I was smiling at his dagyness, I still thought he was the handsomest thing walking.
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Oh dear! So Colleen Smart (Home & Away) was a trend-setter? I don’t think so!
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Some people get it so right (like Jules from Sincerely Jules). Some people get it so so wrong! They end up looking ridiculous!
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I have recently become obsessed with her blog!! She has amazing style.
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Very tricky look to pull off. Some of these look fine although a bit costume-y. Most of them look like their wardrobe just vomited on them.
Not a trend for me.
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“look like their wardrobe just vomited on them” ROFL
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So over it, I was doing it when I was 7-8 in the 80′s & my 21yo aunt would be ‘Jayne you can’t wear stripes & flowers.’ Au contrair. Now in my 40′s, like you Nicky, I have an obsession with stripes, classic fine knits & vintage style pants & skirts. Although I wore a crazy pink print 50′s dress to a summer wedding.
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lol. i think us ‘older chicks’ all roll our eyes thinking “oh well, there they go again totally having ‘invented’ fashion” .. not.
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Love it. Have been doing it for years. My mother has said for many years that my wardrobe looks like it threw up on me!
I do appreciate classic dressing but clashing prints are fun and you can get unexpected combinations that really work. So saying this, I don’t work in a corporate environment (artist) so can probably get away with it more easily. The trick is not to take it all too seriously and just have fun with dressing in an unexpected way. I think you can then get away with it.
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I think you need to be reed thin and uber gorgeous to get away with this. Otherwise it would just look tragic.
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I agree. It’s one of those trends where it’s so ugly that it actually emphasises your natural beauty. If you’re tall, thin and beautiful you can make anything work.
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Does anyone else have trouble with the photos loading? I’ve used mamamia on both my iPad and PC, but the galleries always take forever to load and I’ve got to tap the photos a few times before they’ll even load at all, so I usually just give up half way through or don’t bother looking at the galleries at all…
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mamamia photos have always been hopeless for me on an ipad!
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Agree. Terrible on iPhone too. Considering this site is so popular and has so many visitors something really needs to be done about the gallery
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i have a navy floral skirt (navy background with white, pale purple and orange flowers – small, dainty flowers) and i love wearing it with a navy and white fine striped t shirt. because the colours are simple and matching and the prints are small it doesn’t look messy. i wear it with tan shoes and a tan bag. it’s one of my favourite outfits.
i think you need to keep to the same colours and only have one big print in the outfit.
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I absolutely love this! But it’s not a new thing. Ive been admiring celebs do this clashy pattern thing for at least a couple of years.
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The problem is some of the combinations are just ugly, no getting around it ! Just saying …….
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I think a couple of fashion designers were visiting Thailand in the midst of a case of ‘Fashion Designers Block’. They saw the ‘car crash prints’ that are worn daily by many of the locals, and thought, “Hey, we can call this fashion and make a million bucks!” Sadly, they took it too far, and the very worst ‘car crash prints’ I’ve ever seen (and I have lived in Thailand a *Long* time) are the ones strutting the catwalks in these photos.
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Many of the clashing prints above work on a similar colour theme or pattern design. It doesn’t look random at all. I think it’s a pretty sophisticated look to pull of – I’d love to do it. Now I just need some of those beautiful fabrics and patterns they’re wearing.
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YUCK!!!
I wouldn’t wear most of those prints alone, let alone with another one just as busy. If models wearing car crash prints look like they got dressed while blindfolded, what hope do us mere mortals have?
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I LOVE this look! I am just about to head off for NYC and want to wear clothes like this EVERY DAY when I am over there! Totally cool.
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I don’t think I’d have the balls but a lot of people can pull it off well.
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I suspect this is one of those trends that will be gone as quickly as it arrived – it’s hard to look cool when you’re channeling a three year old let loose in an op shop. Give me the classic clean looks any day!
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My 12 yr old son has mastered this look. Today he’s wearing a dark and pale blue striped t-shirt and green floral boardshorts. In winter, I dont call this style, I call it having no idea.
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“This could be one of the easiest catwalk trends to pull off in real life”
Oh, man, I could not disagree more! I think you’ve got to do this really carefully or you’ll just look like a hot mess. Some of the women in the gallery look exactly that, in fact. And you need a TON of confidence in your look as well or you won’t pull it off.
Anyway, I’m not opposed to mixing patterns on principle but I don’t think you can just throw anything together and call it a great outfit.
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Absolutely I would go there. Admittedly, those gals above are doing it pretty well. What I love is that there is more freedom with fashion now and less rules about how it should be done. And with the freedom and misses, you get a few hits.
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