Clashing Fashion

Today's New York Times Urban Eye talks about how men are now "allowed" to wear what they may consider to be mismatched separates, such as plaids and paisleys, and also points to a NYT Fashion & Style article by David Colman on the subject.

Great, so now (most) men who don't know how to dress to begin with will have another excuse as to why not.

But my real point is this: women have been doing this for years. You will see this, particularly if you've spent time in Chinatown or on the subways that run through there. But seriously folks, as you will see in today's photo, I have managed to adorn myself in a flower print skirt, horizontally striped tank, white eyelet blouse and a black loosely knit shrug/cardigan thing. So far nobody has outright laughed at me, so I think it "works." The key being: stay in the same color/hue family and don't involve more than one fabric. In this case I have all kinds of cottons in black, white, green and orange.

And if you are a special kind of fashionista, you are allowed to step over the line. But this kind of risk-taking is reserved for professionals only. Cuidado!