Unleash your inner tiger this winter with animal print. Put aside visions of Outrageous Fortune or Peggy Bundy from Married With Children - the key to pulling this look off elegantly is to keep it simple.
Stay on the right side of tacky by looking at the lines of your garments.
Animal-print pieces should be as simply cut as possible - for example, an A-line leopard-print skirt looks a lot classier than a frilly, flouncy number.
Wear one animal-print garment and keep the rest of your outfit as plain as you can. Make the animal print the focus and keep the rest neutral or black so it fades into the background. Team an elegant black dress with something like the cool furry jacket from Ezibuy, pictured at left.
Done well, you can even get away with animal prints at work - team a leopard-print dress with a black blazer and flat shoes, or pop a zebra blouse over the top of a pencil skirt.
Be careful if, like most people, you have parts of your body you aren't so fond of. All-over patterns really only look good on the slimmest of figures. But you can use zebra stripes or leopard print to create an optical illusion. Because they are the types of prints that have so much going on, they will instantly draw the eye. Wear them on your best assets and keep the attention there - away from your trouble spots.
If you cannot bring yourself to go the whole hog, consider some accessories. A black-and-white zebra scarf will brighten up a plain black jumper and a peep of animal-print shoes out of the bottom of your jeans instantly funks up an outfit. Or, for the really shy, keep your animal print to yourself with underwear like the bras pictured below.
If you are really brave, use the patterns and colours in the shops at the moment to go punk. Neon pants with an animal-print top are true retro cool.
TOP TIPS
* Keep it simple - no frills or flounces.
* Make the animal-print garment the focus of your outfit.
* Don't wear small patterns on large parts of your body.
* Don't be too "matchy-matchy" - animal print should only be on one part of your body.
* Only wear one pattern at a time.
