Cheryl Shops

There's really no formula to mixing prints—with the right attitude, you could probably pull off anything. But as a general rule of thumb, I stick to three main guidelines. One: you want similar color schemes. Two: vary the scale, with one larger pattern and one with a smaller one. And three: no more than two prints per outfit. Then again, I will tell you time and time again that rules were meant to be broken, so perhaps the best answer is that there's no wrong way to do it. But while you're here, this is how I like to mix prints.



Even though I have another jersey blazer from Topshop, I bought this one as soon as I saw it on Katwalk SF's Instagram. I did not regret my purchase. It's lightweight and great for layering; I wore it three days in a row once I got it (including when these photos were shot), and I can see myself wearing it year-round here in California. Plus, while I had a glen plaid blazer already, I didn't have a windowpane plaid one, so thus it was a totally justified purchase (plus it was on sale for Black Friday). One thing to note—in spite of the buttons, this blazer doesn't actually close. Also, unlike most Topshop items, it probably runs true to size; I sized up to a US 8 and probably should have gone with my actual size. Nevertheless, I kept it, and it's true love.



Underneath, I'm wearing a charcoal gray tee from Alexander Wang, which I've had forever—his knits don't pill and are truly worth the investment. Otherwise, there's not much to note about this, other than the fact that it's solid and neither black nor white. I wanted to add a little contrast to this look, but not too much, so dark gray was the way to go.



Now, onto the fun part—the other print. Because the pattern on my blazer was more of a larger scale, I paired it with a more dainty polka-dot print, and both are unified by their black-and-white color scheme. This skirt is sadly sold out, which I'm finding happens quite frequently when I try to feature Sézane here, but I've linked a very similar style below. Polka dots were trending earlier this year and I was somewhat resistant to them, but I saw this skirt on Sézane's Instagram (see a pattern here?) and bought it within seconds. Leave it to a French brand to completely change my mind about something.



It's been several weeks since you've seen my A.P.C. bag (three, to be exact) so I thought I could get away with wearing it again. If you zoom in a bit, you can see that this bag is starting to take a beating, but it's a testament to how much I wear it, and I think it just gets better with wear (and character).



You also saw these boots recently (in last week's post), but I wanted to show them with a skirt, and to be honest, I've been wearing them nonstop because they're so damn comfortable. I'm in a 38.5, which is half a size smaller than what I usually take in European boots, but since Calla makes shoes that accommodate my bunion, I can wear my actual size. Even if you don't have bunions, though, they're the rare shoe that's both comfy and chic.




In case you're wondering how I'm outside in just a blazer in December, full disclosure, we shot these photos in West Hollywood, just outside of The Chamberlain, where we stayed a few weekends ago on a quick 36-hour trip to L.A. The location of the hotel was super central, and the rooms were huge—I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking to stay in WeHo!


OUTFIT DETAILS: Topshop blazer | T by Alexander Wang tee (current season here) | Sézane skirt (similar here) | A.P.C. sac demi-lune | Calla belle boots | Stella & Dot Janson horn pendant