If anyone has ever told you leopard print doesn’t go with everything, they’re wrong.
Neutrals never fail. However, don’t get this twisted with cheetah print. Rookie mistake.
Leopard print is singlehandedly one of the most versatile prints you can put on clothing. Dare I say that it’s my favorite color; whoever said colors have to have limits?
The history of leopard print
As a developing fashion statement within society, leopard print has had its reigns of glory and its pivotal downfalls, both several times.
Christian Dior was the first designer to debut his leopard print creations on the catwalk back in 1947, leading big-name movie stars like Marilyn Monroe to ride along the leopard print train.
As the 60s rolled around, leopard print approached its highest peak yet, signifying wealth and status, an upper-class only item. However, as the 70s and 80s came and went, leopard became more common and was seen as unsophisticated. Leopard print equaled loud and obnoxious.
However, the 90s brought revision, making its way into the punk rock culture scene with icons in glam like never before; until the 2000s killed it again, and it was trashy.
It’s only trashy if you don’t style it properly. The 2000s just needed a phone call for fashion advice.
Fortunately, the 2010s to present have once again elevated leopard print fashion to the place where it truly belongs.
I am a firm believer that leopard print isn’t a niche print for clothing; it’s a neutral. This isn’t limited to women, by the way. Men can wear leopard print, too!
However, for the girls, let me give five of my most favorite outfit ideas, ranked from the mildest to the wildest. They include leopard print in some way, shape or form, that you can use to help spice up your outfits.
- Leopard print belt.
Start off with a thin leopard print belt. I picked my favorite straight leg jeans with buttons going down the sides, a simple white top underneath a gorgeous brown leather blazer, some white boots with a chunky brown heel, stylish two-toned jewelry and for that leopard pop, the belt. The best part about this outfit is that the blazer isn’t limited to brown. Any color you can imagine would style well with this outfit, especially hot pink. Pink and leopard are an OG duo.
2. Leopard print ballet flats.
To pair with the flats, I chose my newly thrifted Polo Ralph Lauren navy corduroy pants that cut off at the ankle. This is important because we want the leopard ballet flats to show as our accent. I picked a cream color short-sleeve top and styled a cardigan with it tied over my shoulders. I put my hair in a slick back high ponytail and kept the jewelry a bit simpler for this one.
3. Leopard print top
A leopard top is a bit more of a statement piece in comparison to an accent piece. I have a leopard print top that I adore. It’s a short-sleeve, mock neck top with a classy amount of lettuce trim on the sleeves. I typically pair this with my straight leg cream pants and some cream, gray and light pink-toned platform Pumas. I love this outfit with natural curls in my hair; it just makes sense.
4. Leopard print pants.
Leopard pants are fun and spunky; they’re attention-grabbing. Pairing my leopard print pants with a vintage red T-shirt, plus a cool trucker hat, is even more attention-grabbing. This is a cooler vibe type of outfit. I tied this outfit with my white Nike Cortez shoes, which have a red swoosh and red accents. A very cool girl outfit.
5. Leopard print trench coat.
My leopard trench coat has blue satin on the inside. When I put on this trench coat, you know I mean business. Of course, since it’s a coat, I save it for the fall and winter seasons. This trench coat thrown over a classy black top and tan slacks with the leopard exterior and blue interior pop is both professional and stylish. A professional look doesn’t have to be boring, especially if you finalize the look with some blue pumps. Unfortunately, I don’t have them, so I did black heel boots.
Takeaways
Now, these are just a handful of hundreds of outfits you can create with leopard print. You name any color, you can always find a way to make it work with leopard. Other animal prints, like zebra and tiger stripes, even work well with leopard print. Just don’t mix cheetah and leopard, then it’s weird.
Remember when I mentioned red earlier with my pants? For my 20th birthday, I had a leopard print and red-themed birthday party. I wore a leopard print thigh-length dress, thin black nylons and Steve Madden’s killer red leather Smith boots.
I say all this to emphasize, be bold in your fashion choices. Rock the leopard print.
