To Leopard Or Not to Leopard Print

Hi

Today I found some of the most interesting styles in leopard print and one of these styles has caught my undivided attention.  So, I'm going to preview them and decide if I really want to make one of them.  I found an article while browsing The Daily Mail UK.  I was actually engulfed in reading this article about Leopard skin has gone classy.  I have not been a fan of leopard, zebra, or any animal type prints, but after seeing these photos of such beautiful representations, I think I am about to make some changes.

Top, £65, brooksbrothers.com; Skirt, £20, riverisland.com; Belt, £39, Twiggy at Fenwick 020 7629 9161; Sandals, £280, CH Carolina Herrera 020 758 303

This skirt is really saying something to me right now.  I love the fabric and the crisp style that it brings to this particular garment.  It says that this is a skirt that I could really get use to.

Top, £14, next.co.uk; Scarf, £17.99, zara.com; Leather pencil skirt, £90, asos.com; Umbrella, £175, aspinaloflondon.com

Here the leopard print is represented in the scarf and the umbrella.    I'm looking at this leather skirt and thinking to myself,,, I just made the perfect skirt for this look, all I need is a little bit of leather.  The scarf, I could do, but the umbrella will have to stay pretty in the picture.  Any way, I might be able to move into another direction by adding a sweater in leopard print.  That's a thought.

Dress, £125, theprettydresscompany.com; Belt, £39, Twiggy at Fenwick, 020 7629 9161; Shoes, £59.99, zara.com

Now this is a dress to puf for.  I think back to a younger me and I see myself in this dress, but how would I go about making it a me for today?  I think I would go with McCall's 6462.  This is more of the style that I would use to achieve this look for the me of today.  I don't exactly have the tummy that I had many years back so a compromise in design would be the protocol here.  I would keep the bodice with the off the shoulder theme and change the skirt to be more flattering to me.  Sounds solid doesn't it?  Well, we will just have to see if this is the dress that I picked to be the Designer Imposter.

See, this leather skirt thing keeps coming up and it is really driving me insane because I keep telling myself that I need a leather skirt, jacket, pants,, just anything with leather.  But let us take a peek at the leopard  print blouse topped off with that red sweater.  This outfit has a sense of Chanel regalness to me.  The bow gives the leather a soft edgy presence.  

Well, how would I bring this one together?  Oh, I can see clearly now,  Vogue 1325 has what it takes to set the leopard print craze to doing business.  I would trade the leather skirt for a nice pair of gabardine or wool slacks.  Flip the design of the blouse out with a smaller bow and a little trimming in a contrasting color to calm down the cattiness in the leopard.  Change the sweater to an all out jacket lined with the leopard print and BOOM!  Off to work and look exceptionally good while you're working.

These are some of my favorites from this article, but I saved this last one because I have mixed feelings about where it could go.  So , here is my best shot, then the drum roll for the winner of my imposter.

Dress, £395, CH Carolina Herrera 020 7581 3031; Belt, £69, BeltMania at Fenwick, 020 7629 9161; Shoes, £250, johnlewis.com

I love the fact that this dress is not completely covered in leopard print, but I would like to revamp the look just a little to suit me.  Here's my first choice to impersonate almost exactly.  New Look 6124

View C with the cap sleeves would be a perfect alternative for this project.

 Now here's my totally different look with my changes.  McCall's 6789.

Here is where I would make my changes if I had to choose this dress as an alternate for the inspiration piece.  The center piece is the life of this dress.  I know you think the peplum is, but that is not what makes this dress talk when it enters a room.  To make this dress have a life of it's own I wouldn't use a leopard print.  I would give the illusion of dots or lace accent instead of a print.

 

These are my insert picks for this dress.  I think any of these fabrics would go well in the design.  With the right color combo this could be a bombshell of a dress even if you go totally leopard print.





Well, the drum rolls and my pick for the highlight,,,,Is,,,,,,The red dress with the least amount of print.  To see how this is going to turn out, you'll have to stay tuned.

Until next time,  LOLPOH,,

Dellia