The New Girl Upstairs - Wild Thing

Maybe it’s because I was born under the star sign of Leo (the lion) but I’m just a little bit obsessed with animal print in all its gorgeous permutations.  In fact, I double-dose on it on a regular basis.   Animal print shoes together with an animal print scarf? What’s the problem?

But as I was writing the product descriptions for some new additions to our number 37  Animal and Leopard Print Collection recently, I realised that I didn’t actually know the difference between my leopard, my cheetah and my jaguar.  Not very good for a self-confessed animal-print aficionado!

And so I decided it was time to a little research into the fascinating world of big cat markings.  Hopefully, you will find the following little guide as interesting as I did in putting it together.

A good starting point, I think, is to compare photos of each animal’s individual pelt:-

You can see from the photos above that cheetahs have solid, evenly-distributed circular or oval spots on their beautiful golden pelts.   By contrast, leopard coats display more complex, two toned horse-shoe markings known as rosettes, with a contrasting colour in the middle.   In some cases, the second colour will be either brighter or more dull and fabric designers will often accent this feature with an amplified colour.   Finally, as you can see from the image above, a jaguar’s markings are very similar to those of the leopard but they tend to have fewer but larger and more open-rosetted markings, which have a darker, thicker outline.

Of all the big cats, it is the leopard print that is the most commonly used in fashion print and, in fact, it features very heavily in our own number 37 Animal and Leopard Print Collection

Having done this short piece of research, I think that I’m now even more in love with the big cat prints.   On a mission, I’ve raided our stockroom and hunted down several of my favourites.   The following are just a few that I’m currently wild about:

Leopard Print Pink Border Scarf

This scarf is luxuriously crafted from a 80% cotton and 20% silk mix and is an exquisite new addition to Scarf Room’s beautiful capsule collection of number 37 women’s animal print scarves.   Featuring an elegant and eye-catching leopard decorative print in a rich palette of beige and black on a white background, it would look elegant and striking as a beautiful accessory over simple block coloured separates during the day or elegant evening wear at night.

Silk Scarf – Animal Print

My next choice is an exquisite pure silk scarf from our 100% pure silk beautiful capsule collection of women’s scarves.   It can be worn loose or, as modelled in the image below, knotted at one shoulder to inject a touch of elegance and individuality into any outfit.   Again, I would suggest wearing this scarf with a simple block colour.   Much as I love animal print, we don’t want to be accused of straying into Bet Lynch territory, do we?!

Denim Blue & Navy Leopard Print Fringed MicroModal Scarf

My final choice is another must-have statement animal print for an all-year round wardrobe.   It’s a stunning Italian MicroModal scarf which features a beautiful navy leopard print design on a denim blue background.  I think it looks equally glamorous for both day and evening wear.

And so now that you know your leopard from your cheetah from your jaguar, you might want to track down our full Animal and Leopard Print Collection.  Happy hunting!

Ciao bellissime.   A presto!