To animal or not to animal?

I've heard it said that "every year, the fashion industry tries to convince people that animal prints are wearable, when they're absolutely not."

Whoever said this is absolutely wrong.

Actually, I take that back. Whoever said this is almost absolutely wrong. To me, personality has a lot to do with how wearable animal prints are to each individual. Think Janice from Friends or Fran from The Nanny.



Right, I Googled both of these ladies and for each, the first page of images showed them in animal print. And what are their personalities? Loud, bold, potentially obnoxious, definitely conspicuous women. The kind of women you wouldn't be too surprised to see in head-to-toe animal print.

This is why most people, most people who don't have personalities like these women, steer clear.

Having said that, I agree - head-to-toe print is just too much. But just as you wouldn't want to put too much hot sauce on your buffalo wings (and just as there are people who would), there is a certain amount of animal print that can give your outfit just the right amount of wild.

Even and maybe especially for the more conservative dressers out there, animal print in small doses can give your look an unexpected and bold edge. I tend to stick with the black-and-white variety. The trick is to know how much, where, and when to wear it.

Exhibit A:


This is an example of a nice outfit that doesn't seem outlandish. But, did you know, there's an animal print lurking? Can you find it?

BOOM. It's my necklace!


This is one of my favorite necklaces. I got it an Nordstrom Rack for only $30-something dollars, I believe. It really is seasonless, and a wonderful way to add just a little bit of edge to your ensemble! I have on a green dress by Ella Moss over a pair of worn Seven jeans, slight stretch bootcut (not sure of the kind), I belted my dress at the hip with a basic brown belt from Old Navy, and I have on Preview two-toned belt-buckle shoes from, again, the Rack. They were quite cheap, probably around $70, but they're surprisingly comfortable and cute!

For the slightly more adventurous, let's move on to animal print footwear. While platform animal print shoes may be edging a little too close to Fran-territory for comfort, there is a cute and wonderful compromise that can be found in animal print flats. Case in point, Exhibit B:



(Dress: from Ambiance, comes with belt; Zebra shoes: from Ross, Scarf: Love Quotes in Cobalt)

This LoveQuotes look is going to be featured in my post on the scarves, but I decided to use it here too. (By the way notice the blue that's similar to the Jessica Stroup outfit in my previous post? :)

These adorable little zebra flats were spotted at Ross for a measly $20, on clearance. They're not the best quality, but they've actually lasted me for OVER A YEAR now. I've thrown them on with a basic black dress, or with skinny jeans, just to give my outfit a little bit of punch. In general, if you're going to have one statement animal print piece in black and white, go with a grayscale color scheme and choose ONE color to pop. In the case above, the dress and black patent belt are the grays, the blue is the pop. Instead of blue, imagine pink plus the greyscale. Or red!

If you're doing a colored animal print piece, or leopard/tiger print (brave soul, you!), stick with one other solid color. An all-black outfit - perhaps black skinnies, black crew tee, black flats (or maybe red flats or pumps if you're trying to make a statement) with a leopard or tiger print scarf - would be very cute and reminiscent of old Hollywood.

Here's a practical reason to get into animal print: You'll never mistake your luggage for someone else's at the airport! Exhibit C:



I love wheeling around this Betseyville by Betsey Johnson luggage bag. I make sure NOT to wear my Zebra flats while sporting this bag though:



Too much! Notice how I changed the shoes to patent Via Spiga kitten heels (bonus points for matching the belt :) You rarely want to mix prints unless you really know what you're doing. I am amazed when I see people mixing patterns and pulling it off. It's a fashion risk, but sometimes, just sometimes, it's worth it. It's not always comfortable on the edge, is it? :)

My last exhibit doesn't have any animal print visible at all. Exhibit D:



For those of you who still say, "I want to wear it so bad, but I'm just not an animal print kind of person!" here is your solution: Animal print lining. I don't know if it's just me or what, but sometimes even the things we're wearing that people don't see make us feel a certain way. Cute shoe lining, cute underwear, and jacket linings are just a few examples. This non-leather jacket is so chic, and the animal print definitely helps, even if no one can see it.

There you have it! My thoughts on animal print and how to wear it. I do have an actual animal print dress from one of my previous posts, for those of you who want to see more animal than I've given you here :)

Wow, who knew I could go on so long about this topic... :)