How to Wear Leopard with Floral Print

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Back view of outfit with belted GNW leopard print sweater worn as top over eShakti floral print dress with Michael Kors plateau sandals, Jaeger tote (all own) and wooden sports watch c/o Jord

… This guide is for you. Mixing animal prints and florals is the new It. After reading this post you will know how to create an effortlessly chic leopard and floral print outfit.

Contents
  1. The Old Rule
  2. Stylist’s Tips to Get the Leopard with Floral Print Mix Right
  3. Mixed Floral and Leopard Prints Outfit Ideas
  4. Why Mixing these Prints Works

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post.
Editor’s remark: When you are looking for a more general advice on styling leopard print, see the guide at the link.

The Old Rule

My mother always said “one pattern or print per outfit” and “the additional colors have to repeat colors of the print or pattern”. I never understood why. On the contrary, I always found it very tricky to get that rule to work as it comes close to color blocking with a print or pattern.

The New Rule: Mix Prints (and Pattern) and Ground Them

Coming back to my mom’s fashion advice, the part I disagreed strongly with her was the advice not to mix pattern/prints. I love mixing prints and patterns for a stylish look, and always did. I admit doing so is tricky.

 

Tip: The new fashion rule: mix prints and/or pattern.

 

The example below shows styling a snow-leopard and floral print look. Both pieces have a white background and lots of black. The outfit is grounded with a gray tweed skirt, gray ankle straps pumps and my shark gray Pippa bag.

 

style blogger in mixed pints for a warm spring work outfit
Notations snow leopard print cardigan, Paloma Picasso sunglasses, Notations floral print cardigan worn as top, Eddie Bauer tweed skirt, Modalo Pippa bag, Kieselstein Cord belt and buckle Hermes collier de chien bangle

 

over 50 years old fashion blogger looking posh chic in a work outfit with with leopard and floral print
Floral Notations cardigan worn as top under a Notations snow leopard cardigan with Eddie Bauer tweed skirt, Paloma Picasso sunglasses, Hermes Medor watch, Hermes collier de chien bangle, gray ankle strap pumps, and Modalo Pippa bag.

 

 

Stylist’s Tips to Get the Leopard with Floral Print Mix Right

Here are my secrets to make mixed prints work:

  1. Treat leopard prints as a neutral.
  2. Try to pick prints of different size, but same color scheme.
  3. Pick one color of the pattern to ground your prints. It is easiest using the background color of one of the prints. But most prints have black in them and that is a great color for grounding. Actually, it pulls the look to more sophisticated.
  4. Keep accessorizing to a minimum and simple, but classic. You do not want that the people you meet look like they were scanning you.
  5. Make the print mix the focus point of your outfit.

 

Mixed Floral and Leopard Prints Outfit Ideas

In this outfit, I again mixed prints building on styling the animal print trend with an eternal summer classic, a floral dress. This time I wore a leopard cardigan as a sweater as temperatures were just in the 50s (10-15oC).

However, to look ageless in floral prints over 40 you need some know how. Anything too natural or of same size as the animal print wouldn’t work. Also you have to consider the style of the floral print. Small regular florals read little girl or gamine style. This style won’t work with leopard print which reads grown-up.

 

Alaskan woman almost 2 decades after moving to Alaska
GNW leopard print cardigan, floral print Talbot skirt, Kieselstein Cord belt (all own), wood watch c/o Jord, and Musse & Cloud sandals.

 

 

Why Mixing these Prints Works

The two pattern work together as they have quite different size, and the nude of the cardigan and dress ground the look. Both pieces also have black in common. The plateau sandals pick up the orange of the floral print dress. The wooden watch and the cork of the sandals do the same for the brown shades of the cardigan.

 

mature blogger with leopard and floral prints

Fairbanks stylist mixing abstract floral and leopard prints

over 50 years old style blogger mixing leopard cardigan and floral print summer dress
GNW leopard print sweater worn as top over eShakti floral print dress with H-belt, Michael Kors plateau sandals, Jaeger tote (all own) and wooden sports watch c/o Jord

 

When you like this trendy mixed print outfit idea, save the photos on your Pinterest board.

Tip: Leopard print plays well with floral prints, stripes.

 

Do you like the mixing prints and pattern trend? What are your favorite ways of mixing prints? Have you tried it? Don’t know how? Just curious.

 

Photos of me: G. Kramm

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