We think you’ve probably noticed that Animal Print is again having a moment.
In fact it is so not so much having a moment as taking over for A/W16 so that any gathering of stylish women this season could potentially resemble the Big Cats area at London zoo!
At SoSensational, we all love Animal Print but we love it differently: Cyndy, with her warm colouring and love of golds, browns and oranges (the colour, not the fruit) would wear Animal Print head-to-toe, every day. Jan, not so much.
Jan likes Animal Print, but prefers touches of it. She feels that with her, ahem, blonde hair (i.e. blonde thanks to the colourists’ art) she could easily look a bit blousy in Animal Print, so she is more cautious around it.
Whether you love it a little or a lot, Animal Print is a key trend for the new season, and a really easy one to get into. After flirtations with various jungle creatures, this season it’s back to leopard print. But even in leopard print, there are lots of variations – bold Leopard Prints and subtle Leopard Prints; bright Leopard Prints and muted Leopard Prints; so here’s a handy guide to finding your perfect animal print. Then (below) find out how to wear it.
Find your perfect animal print
- If you look in the mirror wearing some prints and like what you see, and look in the mirror wearing some other prints and hate the look, the reason is probably the size and density of print and how that works with your facial features. Yes, we know it sounds strange but it’s true: if your facial features are small and close together, a smaller, denser print will look better on you. If your facial features are larger and/or more wide apart, a bigger print with more space between the images will be more flattering. If you keep this information in mind when choosing your leopard print it will make wearing it much more successful.
- In the past, we would have suggested wearing just one animal print but that is just so last decade! Right now, you can wear several animal prints at the same time. So if, for example, you choose a dress in a shape and cut that you love but it is not in your perfect Leopard Print, you could accessorise it with a scarf in the Leopard Print that is perfect for you.
- Colour matters in Animal Print as in all things. If you suit warm colours, classic Leopard Print yellowy tones will definitely be flattering on you – you just need to know whether you look better in warm and bright tones or warm and muted Even those with cooler colouring can look fabulous in a vibrant Animal Print.
- When building an outfit, black or dark brown are the obvious choices to pair with leopard print. But strong block colours work, too: all kinds of reds, emerald, cobalt, yellow, mustard/gold and orange. Two of the season’s hot fashion colours, burgundy and cinnamon also pair well with leopard print.
How to wear Animal Print…
- Choose one stand-out piece, a dress or a coat and accessorize with bag and shoes in a plain, toning colour
- Wear Animal Print only on your bottom half. Wear a skirt or trousers in a bold animal print, and pair it with a plain sweater, blouse or top and plain shoes/boots. When wearing animal print only on your bottom half, you could wear animal-print footwear, too, but definitely no leopard scarf or bag, as that would be too matchy-matchy…
- Wear Animal Print only on your top half. Pair jeans or a skirt or tailored trousers in a plain fabric with an animal print jumper or top. It’s better to focus your animal print in one area so you could add an animal-print scarf but definitely no animal print footwear.
- Mix it up – Give animal print a very 2016 twist by mixing it with other types of print, say floral or digital/geometric. The key to looking on-trend and not as if you got dressed in the dark is to choose prints and fabrics that blend; i.e. the prints should be of similar size, density and depth of colour and the fabrics should be of similar weight and type, as here:
- Nod to the trend – You don’t have to go the Full Tigger, or the Full Leopard; you could simply add a leopard-print bag, boots/shoes or a scarf to your plain coat, dress or skirt-and-sweater-combo. Ideally don’t add all animal-print accessories; (one, or at most two, out of bag, footwear and scarf would be good; all three could, again, look too matchy-matchy).
What is your favourite way to wear animal print?
If you love animal print and faux fur, find faux fur here
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