Leopard is the New Neutral!

We all have our favorite neutral colors that we know and love. Quite frankly, leopard print is my favorite neutral pattern that’s taking over the scene. Here’s a fall look to inspire and elevate your fall neutral palette and tips on styling leopard print.

Hello Lovelies!

October is here & fall is (kinda) in full effect. I’m pleasantly surprised that we’ve had some pretty mild fall weather in Chicago. These mild days are perfect for light layers and sporting some beautiful fall color palettes. I enjoy the neutral and earth tones that fall ushers in: greens, browns, oranges, etc. My favorite neutral however, has to be leopard print! I know it seems counter-intuitive to deem a print neutral, but hear me out here!

Leopard print looks good with just about any other color. You can add a touch of it to your look and easily jazz it up without being too loud for the season. Today, I’m going to show you one of my favorite fall looks and how I incorporated leopard print to bring it together.

Let’s talk about this look, honey! I love mixing different shads of green with browns for the fall! I got this khaki green pleated skirt from BooHoo for $20 and I’ve probably worn it a million times since I got it. I’m really feeling the pleated trend lately, especially in skirts. Midi length pleated skirts have a sophisticated, slightly vintage feel to them that I love.

 

One of my favorite things about this skirt is how well it washes. I can throw it in the wash, hang dry it and the pleats stay intact. If you’re horrible with dry-cleaning like me you can appreciate this too. It’s made of a light, flowy chiffon like material that meshes well with the transitional weather. Since the temps are still pretty mild I’m wearing my chunky, faux suede sandals. I love breaking out these bad boys! They’re more comfortable than stilettos and they’re a different style than I usually wear. I always tend to pair them with my earthy toned looks.

Did I already mention that I love leopard? Well if not, I love me some leopard print! It’s such a fun print but if worn correctly, it passes off as the perfect neutral. I like to think of leopard print as the new neutral because of how often I see people pulling their looks together with this print. I know some people tend to get a little over zealous with this print and it can be a bit too much. However, my rule of thumb for wearing leopard is adding one piece to my look featuring the print and dassit! Don’t add too much more or you can get a little lost in the sauce. The idea of adding a print to solid colors is to break them up and add a little focal piece. A little goes a long way, trust me!

My leopard print cardigan is a sale steal from LOFT that I got about 2 years ago. Prints like leopard are timeless in my opinion and always seem to transcend the trends. This is important for longevity of your clothes. If you want to get bang for your buck, make sure you’re investing in prints and colors that are always in style and not necessarily on trend.

My cardigan is also made of a thinner material, which makes it great for layering even as the seasons change. For this look I chose to wear it buttoned up almost all the way with a dark brown camisole underneath. Sometimes I’ll wear it open or buttoned at the bust only depending on my look. I wanted to keep this look clean and sophisticated so I tucked it into my skirt instead of wearing it out.

Although leopard print can be pretty loud, it’s so easy to tone it down for s sophisticated yet fun look. Every time I wear this combo i get so many compliments! Bringing in a focal piece for your looks really can brighten up your entire wardrobe! If you’re apprehensive about patterns, leopard print is a good start because it also features neutral colors. A good safety net is pairing leopard print with black. You really can’t go wrong with something like a black dress with leopard print shoes or belt.

Simple accessories are best for this work look since the leopard demands attention itself. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend trying out my favorite new neutral. You’d be surprised how many look combinations you can create with leopard print. Try it out and comment below with your favorite fall colors!

Until next time,