As seen online at the Sunshine Coast Daily
It may seem out of season discussing animal print on the last days of winter when it finds itself forecast each year for the cooler months, but what I’d like to know is why we need to wait for winter’s consent to put on our prints?
It doesn’t seem right to contain the wildlife in our wardrobe for any length of time. So, let’s set free our wild things to roam across all seasons starting with spring. Let them sink their teeth into our otherwise tame wardrobes and unleash their fierce flair into our everyday wear.
The perfect place to start your leopard print love affair is with your footwear, you cannot lose with a printed pair of shoes. Every style you love has an exotic option and what’s even more wonderful is they’ll look great with everything, jeans, pants even a pencil skirt, you will struggle to find any piece they wouldn’t pair well with.
For spring you’ll find animal print mixes very nicely with your floral bouquet, proving opposites can be very attractive. When mixing prints, keep things safe by opting for neutral shoes and bag or if you’re feeling a little more ferocious, do it all in print. Some would suggest this is a no-go zone, but the fabulous thing about fashion is you can do anything if you take your time and do it right. As always the key is balance, the best way to do this with prints is to focus on the base colours.
If your top is zebra on beige, then I would choose shoes also with a beige base rather than white. Then your bottom can be snow leopards and sunflowers if you really want, touches of beige will help work harmoniously between the other two pieces. Or you could have your shoes and bottom tying together, with your top telling a different story. It’s important to think about each piece of your outfit as you dress, then you will quickly begin to identify which pieces will complete your puzzle.
When it comes to the colour scheme, try to keep things authentic, colours such as pink, purple and blue are ones I would be less inclined to let loose. These punchy palettes tend to be a little more trend focused than the usual colour arrangement expected in animal print, but don’t get me wrong if pink is your punch, then pick up all the pink prints while they’re popping up in shops.
Anything too short or figure hugging can be tricky territory, to avoid falling prey to the fashion police keep things floaty and feminine. Always imagine the look you’re going for before you start connecting the dots. If the result is not speaking your language, start substituting pieces until you are print purrrr-fect.
Meow