The Budget Fashionista

We know the fashion mantra—no horizontal stripes, no horizontal stripes, NO HORIZONTAL STRIPES. But this Spring it seems that designers and retailers have decided to throw us a curveball, with super-cute horizontal stripe-emblazoned tops and dresses all over the place. So, if you are tempted to cross that, er, line, some tips:

~ Keep the stripes in proportion. If you are petite, a sweater dress with knee-to-neck wide horizontal stripes is probably not the best choice—stick with a striped top (though a taller girl could definitely go for the sweater dress here). If you are a curvier girl, you might want to pass over the wide stripes and go for some thin ones, and keep the colors a little darker.

~ Make sure the rest of the outfit includes slimming vertical lines for balance. Pair a cute striped top with dark, straight-leg denim and a tailored, close-fitting jacket. If you are brave enough to go with a long striped piece, we like how this cardigan from Twelve by Twelve has vertical stripes on the sleeve to keep things leaner—or try a top that mixes stripe direction to break up the lines, like this one from Charlotte Russe, for $19.99. or this plus sized option from Macy’s, on sale for $29.99.

~ If you just can’t bring yourself to wear the horizontal stripe (or simply know that your body type just can’t take it), you can still participate—while the horizontal stripe is dominating at the moment, stripes of all kinds are trendy, so pick up something cute with vertical or diagonal lines (like this asymetrical striped tunic from Forever21) and be fierce.

pictured: Striped Slub Cami, $16.50, Gap