Just as there are myths con cerning beauty, health and life in general, there are also myths regarding fashion. Some people believe these myths firmly: sisters who cross their arms at your outfit and call you out for it, aunts who glare right down their nose at you, girls who stare at you as you pass in the hallway, and the crit ics who speak out on the Internet.

But I’m one of those who think t he s e my t h s stemmed from someone just wearing it wrong one day, one time. I’ ll give you some fash ionable, trendy ways to wear den im on denim, black with navy or brown (or both), how to mix media of gold and silver and how to mix patterns.

Denim on denim is of ten linked with the “dou ble denim” of the ‘90s, or perhaps Justin Timber lake and Britney Spears’ matching denim outfits at the 2001 American Music Awards. Safe to say—double the denim has a bad rep.

Now there are a variety of colors of denim, so it makes it easy to wear it both as a top and a bottom, but I’m still referring to the old blues. Get a light-wash button-up denim shirt and your darkest pair of skinny jeans. The two will go great with a bedazzled necklace and your favorite pair of flats. You’ve just turned denim into a very J. Crew-esque, preppy look!

My basic rule for mixing black with either navy or brown is to make sure they are not too close in color. It’s when the lines between them get muddled that these hues go wrong.

There are really no basic outfit suggestions for this myth. Just know that mixing these doesn’t al ways look bad. Use your own good judgment, not some rule made up by strangers. Some examples: black tights are okay with a navy dress, brown boots are okay with black pants. Besides, its fashion! You’re supposed to think outside the box anyway.

Now, concerning gold and sil ver: first of all, if the buttons on your jacket are gold and the ac cents on your boots are silver, don’t even worry about the rule. They are so far apart on your out fit, it doesn’t even matter, and if someone is far away, they can’t even tell—both are shiny. For this rule I’m more referring to the jew elry aspect.

Mixing these two media isn’t really as bad as it seems. My fa vorite ways to combine the two are with bracelets and rings. A gold chain, a silver bangle and a friendship bracelet in whatever color matches your outfit can go a long way. You can add bangles or chains for more effect (and noise). Especially because midi rings are in right now, pile on the rings in both gold and silver to add interest to any look.

Putting pattern next to pattern is probably the trickiest of these tasks. Because of the juxtaposition of opposing images, it can be hard for mixing patterns to agree with the eyes. It is definitely an edito rial trend, shown in magazines more than on real people.

Nevertheless, I encourage you to try it. I find that skirts make this the most feasible because they do not consume the entire lower half of the body in print. Try stripes and plaid, or perhaps polka dots and a floral. If all else fails, turn to Google to search for inspiration.

The point is, don’t make your own personal style abide by the rules that someone else makes. Give everything a try before throwing it out the window. Consider these myths busted. Oh, and while we are on the subject of myths, it’s perfectly okay to show your socks every once and a while, especially in this cold weather.