Can I Wear Oversized Stripes to the Office?

       Patterns and prints have been big over the last few seasons and not just in popularity, but literally in size. I've been seeing oversized florals, giant polka dots, and even extra-wide stripes.

       Oversized patterns can sometimes be tricky to wear because they can quite easily overwhelm the body and "take over" an outfit. I am a firm believer that a woman should be wearing an outfit, it should not be wearing you.

       I was quickly drawn to skirt from Zara with extra-wide stripes:

        Stripes are a classic pattern, but these wide stripes instantly make this skirt trendy and distinctive. A simple way to take make this office appropriate is to play up one of the stripes in the skirt to make the entire outfit cohesive. Here, I decided to use the navy blue as the base color:

Zenggi v neck cotton cardigan, $80 / Mango pleated top, $30 / Zara striped skirt, $60 / Salvatore Ferragamo oxford shoes, $525 / Kate Spade croc embossed handbag, $279 / Kate Spade case, $195 / Jessica Simpson jewelry, $20

       If you are not afraid to make the skirt more of a stand-out statement piece, you can pair with another neutral color that contrasts with the skirt. Here, I went with white:

Mango bow collar blouse, $35 / H&M , $45 / Zara skirt, 63 CAD / Dune pointy toe flat, $94 / Mango shopping tote bag, $20 / Kate Spade , $88/ Gold hoop earrings, $20

 See the post at Forbes Style File here!