Leopard is a neutral. I have been saying it to customers for a decade and I still get the same look, so let me make the case properly, because animal print is the fastest way to make a plain outfit look like you thought about it.
Here is what I mean by neutral. A leopard print is built out of tan, camel, chocolate, and black. Those are four colors most of us already wear. So a leopard bag or belt or shoe does not clash with your closet, it sits inside it. It behaves like brown, but it has movement.
Start with the bag, not the dress
If animal print makes you nervous, do not start with a leopard blouse. Start with an accessory, because an accessory is a choice you can put down.
The one I am carrying right now is the Harlow Bucket Bag in Cheetah from BTB Los Angeles. Two things make it work.
First, the texture. The print has a soft nap to it rather than a flat printed finish, so the spots have depth and catch light instead of sitting on the surface. That is the whole difference between a print that looks expensive and a print that looks like a costume.
Second, the shape. Soft and slouchy keeps a loud print casual, and a drawstring bucket is about as soft as a bag gets. A stiff structured animal print bag tips into costume very quickly. The Harlow also comes with a longer strap, so it works crossbody on a Saturday and in the hand at dinner.
Leopard or cheetah? They are not the same print
Worth knowing, because it changes how loud a piece reads. Leopard spots are rosettes: irregular clusters of dark marks with a tan center, so the pattern has depth and looks busier. Cheetah spots are solid and round and more evenly spaced, so the print reads calmer and more graphic.
In practice, cheetah is the easier one to start with. It is the quieter of the two and it sits closer to a true neutral. The Harlow is a cheetah, which is exactly why it goes with as much as it does. If you want the piece to be the loudest thing you have on, go leopard. If you want it to disappear into your closet and just add texture, go cheetah.
The rule: one print, one texture
The only real rule with animal print is restraint about what goes with it. One leopard piece per outfit, and let the rest be solid. If you have a leopard bag, do not also do a leopard shoe and a leopard belt. Pick the one closest to your face if you want it noticed, or the one at your feet if you do not.
What leopard loves:
- Cream and white. The cleanest pairing there is. A white blazer with a leopard bag is the outfit I wear most in October.
- Cognac and chocolate. Brown on brown on leopard sounds like too much and it is actually the most expensive-looking thing in this article.
- Black. Foolproof. A little severe on its own, which is exactly why the print helps.
- Denim. A leopard flat with a straight leg jean and a white tee is a Saturday uniform.
What fights it: another print, anything neon, and heavy jewel tones. Leopard wants earth tones around it.
Where it works in Baton Rouge
Animal print is genuinely useful here because so much of our social calendar is daytime and casual, and leopard is how you dress a casual outfit up without putting on a heel. A leopard flat with white jeans for lunch. A leopard belt over a solid dress for a shower. A leopard clutch for a Friday dinner when the rest of you is in black.
It also survives our shoulder seasons, which is not a small thing. Leopard does not read summery or wintry. It reads like fall and it will keep reading like fall from September all the way to Mardi Gras.
If you buy one leopard piece this year
Make it a bag or a flat, in calf hair or suede, in a warm tan rather than a yellow one. Yellow-toned leopard is the version that looks cheap. Warm and slightly faded is the version that looks like you have had it for years.
Come see it in person
Print is hard to judge on a screen, and the tone is the entire ballgame with leopard. Come by 16645 Highland Road in Baton Rouge and hold a few next to what you already wear, or call 225-223-6419 and we will tell you what just came in.
You can shop bags, shoes and accessories, and jewelry and gifts online with free shipping over $100, plus free in-store pickup here in Baton Rouge.