I think I heard or read somewhere recently that Kelly Osbourne declared that animal prints would be out for 2013. I respect her sensibilities in fashion, but I would have to disagree with her this time. Animal prints are classic! They are as iconic and timeless as pearls or a LBD. Dolce & Gabbana almost base their existence to their odes to the leopard print. It is their signature, season after season, year after year, popping up as minimally or as fantastically in their collections as was the signature “Valentino Red” of signore Garavani’s when he was in house. Animal prints have been consistently associated with royalty, luxury, and fashion. So how could animal prints ever be given the boot?

Excuse me, I digressed a bit too far. My initial point of this post was to articulate how animal prints are much more fun when pairing them with colors other than the usual, black, beige, or even red. Animal prints can actually be deemed a neutral background or a punch of pizzazz just as certain ingredients in food can be the main star or just an undertone of a dish. Animal prints can be paired easily with a variety of colors, and this young lady I encountered at the Uniqlo in SOHO gives us a great example. The uniquely colored ink-blue, furry hat complements and creates interest to the tone of her leopard print coat.