Heavenly Harmony, or Cosmic Chaos?
Part 2 of pattern mixing mastery...
Consonsantia is the second of St. Thomas Aquinas’s requirements for beauty, and it means “proportion” or “harmony”. When applied to dress, consonsantia is primarily reflected in two main fields: in the rule of 2/3rds, and in the wearing of patterns.
Learning how to mix patterns together tastefully, then, isn’t just a question of expanding the possibilities available to you in your wardrobe. It’s about something deeper, about reflecting the order and harmony of the cosmos out into the world. This is perhaps why we find it so elegant when done well, and so egregious when done poorly.
Last week, we looked at how to pair two patterns together. Today, we build on those foundations by moving on to the next part in our series on pattern mixing: pairing three patterns.
At this stage, risk and reward go hand-in-hand, and a fine line separates the summit of style from the apogee of arrogance. How do you mix three different patterns? Three similar patterns? Three patterns when two are the same?
No doubt, these are treacherous waters.
Fortunately, however, there are some helpful rules of thumb you can follow to navigate the shoals, and I outline all of them in today’s article. If you want to learn how to pair three patterns together tastefully — so they reflect harmony rather than chaos — then read on…
