Tim Gunn is the Offensive Coordinator in Fashion

Tim Gunn, fashion mentor and guru for Project Runway, today, he is calling the plays on what I will be wearing to work. Im a religious reader of Gunn Laws in Marie Claire each month. In the current issue, Tim Gunn talks about pairing different patterns together and how the relationship isn’t always criminal.

Just like sports, fashion has guidelines and rules; in sports we have referees, in fashion we have the fashion police, or…..Tim Gunn. Lets review the rules by Coach Gunn before we hit the field, shall we?

Marie Claire/December 2011

1) “First, be sure that the pieces being mixed have a similar color story.”
2) “Second, lay out the items you plan to mix.”
3) “Now squint your eyes. Each item should remain separate and distinct    when examined in this way. If they blend together and become an amorphous blob when you squint, then they’re too similar.”
4) “Finally, pattern mixing challenges the fashion comfort zone of most people, which likely accounts for the reaction you received.”

With that in mind I searched my closet, while squiting, to find two patterns that wouldn’t be in state rivals…..and voila! In the words of Tim Gunn, “make it work!”

I paired this paint stroke BCBG Max Azria blouse with a houndstooth skirt from Banana Republic. Aside from the weather being criminally cold in Chicago, I’ve added this black Design History cardigan to mute the patterns ever so slightly.

What do you think? Share your stories!