If you never heard about gingham last year, by now you’ve surely gotten an education. Gingham as been exploding on the fashion scene from gingham dresses to shoes and accessories. A playful pattern striking nostalgic feelings of summer, it’s no wonder it’s taken over the spotlight. Here’s the low down on one of the hottest summer fashion trends of 2018!

What is gingham

Check mate! But really… checks. In case you’ve been living in a fashion black hole, gingham is a printed fabric designed with overlaying checks. Look familiar? You’ve probably seen it inside just about ever picnic basket, as well as a common lining material from seasons past. This year, it’s all about the mini-gingham print as a new essential print for the warm weather season.

You can find almost any fashion accessory and clothing item now offered in gingham. For this post, I’ve styled a gingham dress outfit, but you’ll also find it on bags, skirts, tops and even shoes (I actually have a pair of gingham heels coming soon from SENSO, so stay tuned!).

Who’s wearing it

So just who are the lovely women rocking the gingham trend? Celeb style like Karlie Kloss and Reese Witherspoon have been spotted rocking the trend, along with insta-famous bloggers like Happily Grey and Sea of Shoes. Heck, there’s even a fashion blogger who’s named her entire blog after gingham! Whether you’ve been a big fan of print before or not, let’s just say, it’s time to jump on the trend.

As a minimalist luxury fashion blogger, prints are not usually my thing… but gingham along with it’s cousin plaid are a couple prints even I like to rock with their more minimalistic tone (in monochrome of course). If you typically reach for solids, gingham is a nice place to start getting your foot in the water to experiment with other material patterns.

How to style a gingham dress outfit

For this look, I’ve paired a fashion steal H&M gingham dress with some luxury accessories to tone down the print in a more subtle approach to the trend. The dress itself is casually and airy – perfect for summer style. Layered over is a corset belt (another huge trend for summer 2018), and some gorge leather pumps from M. Gemi.

Gingham is a fast fashion trend, and as you guys know, I always recommend going for the steal on pieces that you’ll probably only wear a season, and splurging on classic luxury fashion pieces that you’ll be able to wear again and again. So while the gingham dress was under $20 from H&M, the splurge here is in the accessories. My pumps from M. Gemi are a luxury item, but the patent black, classic silhouette will be a go-to grab for years to come.

Looking to jump on the gingham summer fashion trend? You can shop some steals from H&M here, or if you know this trend will be right for you, shop some key styles from luxury fashion gurus like Farfetch who has a wide variety of gingham dresses, tops, and handbags galore.