This week, the Cherry Blossom Festival begins in Washington, D.C., confirmation that spring is indeed on the horizon. The translation? Prints are back on the scene. They’re already popping up all over town:

While I love the exuberance of prints–they’re always the first items I’m drawn to in stores–I have trouble figuring out how to wear them comfortably. My question is always: How do you look sleek and put-together when your clothing is riotous?

My friend Annie recently posted some pictures of Mary Katranzou’s A/W 2011 collection on her blog, as well as some amazing stuff by Charlotte Taylor, a designer with whom I wasn’t familiar. I find Taylor’s clothes incredibly inspiring. They add a cool element of darkness to 60s and 70s lady chic, successfully marrying elegance and fun.

Another person (and brand) to study for how to wear prints with flair is, of course, Diane von Furstenberg, the mistress of cool patterns and figure-flattering cuts. I’m particularly enamored of her vintage 70s prints.

The take home? As I see it there are two of them:

1) The cut of a garment has everything to do with how it’s “read” on the body (cool and refined vs. crazy and disorganized)

2) I have to learn how to tie scarves around my head. Right now.