Once upona time, wearing patterned clothes was resigned to the back of the wardrobe. Patternsand indeed colours were seen as unprofessional and not the thing that the smartwoman around town would wear. In fact they are still avoided by city workerswho see them as unprofessional and possibly too girly or feminine. Indeed afriend of mine was fired from a firm in the City of London because they said that she didn't lookthe part ? her clothes were too pretty for the job. Personally I think she isbetter off without the job. I completely disagree with the this belittling ofpatterned clothing. I think that wearing patterns help you express yourindividuality and when chosen and worn with care they look fabulous giving aunique look to any outfit.

So how doyou wear patterns? What if you are scared of colour ? wearing patterns issurely a step too far if you can't even find it in you to get away from wearingblacks, greys or other neutral colours. Not at all ? in fact patterns as wellas being bright can also be subtle, yes they can be outrageous, and colourfulbut there are also those that are small unobtrusive patterns that just lift anoutfit from out of the ordinary.

So how doyou wear patterned clothes? The best way to start to wear patterend clothes isto begin with a simple piece of clothing like a scarf. Wearing a patternedscarf is easy and is a great way to accessorise without looking too outrageous.Look at the base colour of your putfitand wear a scarf with a similar tone orif you are feeling really brave perhaps a contrasting colour. Once you have gotstarted there will be no turning back.

You canthen move on to main garments. When choosing a patterned garment wheneverpossible wear it with a plain one to start. This will enable you to understandhow colour works and which colours look good together. Once you really get intowearing patterns you can then start to wear stripes with florals, or spots withpaisley items.

There aremany wonderful patterns and prints in the shops so one thing to also look outfor is the style or the cut of the garment and whether the pattern suits thecut. A chintzy flowery print for instance looks better on a fitted garmentwhereas an ethnic print looks good on a more flowing style.