Seeing Spots

If you'll pardon me for a second, I need to pour one out now that the Olympics are over. The winter games have always had an extra point in their favor for me because of figure skating. It brings the DRAMA. (Like this dude deciding not to skate, and the gold medal for the women maybe being rigged. Escandalo!) So, while I was watching hours of figure skating coverage over the last two weeks, I also got to enjoy the fashion delights of Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski. They're a couple of former Olympians who were broadcasting on the live feed from Sochi (and they were SO MUCH BETTER than the people on the prime time show, ugh). I'm not known for being the boldest of dressers, but Johnny and Tara, with their coordinating gold fascinators, have inspired me to step out of the box a little.

Animal print is still going strong, so why not start there? It adds instant sass to an outfit, and I could probably use some more sass.

jeans  //  t-shirt  //  shoes  //  purse  //  necklace  //  bracelets

If you're like me and are often visited by the neutral fairy, try animal print on an accessory first. My favorite option is shoes (especially flats!), but purses and scarves are fun, too. The nice thing about leopard print is that it's so bold, you don't need much else going on with your outfit. Even if you take away the jewelry in the picture above, the shoes still make basic jeans and a t-shirt a little more special.

On the other side of the coin, we have something from the Go Big or Go Home school of thought:

blazer  //  dress  //  shoes  //  clutch  //  earrings

I really love that dress. It's SO unlike what I normally wear, but that's the point of this exercise. If you're going to rock some animal print clothing, whether it's a dress or just a blouse, keep the rest of your look simple. Let the pattern be the star, because that's why it's there. Find colors from within the print to use for your other pieces--everything here is either black or tan and that keeps it cohesive.

Are you a fan of animal print? Or figure skating? (Or wearing animal print while figure skating?!) I had some leopard shoes a couple of years ago, and now I think it's time for another pair.