Fall’s Favorite Print

Let’s have a moment of silence for the fact leopard print is trending again. If you’ve been a long time reader of my blog then you know how I feel about leopard print. The first time I seriously started wearing it was right around the time I finished high school (2010 era). During one of my sister’s visits to Atlanta we traveled to The Mall of Georgia and stopped by what used to be one of our favorite shoe stores, Baker’s. At the time, Baker’s was the epitome of cool. If you were looking for standout footwear and chic bags, that was one of the places to go. Baker’s is probably why my obsession with heels is real but that’s another story. Anyway, during this particular visit my sister came across this gorgeous leopard print bag and decided to buy it for me. I wore it with everything. I wore it so much that the material started to fade and I even wore it well after that. It was to the point both my mom and sister had to keep telling me to give it a rest + find another bag.

Parting ways with that bag was incredibly hard and the hunt to find something else I could love began. All of my efforts were unsuccessful until I came across my beloved mini handbag from Coach. I wore that purse into the ground as well because the black handles started to peel. After deciding to part ways with that purse, I thought I was completely over the leopard print phase but a birthday gift from my mom in the form of this gorgeous purse reignited that flame. Each purse I’ve owned feels like a graduated version of the last and I’m sure I’ll be the older woman who has at least one signature leopard print bag that she carries often.

While leopard print is back on the scene right now, animal print in general is popular for fall. Everything from zebra print to snakeskin can be found on various sites. If you kept up with the street style of fashion week then I’m sure you came across quite a few people who wore accented animal print pieces or a head-to-toe animal print outfit. While I won’t say that you can’t go wrong with animal print, there are ways to wear it without going overboard if that’s not the look you’re going for.

Like I mentioned before, one of my favorite ways to wear leopard print is in the form of a handbag but there are several ways to make this print a part of your everyday look. I thought it would be fun to give you a little inspiration to show how you can do that. I will say that you don’t have to wear leopard print exactly the way I do. It’s always fun to find ways to make things your own.

Outfit Details

Blazer (House of Layllah) | Leopard One Piece (Laina Rauma) | Mom Jeans – Similar here (Zara) | Boots – similar here (New York & Co.) | Bag (MANGO)

I was a little iffy about showing another look that features a blazer but I talked about how much they’re a part of my wardrobe in my last post so this shouldn’t be a surprise. Even though it’s a simple blazer and jeans combination, I added two leopard print pieces. When Laina Rauma first debuted this one piece (on sale for $30.00) I knew that I had to get it. I lucked up because she had a short 40% off sale not too long ago so I placed an order as soon as the sale went live.

Even though I’m terrified of mixing prints or being too matchy, I was surprised at how much I loved how the one piece paired well with this pair of ankle boots form New York & Company. I wanted to give the look a balanced element so that’s why I added this oversized pinstripe blazer from House of Layllah. Although I started off talking about my leopard print handbag, I didn’t want to wear that with this look because leopard print overkill is not my forte. Now since leopards don’t have the same spots you don’t have to find leopard print pieces that are an exact match. My rule of thumb is making sure the brown spots are similar in color and voila!

I know this post is pretty long but before you go, I’ve listed some leopard pieces that you may be interested in adding to your wardrobe. Now, I’m not trying to encourage you to shop if you’re on a budget. If you have a leopard print piece stowed away in your closet somewhere then maybe the pieces I’ve listed below will help inspire you to break it out to wear. It doesn’t matter if it’s a scarf or belt, it can easily be incorporated into various outfits.