The attraction to animal prints began in the 18th century, when the wealthy and fashion-forward wore clothing and accessories made from actual animal skins from Africa and Asia.
Today, anyone can get the look with a little guidance. First, avoid going overboard with “animal everything” unless you’ve had a lot of practice. A good rule of thumb is to stick to solid-color outfits and limit yourself to one animal-print item per outfit.
For the more experienced (or daring), leopard in particular has become a neutral in the high-fashion world, and it’s being mixed with absolutely everything including neon, stripes and dots.
Wearing It Well—5 Ideas Fast
1. Try a bright, jewel-tone dress with a leopard-print pump.
2. Pair a cheetah-print slip-on with an all-neutral outfit in brown or khaki, then accessorize with a dash of red.
3. Choose a “wild” loafer or Mary Jane shoe to add instant mystery to a plain white T-Shirt and jeans.
4. Instead of buying that next pair of black or white shoes, get both colors in one with a zebra print. See how zebra print looks with outfits you’d normally pair with either solid black or white.
5. Consider Croco and snakeskin your new everyday alternative to black or brown shoes. These patterns aren’t “high contrast” like zebra, leopard or cheetah, so they serve the same purpose as their solid cousins.
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