Now is the time of year for celebrations with friends and family. Don’t you just love those feasts where you put a little bit of everything onto your plate because there are so many tempting dishes on the table? Some people like to compartmentalize their food into neat little areas while others let the wonderful variety mingle together on their plate with no rhyme or reason. They’re the ones who just sort of mash it all together in the most zestful, adventurous way and enjoy every minute of it! Sometimes our approach to fashion and how we put ourselves together could be thought of in much the same way. Mixing and matching clothing items with abandon is an art in itself, but there are ways to incorporate more of the things you love into your everyday attire, as well as your holiday style!

Fashion designer Trina Turk is always one of those people who happily shows her seasonal collections in a fun and casual way at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York. While there for the fall/winter 2014 presentation I took some great shots of some of her notable merry-fashion mash-ups. Let’s take a look shall we?

In the shot above we have three models wearing looks that are playful, yet appropriate at the same time. We see the cape trend still going strong on our first model, along with the bright pop of red from her unexpectedly long gloves! You may also notice the longer skirt length that works well with her pointy-toed booties. She’s carrying a structured bag, which is a little more lady-like and streamlined than the one the next model is holding. Both girls are mixing their prints, and as you can see, our middle model is also sporting sandals that she may have worn this summer. Sometimes things like this can really work! The young man at the end here is also mixing up his prints with his windowpane-checked slacks, buttoned-up cardigan, and floral button-down shirt worn with a striped tie. Once again, what we want to take away here is that a few of these elements such as the pattern mixing or the pop of color could be infused into our own fashion buffet. I absolutely love the poor-boy style hats that work well on the models and give the ladies some sporty air!

On our gentlemen we see the use of layering for warmth, as well as style. I really like how the texture of the knit sweaters are a great counterpoint to the texture of the sport coats they’re wearing. For example, the bright stripes peeking out from under the patterned textured of the bearded model’s jacket is great with his print shirt and contrasting tie! Remember my golden rule of fashion - items can go together without necessarily matching. When looking at these pictures you’ll notice that there’s a balance in the tones even with the contrasting patterns. That’s the key! If it looks good to your eye, it will look good in person.  

So literally what I’m saying here is step up to the fashion plate and start mashing together some of those stylish pieces in your wardrobe! If you like some of the elements shown here and need to fill in the gaps in your wardrobe, Goodwill just might be a great resource to try something new to you AND your sense of style! At this time of year we’re so thankful for your donations and your purchases that allow us to help those in our community through the important training we provide. So, go ahead and mash it all together, you’ll be glad you did!