Fashion 101: Stripes

My friends and I have been joking over the last few months that all we buy are stripes.  Striped tees, striped tanks, striped sweaters, striped cardigans.  Stripes are everywhere these days it seems, so it really isn't hard to find something to add to the collection.

Stripes can be hard to wear.  Remember the "horizontal stripes make you look fat" rule?  Well it is true in some cases, but depending on how you wear them, horizontal stripes can be slimming and they look much less "Beetlejuice" or "jailbird" than vertical stripes can be:

Beetlejuice striped leggings from Asos.  Not so cute.

There is a key to wearing horiztonal stripes successfully:  the width of the stripe.  If you go too skinny, you might emphasize any extra pounds you wish weren't there.  If you go too wide, you risk looking wider than you actually are.

Debra Messing is not a wide woman, but these stripes sure make her look "hip-ier" than normal.

Amber Riley from Glee.  She's what most would consider plus size, but she looks geat in this striped dress.  If the stripes were any thinner, she would not look as svelte.

Stripes can be whimsical, sexy, classic or casual.  As long as the stripes are proportional to your body size, anyone can pull off horizontal stripes.