Playing with Pattern

No more demure dots or dainty flowers. Like a harbinger of spring, patterns are sprouting up everywhere. And this year patterns are big - literally. From floral to geometric, the rule is to go big, bright and bold, and the trend is trickling down to mainstream retailers.

Pieces from Old Navy's spring collection are a mix of geometric designs and floral brocades, while Issac Mizrahi's newest pieces for Target are covered in floral chintz and oversized toile.

Even the perennial prepsters at J. Crew are setting aside mini-checks and swiss dots for a few flashy flowers.

And while home decor of late loves floral fabrics, the newest textiles put bigger blooms front and center. The inspiration, it seems, is vintage: mod flower power patterns and color-clashing geo prints that adorned wallpaper in the '30s and '40s ( with art deco) and again in the '60s and '70s (in op art).

Such bold designs demand bright colors, and graphic designers are flexing their painterly muscles with complimentary color combos (green/red, blue/orange, violet/yellow), and gray/pastel or chocolate/pastel juxtapositions that look like they lived in your grandma's bathroom, circa 1953.

Maybe I love wacky vintage wallpaper a little too much, but to me that's a beautiful thing.