Animal Prints: Wild Sophistication in Fashion
How to Wear Animal Prints
As far as prints go, animal prints are pretty sexy and they were never out of fashion. Managing to stay on the right side of animal print style is a mark of true sophistication.
You have an option to keep it casual or dressy. It mostly depends on how to pair them. There are some ways to add animal printed outfits to your wardrobe:
Begin with small portions, such as accessories, wear it in the form of a narrow belt to subtly draw attention to your waist, or on sunglasses or a scarf to draw the eye up toward your face or a classy handbag. They can even elevate your look from casual to classy especially when you use them with your monochrome outfits.
It’s important to combine these bold patterns carefully with other items to achieve a sophisticated look. Choose only one or two animal print garments and accessories per look to keep the balance.
Leopard-printed flats are great for dressing up basics like black pants and white collared shirts. You can use animal printed high heels with your dressy outfits which would create a dramatic sexy appearance.
Recognize your body’s proportions and figure out what you like to play up best, avoid wearing animal prints on any areas that you would prefer not to draw attention to. If you’re on the shorter side, lean towards garments with smaller graphics like leopard print, and avoid larger patterns such as giraffe print.
Always choose one animal printed clothing and match it with a solid bottom or top. Garments in neutral tones that appear in the pattern, such as black, white or beige are very versatile and easy to combine.
Pairing animal prints with jeans always work. Pair a leopard-print blouse with denim shorts or pants for a more casual look.
If you like to wear all-over printed dresses, layer on a belt or a jacket to break up all that print and keep the look grounded with simple accessories and flats in neutral colours.
You can add a bright pop-up colour or neon hues to your combination, but make sure not to wear more than three different colours in the same outfit. Avoid overloading on the accessories; one key scarf, bag, necklace or pair of shoes will do.
Types of Animal Prints
Leopard
Horse shoe shapes with thick-edged circles on a light background.
Zebra
Irregular, long, wavy black stripes with different thicknesses on white background.
Giraffe
Rectangular uneven shapes on a light background.
Cheetah
Thick solid black spots on a lighter background.
Peacock
Consist of colourful peacock feathers.
Cow
Irregular black rectangles on white background.
Tiger
Long, wavy, irregular stripes on a lighter background.
Snake
A pattern that resembles the skin of the snake. Commonly used on accessories.
Jaguar
Rosette spots thick-edged circles with black dots in the middle on a light background.
Crocodile
Irregular small squares aligned in a graph mode.
Hyena
Irregular roundish shapes on a tan background.
Tortoise Shell
Dark brown spots on yellow background. Commonly used for accessories, especially sunglasses.