Bored with wearing navy and black? Let it send you dotty

I’m so sick of wearing navy and black. How do I ease into prints?

Actor Christina Hendricks at Séries Mania Festival in Lille, France, in March.Credit: Getty Images

While the fashion pack has embraced leopard, tiger and zebra patterns, not everyone’s experiencing unadulterated animal attraction; the call of the wild, they fear, could be luring them into dangerous, mafia-wife territory. The good news is that subtler options are available in the form of classic spots and stripes.

Stripes have their own challenges, of course – namely, do horizontal stripes make one look bigger or smaller? Polka dots, on the other hand, neutralise that stress with the unadulterated joy of the playful print. Even their name, coming from the polka dance craze that swept Europe from the 1840s with the mania of a Taylor Swift concert tour, raises a smile. Once the music stopped, the dots became a symbol of US prosperity – on Minnie Mouse’s skirts, Marilyn Monroe’s swimsuits and Hedy Lamarr’s gowns.

Christian Dior, Madame Gres and Dolce & Gabbana have always been keen to join the dots and, more recently, Zimmermann, Altuzarra, Marni, Jacquemus and Miu Miu have, too. The spotted gown has also recently been revived by Christina Hendricks, Ariana Grande, Margot Robbie, Jennifer Lawrence and the like. We recommend you ease your way into the trend with an accessory or two.
Try anchoring a spotted piece to a solid-colour blazer or tailored dark pants. Choose a smaller dot print for a more polished finish or serious spots for high impact.

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