You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Fashionista!

This time of year when the sun's so bright and the days are so long I find myself more attracted to nature. The colors seem sharper and the silhouettes seem edgier. It's such an optimistic season I want to embrace it from the top of my head down to my feet. The easiest way to do that is with fashion inspired by nature, whether it's floral prints or clothing the color of the sky, grass, and flowers I see in my own front and backyard. I usually try to capture their splendor with my camera before they disappear, but by wearing a flower print skirt and t-shirt in coordinating color I can replicate them sartorially.

If you're wondering why nature is my inspiration in a time of high-tech fabrics, unisex styles and more risqué street trends, all I can say is that I feel nature puts me in a better frame of mind these days. It reminds me that it's okay to be quiet, meditative and just plain ole pretty. It also doesn't matter how old I am, when I wear florals, because they instantly make me feel younger. They remind me of special days, from my childhood, when a pretty flowered dress meant parties and dances.

I really think my passion for florals started when I got one of my favorite dresses, as a little girl, a red and white polka dotted one with a row of white tulips appliqued around the bottom. Unfortunately, as I went through many clothing styles, my love for feminine florals lay dormant until I started shopping at thrift stores and rediscovered a whole world of flowered tops, skirts and dresses for under $100. I'd find 1960s sheaths I could wear with modern blazers and jackets and sleeveless and short-sleeved tops I could pair with jeans and khakis. Through the years, even though my style has changed, I've still continued to wear vintage and second-hand floral clothes in one incarnation or another. Now my favorite way to mix them is to wear a striped shirt with a floral skirt and a denim jacket over a flowered dress.

As we head towards a more eco-friendly world, where embracing nature will not only be okay but the norm, we may soon see a time when nature will be as traditional an inspiration as cityscapes.

Cool Ways to Wear Florals and Nature Prints:

1) Sweatshirt or t-shirt over floral pants

2) Green army jacket over a white t-shirt and floral pants

3) Floral blouse over a straight pencil skirt

4) Vintage floral dress under a denim jacket

5) Faux fur stole or shrug over a pink blouse and floral pants

6) Satin zip-front jacket over a silk blouse and a pair of leaf or floral pants

7) Pullover sweater and a long floral skirt

8) Black-and-white striped blouse and floral pants

9) Striped top and a floral skirt

10) Colored t-shirt and a floral skirt