home becomes her: polka dot

Tuesday, 4 March 2014

Two of my favorite trends at the moment dots and metallic! Loving the decals, fun and easy to do.
Interior image from Lauren Conrad

Polka dots, dots, and spots whatever you may call them they don’t really seem to ever go out of fashion, but rather have resurgences into popularity. In women’s fashion they have a very fun and youthful image, which could be because they were made famous by Minnie Mouse’s red and white dress back in the 1920’s. However dots can also be very sophisticated and fashion forward as some of the examples in this post demonstrate.

Polka-dots go way back in time with this example of Marilyn Munroe in the 50s
Image from Hunting in Heels

Fast forward to the present day and this is one of the most elegant examples of polka dots I could find. By far a monochrome black and white polka dot pattern seems to dominate celebrity fashion. Emma wears Luca Luca Spring 2012.
Image from posh24.com

Just to make a point about just how sophisticated polka dots can be, Kate Middleton wears this simple but fun and pretty Top Shop maternity dress which sold out instantly after this photo was released.
Image from mycelebrityfashion.co.uk

Lauren Conrad has recently gone crazy for dots with so many dotty examples in her clothing range.
Image from laurenconrad.com

Cheryl Cole goes for the double dot combo, if you look closely her top are actually little sweet hearts, a nice wee dot variation. Again the monochrome version is most popular and easy to wear with this already bold pattern.
Image from usmagazine.com

This post was actually inspired by the Kip and Co bed collection as they are no strangers to using bold graphic prints and I’m loving their dotty range of bed linen and towels.

From the Dappled Dreams Collection comes this fun and funky dotty duvet cover set
Image from kipandco.net.au

From the Dappled Dreams Collection you can also get dotty sheets. These covers and colors have a sort of 80s retro feel.
Image from kipandco.net.au

For a more bold option I'm loving this duvet cover set, accompanied by dotty pillow cases.
Image from kipandco.net.au

The dotty theme continues into their towel range.
Image from kipandco.net.au

From beds and towels to walls, these decal dots allow you to get creative in any room. You can also experiment with how to place them in a linear fashion as above or more angled as below. They come in every color on Etsy.
Image from Etsy shop WallsNeedLove

Image from Etsy shop WallsNeedLove

And don’t forget the blokes, dots are not just for her and home but they're also for him. You can see the trend embraced in men’s fashion with shirts, ties and scarves sporting the spots. Below are some of my favorite more daring examples.

Latest season of World Men's fashion is decidedly bold, dapper and sophisticated. The colorful polka dot suit is definitely for the brave Worldly men out there.
Image from World

Style icon Pharrell Williams wears a Comme Des Garcons play polka dot cardigan, not the most macho clothing item, but he makes it work! His cardi makes me happy.
Image from creativeboysclub.com

So for home, her and him there is always a dotty accessory that is perfectly appropriate for the occasion. Even when it fades from the fashion forefront, don’t be afraid to stand by the trend and stand out.

Image courtesy of getinmyhome

Saturday, 7 September 2013

With the change in season I feel inspired to brighten things up with prints and patterns. On trend right now is to be fearless with patterns and prints and to try some bold combinations. Check our previous post how to mix prints to take it to the next level.

I'm a big fan of Porter Teleo's unique wall paper prints so I've dedicated quite a few of this posts image round up to their fabulous print collection.

I love this large red graphic Porter Teleo Wallpaper against the eclectic art and blue accessories. This outfit combination is from the latest Karen Walker walker range, mixing prints well. Outfit image courtesy of preciouspeg.com

Handpainted Porter Teleo wallpaper in a beautiful colour combo of blues, teals, tans and yellows. Sister Jane Monet dress from asos.com.

We can't have a pattern attack round up without polka dots. I love the raw texture that the drip effect from the hand painted Porter Teleo wallpaper gives. This is an amazing dress from twentysevennames.co.nz that I'd love to have to welcome in spring.

A more bold example from Porter Teleo wallpaper has a massive impact. This funky outfit from twentysevennames.co.nz is also a great example of mixing prints - pattern and polka dots.

Like pattern and print but not too confident with color? Try grey and white. Porter Teleo wallpaper and dress from asos.com.

Monochromes and grey grahpic prints - Porter Teleo wallpaper and dress from asos.com.

More floral polka dot Porter Teleo wallpaper print and the gorgeous floating Mondegreen tee and maxi skirt.

Porter Teleo aqua and grey wallpaper print, with Kate Sylvester demonstrating how to mix prints right - stripe and floral.

Marimekko is an internationally renowned Finnish brand that is famous for their bold graphic designs for prints, fashion and ceramics. Their range truly spans the premise of this blog from home decor and accessories to fashion, so putting the following roundup together was a very natural fit for homebecomesher...