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About a week ago, Georgina Wilson showed off her growing baby bump on Instagram in a stunning long-sleeve leopard print midi dress, fitted to her gorgeous pregnant figure. While animal patterns can veer away from classy and towards trashy when styled incorrectly, the Filipina-British beauty wears leopard print with grace and looks ravishing, as always. So what exactly would we have to do rock animal prints just as well as she does?
(IMAGE INSTAGRAM/ilovegeorgina)
Whether we’re talking zebra stripes or leopard spots, these patterns can be tough to pull off at times. But the great thing about fashion is that anything can be reworked to suit the modern age and complement your personal style, rather than hurt it.
Here is what you should keep in mind when throwing wild prints into the mix:
Avoid animal prints in crazy colors
Rainbow colored spots and stripes may have looked cute on our beloved Lisa Frank stationery from our childhood, but they definitely have no place in our closets. When animal prints show up in shades other than their natural colors, they end up looking really tacky. These wild prints are already bold on their own, thus they don’t need pinks or blues to draw more attention. Stick to their natural colors.
Find items to break up the print
It goes without saying that you should avoid the head-to-toe animal patterns at all costs. When wearing one-piece outfits, it’s important that you pair them with simple accessories that help break up the print. In keeping with her wild theme without going overboard in her ensemble, Georgina wore her dress with black fur-lined slip-ons. Other things you can wear are a black jacket, a brown waist belt, or white heels.
Wear animal print with solid separates
While Georgina’s leopard print dress is fabulous, a one-piece, regardless if it’s a jumpsuit or a frock, might be too much fabric to work with for some women. Instead of immediately diving right into all that print, start small with a skirt or shorts in tiger stripes and match them with solid colored separates. For more drama, wear the print with red, but if you want to neutralize your ensemble, match the print with either basic colors or green hues, like mint or army green.
If you have a set, such as our Leopard Printed Crop Top and Casual Shorts Set, it looks just as good worn together as it does when mixed and matched with other items. Even though the two pieces are in the same pattern, it’s less intimidating for rookies to work with, compared to dresses and rompers and such. No matter if you wear the two items with a black leather jacket or just the top with some culottes, the print will never come off as too loud for your outfit.
Go for accents with accessories
If a zebra skirt still seems too much for your taste, find animal prints in your accessories, like a belt or a scarf. After all, it’s these items that fine tune one’s ensemble, creating a sense of cohesiveness to bring everything together. Animal prints look very elegant on smaller details.
Prints like leopard can actually be treated as a neutral. It’s pretty much three neutrals in one with the black, white and khaki hues, so in times that you want to wear your nude pumps, swap them out for ones in the feline print. Got the print in the form of a clutch or pouch? Let it elevate all of your basic outfits.
Subtler prints can be found in the form of jewelry, such as gold bangles with reptilian scales and other finishes on earrings, chokers and necklaces. But leave the animal print on one piece of jewelry.
Match it with menswear-inspired clothes
Animal patterns tend to add a girly touch to whatever item they appear on, which doesn’t seem like it would perfectly blend into any kind of wardrobe, especially if it is mainly composed of masculine-inspired silhouettes. However, the beauty of the stripes and spots of jungle and safari cats is that they don’t possess the same feminine quality as paisley or florals. They have this sort of wild, femme fatale characteristic that is powerful enough to be worn with a blazer or slacks. You can also wear all the items together, making sure that everything is well tailored.
Only wear the print if you are comfortable with it
The first thing that anyone ever notices before they judge a person’s outfit is the wearer’s confidence. If you’re not feeling entirely comfortable in snakeskin pants, it will most likely show in the way that you carry yourself and how you wear your outfit. It’s important to wear your confidence before anything else in your wardrobe.
Let us know how you like to wear animal prints.
