Eva Chen has worked at top fashion magazines, like Harper's Bazaar, Teen Vogue and Lucky — where she was the youngest editor-in-chief — and she's now the head of fashion partnerships at Instagram.
So it comes as no surprise that she gets asked hundreds of fashion questions on, well, Instagram. (FYI: if you don't follow her, you're missing out! She's Insta-famous for her daily Instagram posts of her shoes and accessories, taken in the back of NYC cabs.)
Lucky for us, the Juno Valentine and The Fantastic Fashion Adventure author is answering three of the most common fashion questions she gets. "I find that the questions end up in three categories," Eva tells Rach.
1. HOW DO I MIX PRINTS?
You might never dream of matching leopard prints with stripes, but Eva says you're golden as long as you keep the prints in the same color family — like black and white.
The same scale of print helps, too, the fashion guru explains. "If you do a smaller leopard print and a smaller stripe, it looks great together." Add a pop of color (like Eva did with a red leopard print headband on one of our viewers) and finish the outfit off with a basic, simple shoe (like a heeled pump).
Check out the full outfit Eva put together for our viewer:
Now, if you want to wear a monochromatic look, Eva says, mix up the textures in your pieces — like she does with this purple knit sweater and purple satin skirt.
2. HOW DO I KNOW WHEN I SHOULD INVEST IN A TREND?
Eva's short answer is don't! After all, how many times are you really going to wear that $500 neon polka dot sweater before it goes out of style?
"I always think, 'Am I going to give this to my daughter?' I call [it] fashion math," she says. "If you can get the cost per wear down, then it's worth it."
And if you want to experiment with a trend without breaking the bank, rely on your fashionable friends, Eva says. Sharing is caring, right?
3. WHAT IS ONE OF THE HOTTEST TRENDS?
This answer changes all the time, of course — but right now, it's tie-dye, Eva says. And since she advises not to break the bank on trends (see no. 2), she showed us how to DIY a tie-dye T-shirt or dress shirt at home — with two different methods.
Here are Eva's golden rules for DIY tie-dyeing:
- Use 100% cotton. Synthetic fibers don't absorb pigment as well.
- Let it marinate for 36 hours.
- Pay attention to how you're doing your pattern. You don't want to end up with starbursts over your chest!
- Fewer colors is a little more sophisticated, but more colors are fun!
- Unless you're really good at this, avoid red. It can end up looking like blood!
- Do it outside or in the garage.
Watch Eva and Rach demonstrate two different tie-dyeing methods in the video above.
