Sandhya Garg — A Designer's Guide
How to Wear Bold Prints — Even If You're Nervous About Them
The Print Ladder · Styling · Mixing Prints · 12 New Arrivals · XS–3XL
Quick Answer
To wear a bold print, let it be the only loud thing: plain shoes, simple jewellery, clean hair. Pull your accessory colour from the print itself — ideally one of its smaller colours. Choose a silhouette you already love, so only the print is new. And if a full print feels like too much, start lower on the ladder: a woven pattern, a printed jacket over something plain, or a print with structure, before working up to all-over colour.
I hear it all the time: "I love your prints, but I'm not sure I could wear something that bold." My answer is always the same — yes, you can. Bold prints aren't reserved for a certain body, personality or occasion. They're for anyone who wants to wear something with a story.
The trick isn't being "bold enough". It's knowing a few principles that let the print shine while you feel completely comfortable — and knowing that you don't have to start at the top. I draw every print in my collection by hand, so here's what I've learned about wearing them.
The Print Ladder: Start Where You're Comfortable
Most people who are nervous about prints try to jump straight to the loudest dress in the shop, feel exposed, and decide prints aren't for them. Take it one rung at a time instead. Each step adds a little more pattern, and by the time you reach the top it won't feel like a leap.
RUNG 1
Pattern woven into the cloth
RUNG 2
A printed jacket over something plain
RUNG 3
Print with structure
RUNG 4
Full print, one colour family
RUNG 5
Full print, every colour
New Arrivals · Twelve Pieces · Five Rungs
Climb the Ladder
From the quietest pattern to the loudest print — every rung with pieces from the newest collection.
Rung 1 — Pattern Woven Into the Cloth
The pattern is in the texture, not the colour. From across a room it reads almost solid; up close it's rich. The gentlest possible start.
Rung 2 — A Printed Jacket Over Something Plain
The pattern frames you rather than covering you — and if you lose your nerve, it comes off. Wear over a solid dress, jeans or wide trousers.
Rung 3 — Print With Structure
A full print, but broken up by a collar, a placket and a belt. The structure gives your eye somewhere to rest, so the print feels contained.
Rung 4 — Full Print, One Colour Family
Print from neckline to hem, but in related shades. It reads as a colour first and a pattern second, which is why it feels calmer than it looks.
Rung 5 — Full Print, Every Colour
The top of the ladder. Many colours, all-over pattern — and by now it won't feel like a leap. This is where the rules below matter most.
Most styles XS · S · M · L · XL · XXL · XXXL · Size chart · Made to measure
Five Rules for Wearing a Bold Print
1 · Let the print be the only loud thing
The most common mistake is competing with the print. When the dress is doing the work, your shoes, jewellery and hair should step back. Think of the print as the picture and everything else as the frame: plain shoes, simple jewellery, a clean hairstyle.
Designer tip: Match one colour from the print to your shoes or bag. My advice is to pick one of the smaller colours rather than the main one — a teal clutch with a mostly pink dress looks considered, where a pink clutch just looks matched.
2 · Choose a silhouette you already love
If you're new to bold prints, start with a shape you already feel confident in. Love wrap dresses? Get one in a print. Always reach for a halter? Find a printed version. When the silhouette is familiar, only the print is new — and one new thing is exciting rather than overwhelming. What each shape does is in the silhouette guide.
3 · Give the print some breathing room
A bit of bare skin — an off-shoulder, one-shoulder or halter neckline — balances a busy print. The clean line creates a pause, so the pattern never feels like too much. It also draws attention up towards your face, so you're wearing the print rather than the print wearing you.
4 · Scale is the whole story
Small, ditsy prints read as sweet; large, painterly ones read as a statement. Neither is right or wrong, but it's the scale — not the colour — that decides how "bold" a print feels. How to read scale, ground colour and repeat before you buy is in the guide to choosing a floral.
5 · Own it
The moment you stop second-guessing yourself is the moment the outfit clicks. Nearly every compliment I hear from customers comes down to the same thing: they put on something bold and realised it was exactly right for them.
"Amazing designer you are! Love your designs!"
— Annette N., UK
Ready for More? Mixing Two Prints
Once a single print feels natural, you can wear two. There are really only two rules, and every good print-mixed outfit follows both:
Change the scale
Pair a large print with a small one, or a busy one with a geometric one. Two prints of the same size fight each other; two different sizes take turns.
Share one colour
Make sure one colour runs through both prints. That shared thread is what makes two patterns look like a decision rather than an accident.
A small geometric and a larger scrollwork, with blue running through both. Different scale, shared colour — both rules at once.
The easiest place to start is a printed jacket over a printed dress: the Fleur's blue geometric over the Sophie, for example, where the blues match and the scales differ. For more on wearing many colours at once, see our note on multicolour.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I wear a bold print if I usually wear solids?
Start small. A woven pattern or a printed jacket over something plain lets you get used to pattern without committing to a full print. Choose a silhouette you already wear, so the print is the only new thing, and keep your accessories simple.
What shoes and jewellery go with a printed dress?
Plain ones. Solid shoes and simple jewellery frame the print instead of competing with it. For colour, pull one shade from the print — one of the smaller ones looks more considered than the main one.
Can you wear bold prints at any size?
Yes. Bold prints aren't reserved for any body type. Large-scale prints tend to hold their proportion better across the size range than tiny repeats, and every style here is graded individually from XS to 3XL. More in our guide to grading.
How do you mix two prints without clashing?
Change the scale and share a colour. Pair a large print with a smaller or geometric one, and make sure at least one colour runs through both. A printed jacket over a printed dress is the easiest way to try it.
Are bold prints appropriate for a wedding?
Yes — a print on a coloured ground is one of the safest wedding guest choices, because it can never be mistaken for bridal white. Avoid prints on a white or cream background. More in the wedding guest colour guide.
Are your prints original?
Yes. I draw every print by hand before it becomes a file, and each goes through many versions before production. The process is in how a drawing becomes a dress.
Keep Reading
Choosing a Print
Scale, Ground and Repeat
How to read a print before you buy.
Inside the Studio
How a Drawing Becomes a Dress
Where these prints come from.
Your Colours
The 30-Second Colour Test
Which shades suit you best.
Wearing It Out
Wedding Guest by Venue
Where a bold print belongs.
About the Writer
Sandhya Garg is a Project Runway Season 13 designer who won two challenges on the show and presented her collection at Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week. She studied womenswear and textile design at London College of Fashion and worked at Alexander McQueen, Gucci, Liberty London, and Alice Temperley. She draws every print in the collection by hand — featured in Marie Claire, Elle, Cosmopolitan and Vogue online, in sizes XS–3XL with made to measure available.
Project Runway · Vogue · Marie Claire · XS–3XL
Start on any rung. Just start.
Sandhya Garg is a Los Angeles boutique creating limited-edition artisanal dresses in original hand-drawn prints, hand embroidery and heritage textiles. Sizes XS–3XL, shipped from Scottsdale within 1–3 days.
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