5 Ways to Style Leopard Print Shorts

7/31/2019

This summer I definitely have a favorite piece in my closet – my leopard print shorts. Animal prints (and leopard prints in particular) have really turned into a neutral over the last few seasons. They’re here to stay and are as essential to your wardrobe as a pair of jeans. There’s something about a good leopard print that is truly timeless. It’s all about balance – the color combination and the scale need to be perfect for the garment. Too small and it doesn’t have any impact and if it’s too big it can start to look clownish. In the case of my leopard print shorts, I think everything is just perfect. Which is why I just had to feature them in this post!

The Love of a Challenge…

I’ve really loved giving myself the challenge of “5 Ways to Style…” over the last few months. For Spring, I wrote a post on “5 Ways to Style a Black Blazer “. For the Summer season, I decided that my leopard print shorts would be the star of my latest “5 Ways to Style…”. My rule is to use whatever is in my closet at the time for these challenges. So I need to get creative while still keeping on-trend. I’ve had these leopard print shorts for at least 4 years. They’re from the French brand Equipment and are 100% silk – they remind me of a little lingerie short. Like all things silk, they get wrinkled quite easily, but the print tends to hide a lot of it.

I ended up pulling out alot of my favorite pieces from my closet for this challenge. And I’ve featured many of them in blog posts over the last few months. I’ve linked those posts below – just in case you might want to check out the details on some of the styles I used.  Read on to see the 5 looks that I came up with…

This first outfit features my black blazer from COS stores. It’s the same one I used for my post “5 Ways to Style a Black Blazer for Spring” – you can read it here. I layered it over a black cropped cami with lace inserts and lace bralette – both are a few years old and from Urban Outfitters. The cropped cami works since the shorts sit near my natural waist, otherwise I’d have too much mid-section exposure (which would not be pretty). I paired my studded black patent leather thong sandals with this look. I found these a couple of seasons ago from YOOX – they have a great Valentino RockStud-look. I really love this cool, slightly dressed-up vibe. I think it came together well and is definitely something I’d wear out at night.

The next look is one of my favorites – a combination of denim and leopard print. I really wanted a loose, easy look so I pulled out my oversized chambray-look shirt. Although it’s not a true denim (it’s actually Lyocell), it still has a denim look. I love the soft drape of the shirt combined with the shorts. The shirt is from Zara and it’s a few seasons old – I wear it to death all year long. I recently featured it in a blog post on bike shorts that you can check out here. And I love how my everyday flat tan sandals look with the outfit – I’ve been wearing these all summer. I love them so much that I gave them their own blog post. This outfit combines alot of my favorite pieces from my closet and is the kind of thing I wear every day. I’m in love…

I really wanted to include a pool-side summer look, so for the third outfit I layered a black bikini top under a mesh sweater. I love how it looks with the leopard print shorts. The bikini is a recent purchase for this summer from Carmen Marc Valvo. It has a great metal O-ring at the center and is extremely flattering. The mesh sweater from H&M is over 10 years old, but it never goes out of style! I threw on my favorite furry sandals (check out my blog post raving about these beauties) and added my shell anklet. Believe it or not, I even have a recent post about shell jewelry. And it was that easy – the pool to cocktail vibe was a success. I’m obsessed with how great this outfit turned out.

I knew I wanted a super causal vibe for this next look and incorporating some neon seemed like the perfect way to get there. I’m a kid at heart and have always loved neon. I was wearing it in the 80’s in middle school and it’s always stuck with me. And I adore how it pops with the neutral colors of the leopard print. I don’t wear a ton of color but I happen to have this neon bralette from Pink that looks cool when it’s layered under a semi-sheer linen tee. It’s just the right amount of color to give it a fun, summer feel. I added my chunky sneakers for which I have an unnatural obsession with. I love all things sneaker and of course wrote a blog post about all the best sneakers for the Spring season (check it out here). This summer outfit is definitely a win – in fact, I wore it for the rest of the day after I took these pics!

For the final look I decided to go for something a little more challenging – print mixing. I love mixing prints but it can go from great to garish in the blink of an eye. I decided to keep it simple and paired a black and white polka dot blouse with the leopard print. Since they are both neutrals, I think they work. It’s definitely a sophisticated vibe but I really love how it turned out. I have a cool pair of ankle-tie sandals that worked great with this look. They’ve been in my closet for years and whenever I pull them out they still look so modern. I’m really psyched with how this outfit looks – I’d wear this out to dinner or a cocktail party, it just feels tres chic!

I’ve linked some great options below that cover all these looks. I’d love to know which of the above is your favorite – leave me a comment on my say hi page and let me know what you think.
 
See you soon!

This post was featured on Links à la Mode fashion roundup by Independent Fashion Bloggers.

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SPONSOR: Shopbop, Equipment, Alexis Clothing, Nicholas Dresses, AqC, La Double J, KAANAS, Big Hoops, Tie Dye, Box Bags, Men's Ksubi

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