5 Fashion and Interior Design Fails

In our last post we provided you with some tips on what you should do style wise to maximize your best assets for your physical body and for your physical space. This time we thought it would be fun to go over our top 5 style don'ts. There are some surprising crossovers...

1. Taking a theme too far

There is a fine line between acknowledging a trend or style and taking it so far that you look like you’re dressed for a costume party or you own a theme house. Now you can be inspired by a particular theme or style, but be wary of adding too many 'themed' elements. To avoid this tipping point you need to think balance and only introduce some theme inspired pieces, and try not to go over the top.

For example the equestrian look was very hot about two years ago and is still going strong. The look is essentially centered around the great fashion item the riding boot. But if you add too many elements such as the riding jodhpurs and the top hat it could look like you're actually going to ride a horse, probably not a good idea if you're just going to the shops. Image courtesy of Roxanne Parker.

Nicole Richie does the Boho Chic or Hippie look really well. However she is just a precarious beaded handbag and floral headband away from looking like she is going to a 70's costume party. Thankfully she balances it well with sleek black heels and a plain clutch. Image courtesy of Forever Boho.

This Moroccan inspired interior is over the top, but this particular client wanted the fantasy "genie in a bottle" look. So unless you want to have a fantasy theme room in your house or you own a Moroccan restaurant, you can avoid the harem boudoir look by just adding some of these lovely elements such as the Persian rug, colorful throws, or cushions - but not everything! Image courtesy of Modenus.

2. Too matchy matchy

When you love something you can take this love too far. For example I've seen people take their love for something like pink or leopard and go to the extreme. You need to choose your moments and think less is more.

In my opinion this is too much pink, and the heaviness of the drapes make this room feel smaller and closed in. Proves that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Image courtesy of Interior Design 5.

So a teenage girl loves pink, this is how you can introduce it without going over the top and having pink walls, floors and accessories. Instead just a few tasteful colorful accessories that can be changed out when she changes her mind about loving pink so much. Image courtesy of Nicedecors.

I got this pretty image from the lovely ladies at A Beautiful Mess. They've asked the same question about too much of one thing and although this outfit is undeniably pink, its perfectly balanced with white and black accessories. Now if the shoes, sunglasses and cardigan were also pink, it could be too much.

3. It doesn't fit

Just as poorly fitting clothing can look odd, furniture that doesn't fit well in a space will make a room feel awkward and have poor flow. For example an over sized chair in the corner can ruin a perfectly good space by making it seem crammed in. I saw this on the TV show The Block NZ where a contestant just loved a chair and had to have it but didn't take into consideration the size of the room it had to go into. Then she crammed it into a small space which meant the flow of the room was compromised and the room was made to feel smaller than it actually was.

I’m guilty of liking a piece of clothing and not really thinking about how it will fit my body shape and just buying it even though it is not flattering. See below for some other guilty examples.

Ellen Pompeo really doesn't do herself any favors in this tent shaped dress. Poor fit, poor style for her body makes it all wrong. Image courtesy of Fashion.about.com

I'm not sure if this dress could look good on anyone, the poor fit makes her boobs look smaller and her hips look enormous, not traits I think most women go for. Image courtesy of Fashion.about.com

4. Function over form

I've seen this many times, making things look bad for the sake of function, but trust me when I say that there is a middle ground, you don’t have to sacrifice aesthetics for function. For example a project that my architect husband worked on he recommended for heating in the bedroom they install a gorgeous gas heater, but his client decided to go for a heat pump instead. Yes it did the same job, in fact it also had the ability to cool in the summer, but it really didn't give that luxurious feel in the bedroom, rather they have a massive eyesore in the middle of the room that doesn't give that same romantic feeling a gas fire heater would have.

Imagine the cozy, romantic feeling a fireplace like this creates in a bedroom. Aesthetically pleasing, atmosphere creating and functional. Compared to a heat pump, this option is much better. Image coutesy of Houzz

The best fashion example I can think of to compare is the “Sneans” look. Now I know that that sneakers are a very comfortable shoe, but that is still no excuse to wear them with jeans. The “Sneans” look can be okay if you wear street shoes as opposed to straight up sneakers. Just remember that if comfort was always the number one priority I would leave the house in my sloppy track pants every day and never set foot in anything as impractical as a high heel.

George Lucas committing the classic Sneans crime, his partner is faring much better in bare feet. Mad respect for the guy, afterall he just sold the Star Wars rights for over $4 Billion, not bad, I'm sure he can afford some styling. Image courtesy of Daily Mail UK.

As this bluesteel model demonstrates the Sneans look can be achieved for comfort and aesthetics by going for a more 'street' style shoe, I recommend the classic Converse sneakers. Image courtesy of BlogMeFashion.

5. Exposing what shouldn't be exposed

Some things need to be concealed and shouldn't be exposed. Underwear as outerwear can arguably look good, but most of the time as Britney displays below, it should be put away. 

Visible bra not to mention the visible midriff are two big fashion crimes Britney is committing.  Some things are better not seen. Image courtesy of mamapop.com. 

Exposed cables are just so ugly and should be hidden behind walls or cord organizers and tidily put away. Interior  design crime! Image courtesy of bomehianhellhole.com.

My final word would be that although these are cliche faux pas, the truth is that wherever there are rules there are always exceptions. As they say, rules are made to be broken, so please take these tips as more or less a guide and not strict rules. So have fun following or totally disregarding this advice.