How to Accessorize Printed Tops

A few days ago, I posted about how to wear printed skirts work. Someone on my Facebook Page mentioned that she avoids wearing them because they are on the bottom half of her body and she sits most of the day at work. I thought that was a great point and it inspired me to write a post today about how to accessorize printed tops, both casually and professionally.

Printed tops are sort of like insta-outfits. They really do all the heavy lifting for you. Throw one on, wear it with a pair of jeans or pair of black pants and, voila, done. Or are you? Sure, these types of looks can be fun to wear the first few times, but, after a while, they can get repetitive. Don’t stray from these easy looks, but certainly look at more ways you can wear them, one being how you accessorize.

Below are five printed tops, all styled different ways to give you some tips and inspiration on how to take these fun staples and make them even “funner” with accessories.

Outfit #1

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In this first outfit I used this grey floral top with a peach base from Modcloth. I like the softness of the top and didn’t want to pull too much focus from it. I also didn’t want the outfit to look boring either. Instead of the obvious grey skirt or pants, I decided to use this ivory zipper pencil skirt from J. Crew. To work with the grey in the print, I added this bracelet from Max & Chloe and grey suede pumps from Calvin Klein. To finish the outfit I used this tassel pendant from Stella & Dot and, for a bit of a punch, working with the peach in the print, I had some fun with this coral handbag from Michael Kors.

Outfit #2

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When wearing printed tops, you are not limited to accessorizing with colors solely found in the print. Using this top from Boden, as an example, that is washy and tonal (meaning shades of all one color), I treated the print like a solid and added accessory shades that worked with the colors of the print. In this case I used pink. To ground the outfit, I started with these navy trousers and added a pair of pink flats from Nine West and pink Kate Spade earrings. Layered over the top, I added this white BCBG blazer and finished the outfit with a teal Brahmin bag that works with the colors in the top.

Outfit #3

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I love this printed top from Anthropologie. It’s just so pretty. When I saw it I knew I had to do something with it. In this case, I wanted to pull out all the colors of the print and use them as accessory shades. First, working with the burgundy in the blouse, because it does work well as a bottom color, I styled the top with this skirt from Shop Ruche. From there, I added the other shades as pops, including these light purple pumps from Cole Haan and the same Brahmin purse as used in the previous outfit. The ensemble is finished with these grey and ivory double drop earrings.

Outfit #4

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This very denim friendly top from eShakti, styled with these jeans, gets a punch of additional fun when colorful accessories are added to it. Like the previous look, I used the colors in the top to accent the outfit. First, I styled it with this mint scarf from Banana Republic and added this orange bracelet from Max & Chloe and tote from the Gap. Even when the bag is put down you will still have a hit of orange in the look. Finishing the outfit, I added these versatile nude flats.

Outfit #5

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This last outfit proves that you don’t have to go color-crazy when accessorizing printed tops. However, what you can do is add interesting accessory pieces to make the outfit more exciting. Here, I styled this printed J. Crew top with a navy Boden skirt and added blue wedges from Michael Kors, a fun Vince Camuto bag in ivory and navy and finished the outfit with a pair of burgundy Kendra Scott earrings and chain bracelet from Ann Taylor.

Shop for printed tops

Now that you know how to wear your printed tops beyond just pairing them with black pants and a pair of jeans, check out these additional styles from around the web.