THE JOURNAL
The best flora and fauna to invest in this spring/summer season.
Essentially, looking your best in this season’s tropical print trend is the same as wearing any kind of busy print. That is, the best way to make it all look balanced is to pick out a single colour within the print, and then add an additional item, be it trousers, a jacket, or shoes, in that same colour. It seems simple, and it is. The only other thing you need to worry about, really, is not looking like someone’s dad, on holiday. But that’s more of an attitude thing – just avoid pun-based jokes and dancing around, arms flailing everywhere. And if you’re wondering which tropical print in particular to opt for, scroll down – we’ve made a selection of our favourites, at every price point.
THE NO-BRAINER
Without doubt the most straightforward (and accessible) way to buy into this particular trend is by settling for this neat short-sleeved shirt from J. Crew in a flower and leaf pattern. Not only is it a traditional, button-down shape (leaving you to wrestle with the camp-collar dilemma another time), its base colour is a very neutral beige, which makes it easy to wear with chinos, shoes and, yes, even a jacket in a similar colour. Blazer-wise, we like this relaxed, slub-cotton variety from Italian brand Barena – no point being too buttoned up when you’ve got frangipani all down your front.
THE JAPANESE TAKE
Tokyo-based brand Wacko Maria started out life as a record store run by founders Messrs Keiji Ishizuka and Atsuhiko Mori, which explains why much of the brand’s clothing has a decidedly musical inspiration. The above shirt is a case in point – with its camp collar and almost tattoo-like floral print, there’s something of a 1950s-tinged, rockabilly style in there. But our advice is take it down a workwear route. You can bring out the turquoise and blue colours in the pattern (and add a bit of lightness to the whole thing) by pairing it with this richly dyed indigo overshirt from compatriot brand Blue Blue Japan. Carefully slicked back quiff entirely optional.
TOTALLY TROPICAL
For several seasons now, Valentino has been offering its own take on the classic Hawaiian shirt, with much success. In fact, thanks to its vibrant pineapple-print styles, the brand is arguably the progenitor of the whole trend. Its no surprise, therefore, that it’s produced a superlative iteration of the tropical print shirt this season, the asymmetric design of which abounds with colour. Here, we’re going to recommend wearing it with some washed brown chinos – they’re not quite the same colour as the pink, beige or burgundy in the shirt, but given there’s a lot of contrasting colour here, it’s safer to pick something that’s in between them all. Besides, they give a particularly appealing, vintage 1950s feel to the whole look.
Shop the tropical print trend here
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