red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

The Magnificent 8 in Animal Prints

October 30, 2019 / 32 Comments
red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

While animal prints in fashion are often classified as trends, the fact remains that people have been wearing animal prints for as long as they have been constructing clothing. Granted, in ancient times, it was more a matter of necessity than style. When humans were hunting for the sake of survival, all parts of the animal were used for some purpose. The meat was nourishment and the skins were used as garments to protect from the harsh elements of hunter-gatherer life.

red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

With the evolution of human societies, adorning one’s self in decorative animal skins became a status symbol. As hunting became more of a sport than a necessity, it was a past time that was reserved only for the wealthy. Donning the pelts of more exotic creatures like leopards and tigers quickly became a sign of affluence. Fast forward hundreds of years later and wearing the actual coat of any animal that was once living has become a bit of a politically incorrect fashion statement. So while you won’t see very many people strutting around the streets of New York Fashion Week wearing the actual skin of a tiger or a leopard, you will see representations of these prints pretty much everywhere.

red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

Because clothing ourselves in animal prints is as deeply rooted in human culture as clothing ourselves at all, it makes sense that these prints have become timeless classics year in and year out in the very fickle world of fashion. While certain prints will cycle in and out of popular fashion, it seems that in today’s “anything goes” environment all the animal prints are trending. And combining various different patterns of unrelated species into one outfit is really on the cutting edge of the fashion right now.

leopard print, Shelbee on the Edge
moto jacket, Shelbee on the Edge

So the ladies of the Magnificent 8 have decided that our style prompt for this month would be animal prints. The Magnificent 8 is a collaboration among 8 stylish women, each in a different age bracket, ranging from late teens to early 80’s. The mission of this collaboration is to show you just how ageless style is, how we can each dress however we’d like and in ways that make us feel fabulous. There are no age restrictions on style. So wear what you want, when you want, add a smile, and strut your style with confidence. And be sure to check out all 7 of these amazing gals!

Magnificent 8, ageless style

Every quarter, we choose a theme and we each create an outfit that suits our own personal tastes and fashion choices and we post them on the last Wednesday of every third month. So be sure to go check out everyone’s posts for lots of style inspiration at any age! Eugenia of Age of Grace will not be joining us this month but she will be back with us for our January post. In the meantime, Jodie will be featuring three different animal print looks at Jodie’s Touch of Style.

Let me introduce the ladies of The Magnificent 8.

We are showing that you can’t put a number on style!

red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

In today’s contemporary world of fashion, we are starting to see a lot of unique and unnatural color patterns in animal prints such as red leopard or green snakeskin, pink crocodile or purple zebra. While unrealistic in the animal world, these fun colors and prints certainly make a statement when draped over the human form.

red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

When we chose our theme, I knew immediately that I wanted to style this red leopard print top. But I had no idea exactly what the final outcome would look like. I had planned on keeping it simple with black skinny jeans and red patent booties, but when I put that all together, it felt kind of boring. I know, you must be thinking how can red leopard be boring. Well, it just was. So I needed to get more creative.

red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

So I swapped out the jeans for tights and a lace extender and then decided to see what would happen if I paired snakeskin booties with red leopard. And I kind of liked it. But the gray of my boots seemed like it needed some sort of anchor to tie it together. Then I remember this gray scarf that mixes leopard and snakeskin in one garment and threw it on. I grabbed my snakeskin clutch to complete the look and marched out the door feeling like maybe I should have taken my photos at the zoo!

snakeskin booties, Shelbee on the Edge
snakeskin booties, Shelbee on the Edge

In any event, I went a bit out of my comfort zone with this combination and I am very happy that I did. It is a unique gathering of colors and prints that seem to work in harmony, similar to the animals in nature that we are mimicking in fashion with the timeless prints of pelts and skins. So tell me…are you wearing animal prints this season? Which are your favorites? And would you mix them together?

red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
red leopard print, snakeskin booties, print mixing, fall outfit inspiration, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

Linking up with these Fabulous Link Parties.

Shop my look…

Outfit Details: Top-Torrid / Jacket-Thrifted / Lace Extender-c/o Dresslily (Old) / Boots-Charlotte Russe (Old) / Clutch-Old Navy (Old) / Footless Tights, Scarf, Lace Sock, Necklace, Earrings-Old

I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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