Stripes and animal print have a place, in your wardrobe

These are 2 of fashions main stay patterns, they return again and again almost without fail if you want them you'll find them on a catwalk somewhere every season.  However they are both given such a terribly bad reputation.  People, well women, who wear Animal Print are supposed to be a little bit raw and lacking in style, "Fit for barmaids and brothels", whilst stripes lack elegance and are viewed as a bit of a fashion cop out, the easy choice, you get full marks because you only did half the paper.  I categorically disagree with both these opinions so allow me to argue in the defence of both.

I know a lot of individuals, and I won't name names but you know who you are, that repeat like a mantra, "Stripes aren't flattering" .  Now for me that is just throwing the baby out with the bath water, yes some stripes will look hideous but then we could say that about everything and unless you have plans to join a nudist colony, that leaves you with a bit of a conundrum.  In my personal experience alone, I've seen stripes that make my eyes hurt and stripes that make me look like a fairly irritated bumble bee and yet I own stripes that accentuate my waist and draw the eye to the pattern and away from my less attractive body parts.  I also have a particularly delicious pair of striped shoes that ensure any outfit I wear with them is raised a cut above.

As you can see from the images when it comes to Animal Print things have moved on from Bette Lynch in the Rovers Return, by choosing softer fabrics and lighter washes the look becomes softer and easier to wear.  However it is the fact that you have the option to go all out Femme Fatale that draws me back to this style.  For me Animal Print is a little bit like Deep Red Lipstick wearing it is a statement of your own feminine power it's not about impressing or attracting, it's about drawing confidence from the knowledge that you have chosen to make people look at you.

The point is that when you make a decision against something all you are doing is waiting to be proved wrong, this Season is all about pattern and flair (I doubt very much this is the last time you'll here those words from me) so if some of the styles you are seeing make you uncomfortable, why not seek safety in an old friend?  You know it'll be around for a while at least.