This past weekend, we saw a lot of wild things.
At the parade we saw zebras, lions, hyenas, Ke$has… and the enthusiasm for the Homecoming theme continued all day Saturday leading up to the dance later that night.
This Homecoming weekend was a great example of the power of the animal print. At the dance, some really great combinations were present. A silk cheetah tank top paired with a leather mini skirt made for a kind of a formal and fun outfit.
Going even more formal was the all-black, floor-length gown, but the wild part was the fur shrug that was placed over it. It was classy – very Audrey Hepburn. I also saw a green dress with what appeared to be alligator skin high-heels, which I can only describe as fierce.
A few horrific fashion faux pas – or faux paws if you will – also made an appearance. The bulk of this was seen in the costuming for the dances.
Green grass skirts are not something you should add to your everyday wardrobe, but they sure looked fun and effectively conveyed the tropical island feel.
I brought back a leopard print unitard from when I danced to “Cats, the Musical,” in middle school. I never thought I would wear that again. Now I’ve learned to never say never.
I’ve gathered a few shreds of advice for future animal print-wearers.The first being that less is more.
While I personally feel I looked stunning in my full-body leopard unitard, I might have stunned a few people not because of its natural beauty, but because of the gaudy and spandex nature of the item.
It was just too much. However, the black dress with the small fur shrug looked great – not too busy with pattern and a nice balance of color.
The second is to make the animal print the focus of the outfit. You shouldn’t wear alligator print on the top, zebra print on the bottom, and a neon pink belt. There is too much animal to look at, but the green dress and alligator heels worked great. The shoes got to be the centerpiece of the outfit while the rest was more demure and subtle to complement the print.
The final is that wearing wild prints attracts attention – own it. Let’s say you wear a zebra print dress. If you stand in a crowd of 10 other girls wearing some variety of a boring navy blue dress, you’re going to stand out.
Let’s be real, that’s kind of the reason you wore the dress in the first place, but you’ve got to go the whole nine yards.
Wear your heels, not your flats. Put on lipstick, not lip gloss and do something with your hair.
At a formal, you’re going to be dancing and getting sweaty anyway so put your hair up. Most people won’t want you to “whip your hair back and forth” in their face. Got it?
Follow this advice and there’s no reason you shouldn’t look wildly attractive, fur real.
BRIANNA WOODS
