This spring prepare to embrace all prints American. Bringing some much-needed sparkle to our spring/summer wardrobes this year, star-printed dresses, casual tees and glittering star-burst accessories are shimmering alongside a palette of nautical navy, scarlet and black striped vest tops and jackets. Bring these together and you have the all-American dream but it can be hard to pull off. Whether you’re a stars or stripes girl, the daring amongst you can combine the two for a striking, playful summer vibe - God bless America.

Seeing Stars

What better way to enter the new season than with a playful star-printed tee, floaty chiffon dress smattered with stars or a bright printed starlet scarf? Fun, youthful but with a hint of punk-rocker, the signature five-pointed motif is going to be big this summer. Surprise, surprise, British style icon Kate Moss was the one to kick off the trend hitting the town in a star-studded Chanel jumpsuit on her 34th birthday. Other celebs soon followed suit with Kylie Minogue in a starry YSL dress and Peaches Geldof in a punky star print neck tie.

To work the look with style there are a few key rules to wearing stars. Firstly the 2008 trend works best on dark backgrounds such as black and navy teamed with white, cream or metallic stars. This defines grown-up star print from the kind of star-clad clothing your mother dressed you in as a young ‘un. Avoid brightly coloured background and fluro star motifs – nu rave neon is so ‘07. Secondly, be careful not to overdo your look. A gorgeous, chiffon star-patterned dress needs only black tights and minimal accessories. If you’d prefer to wear the trend subtly, pick out a statement star-print neck scarf, earrings or clutch (the Patty bag by Peppermint Twist is a shining example) – the perfect way to brighten up denim and casual wear.

Earn your Fashion Stripes

Stripes, buckles, Capri pants and espadrilles all fall into the classic nautical trend we love to embrace summer after summer. As much as you may think you know a trend, there’s always room for re-working and improvement year-on-year and this season, the subtle addition of rich, Riviera chic and a sprinkling of star dust is the way to update your sea faring style.

Choose the finest of stripes for vests and pants – fine pinstripes in bright red, nautical navy or classic black exude style and flatter more than thicker, chunkier stripes. Horizontal stripes are the way forward for all sweaters, tops and dresses but beware, left-to-right stripes tend to add a few unavoidable, unforgiving inches to the silhouette. Minimise this by choosing slim pinstripes and teaming with a bold, mono-colour tailored jacket, slim-fit trousers and wedges or cinch with a belt a la Katherine Heigl.

Real fashionistas will be itching to combine these two key summer trends to create an outfit that epitomises all things American: stars and stripes. This should be done carefully, however, unless you want purposefully going for the cheerleader look. Think monochrome, striped jerseys with a statement star brooch, starry tees combined with pinstripe blazers or star-printed dresses cinched with a bold striped belt (ASOS offer a navy/cream striped, elastic cinch belt with striking gold shell clasp, perfect for this look). If this sounds a little brave for you, invest in some sparkly star accessories (star-bursting drop earrings, cosmic printed totes, scarves and chunky cuffs) and team with a classic striped vest top and some tailored cut-off pants and espadrilles for a fun, fashionable summer look.