Made famous by the lovely Judy Garland in the 1939 premier of The Wizard of Oz, gingham has been in an out of fashion ever since. Not to be confused with plaid, gingham is a plain-woven cotton commonly appearing as white checked with a bold color. In the most popular of combinations, we see blue and white and black and white as front runners of this print. While these are the most popular, gingham has been made trendy once again by brands like J. Crew and now appears in white and just about every other color of the rainbow.
I was happy to see the plethora of gingham that popped up in the Spring 2015 lines at last year’s New York Fashion Week. From crop tops to shirtdresses, gingham took on all forms. Here are few noteworthy looks:

Collage of various gingham 2015 looks. Image by Small 4 Style blog.

Collage of various gingham 2015 looks. Image by Small 4 Style blog.


As you can see, there are plenty of ways to wear this trend and I can assure you, gingham will be an easy one to find for less at your local Goodwill. In fact, I can speak from experience! I scored a Madewell by J. Crew tissue-weight button down a few months back that will be a perfect piece to showcase this spring trend. While I’ve only gotten a chance to wear it in a winter fashion for now, I have plans for this piece come spring.
Winter Gingham

Winter Gingham


I’m going to take this shirt and instead of such a dark pant, swap out the trousers for white skinny jeans. The red cardigan can still work through March and April on colder days, so that can stay! Once it really warms up, I plan on pairing this gingham button down with white chino shorts (because you know I love my Goodwill J Crew chino shorts!) and wedges. This is a great early summer/late spring look. Long sleeves with shorts is one of my favorite combinations. You’ll stay warm on chilly nights and cool during the day – all while looking chic. Wedges with shorts give length to the legs and help keep the outfit looking in season. If you’re daring, you could take a top like this an tie the ends to make a cropped type of look for a country concert or backyard barbeque. I think I’ll keep mine tucked in, for now, at least! Ha.
You see, it is really easy to transition trendy pieces between seasons. Goodwill has you covered for Spring trends, dear readers. All you need a little layering and a few words of advice from your DC Goodwill Fashionista!

Are you a fan of gingham? What ways have you worn this iconic print?

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