I absolutely love the way that Chanel, Valentino, Moschino and Kate Spade style bows in their clothing, footwear and handbag collections. Their bows are sculptural and deliberate in a retro, yet modern way. The bow on my polka dot Lulu Guinness bag is a good example. I also adore pussy bows on soft blouses and dresses, and I like bow ties. 

I tend to dislike like bows when they have a juvenile or lingerie integrity, unless those types of bows are worn by children or are on underwear respectively. I also steer away from clothing that ties in the back with a bow. 

For the most part, I like sculptural bows that make a statement. I’ve noticed with my clientele and friends that I am in the minority here. Many of them think of bows as twee, prissy, fussy and overly-sweet. Some believe they add unnecessary bulk to their frame. So they end up bypassing items with any type of bow. 

There is no right and wrong here because it’s a stylistic preference, which is 100% subjective. How do you feel about bows? Like them, loathe them, can take them in small doses? Let’s hear it.

You know the drill. You are on Team Heel if you have more heels than wedge heels, or if you prefer the look of heels. Vice versa for Team Wedge Heel.  

I love the look of wedge heels and absolutely wear the low heeled, non-platform versions. They are generally quite stable and look extra modern. But I’m going to bat for Team Heels for two reasons. First, I have more heels than wedge heels. Second, I prefer the look of thick stacked heels. To my eye stacked heels look dressier and slightly more elegant than wedge heels, and this works better for my style. 

Over to you. Are you Team Heel or Team Wedge Heel? Remember to tell us why and that you can pick a side even if you don’t wear heels. No batting for both Teams.

There are so many variations on the animal print shoe. From monochromatic, moc-croc leathers and subtle snake skins, to bold, high contrasting zebra, pony, giraffe and leopard patterns. Moc-croc and subtle snakeskin animal print shoes are easier to match up in outfits because they generally function as a solid colour. It’s the bolder animal print patterns, like these leopard and cheetah shoes, that require a little more thought. 

If you’re struggling with how to wear bold animal print footwear, follow these guidelines. Some approaches are obvious and classic, whereas others are more daring. Here are the pairing options:

Team Minimal

We’ll start by pairing bold animal print shoes with solid outfit pieces for Team Minimal.  

• Similar toned neutrals: Easy! Pick up the same colours of the animal print in your outfit.
• Blue denim and white/cream: These tones are always a good bet with bold animal print, and one of my favourite combinations.
• A different neutral: For example, wear black and brown animal print shoes with ink blue, grey or olive green. Wear black and white zebra print shoes with a brown dress. Basically, you can wear any neutral with animal print shoes. 
• Non-neutral colours: Keep the bottom neutral/denim and wear a solid non-neutral top. Or wear a solid non-neutral dress. Or wear a solid non-neutral top and bottom. Although this is not a must, extra outfit cohesion is achieved by wearing animal print shoes that bookend the colour of your hair. 

For the purposes of these guidelines you can think of highly textured items, like a grey furry vest or sequined top, as solids. The same goes for false plains like glen plaids.

Team Maximal

Team Maximal gets pictures because we need to show some pattern mixing options. You can go to town with these. It all depends on the level of your “daring-quotient”. Your two main pairing options are:

• A complementary pattern: First, refresh your memory on how to successfully mix patterns. The polka dot blouse below works quite well with both animal print shoes because they are in a similar colour palette. The polka dot also acts as the “dominant print”. Stripes and florals will also work. 

• A complementary animal print: My previous guideline was to wear one animal print item per outfit. We have moved on from that as hectic pattern mixing becomes more and more fashionable and on-trend. With this pairing, I prefer to see animal print tops (and dresses) matched with a different pattern of animal print footwear. For example, the leopard blouse below is paired with zebra or pony shoes. That way it’s not overly matchy-matchy. 

I’ve covered all these combinations in my own outfits at one point or another. Now that I bat for Team Minimal, I prefer to match my animal print shoes with solid pieces, both neutral and non-neutral. But I might sneak in the odd pattern mixed ensemble just for fun.

I think most of us go through our lives with a core set of style preferences — colours, patterns, vibes and design details — that we always enjoy. But we also find ourselves being drawn to completely new and different things on each leg of our style journey. 

For example, ever since I was very little I’ve loved bright red, white, apple green, pearls, denim, handbags, watches, silver and flat riding boots. As I grew older, my style preferences expanded to include most bright colours, polka dots, black and white combinations, military and equestrian designs, abstract florals, sheath dresses, button down shirts, rugged boots, specs and Chanel. 

I still love the things that I’ve been drawn to for most of my life. But over the last year I’ve noticed that I’m drawn to designs and patterns that I haven’t appreciated since I was a teen. In some cases, I’m drawn to things that never appealed to me before. 

I haven’t worn gold since I was a baby, and now I bat for Team Gold. I haven’t liked lace since the ’80s, and I just bought a black lace shirt. I’ve loved zebra and pony prints forever, but now I favour leopard and cheetah patterns. I’ve been a dress gal for ages, but this year I have enjoyed wearing trousers more than dresses. 

Your turn, ladies. Do you have a set of stylistic preferences that you are drawn to consistently? And have you recently noticed any changes in your own style preferences?