Polka Dots

Marni Spr (Photo credit should read CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP/Getty Images); Derek Lam (Photo by Randy Brooke/WireImage); Luella Runway (Photo by Nathalie Lagneau/Catwalking/Getty Images)
Some things, like polka dots, just never go out of style. In recent seasons the microdot has been the preferred print for mixing with other pretty graphics. This summer trend-setting labels brought them back in force, letting them stand all on their own.
Designers Marc Jacobs and Luella lit up the runway with bold neon polka dots, a look that radiated “youthquake” while Marni and Derek Lam opted for more sophisticated classic neutrals. Opening Ceremony gave men something to cheer about with their polka dot Bermudas and chamb shirts and Kate Spade relaxed the boundaries of the print, with inky dots that bled beyond the lines.
“My favorite thing about the take on polka dots this time around is that they are sometimes just dots, independent of a pattern,” says virtual stylist and blogger Nikki Salk of The Fashion Gatherer. “Reem Acra paired a standard polka dot top with not-so-standard dot skirt. Michael Kors did something similar with random dots but in a much more Rorschach-like fashion.”
We love the fresh wave of the dots and the easy-breezy attitude that goes hand-in-hand with summer. Wrap a scarf around your hair; kick up your heels or sport a skirt in the kicky print.

From left to right: J. Crew Dress: style: collage-dot Seraphina gown, $275, item 26949 available http://www.jcrew.com; Rebecca Taylor denim dot shorts ($215) and dotty dress ($165); Kate Spade pitrizzia dot Louis handbag: $295 Katespade.com