There are an abundance of neutrally toned animal print blouses in stores at the moment as retailers transition their collections into Autumn. Although animal print product, especially cheetah and leopard prints, are nothing new, I’m enjoying their appearance on a much larger assortment of soft blouse silhouettes. I think I’ve fallen in love with animal print all over again. 

An animal print is both classic and edgy. It has an amazing retro and regal integrity, as well as a theatrical and racy one. It suits both earthy, arty, dramatic and eclectic fashion personas, AND it suits those with a more simple and understated sense of style. In short, it’s a brilliant print that does not date — much like the polka dot. 

Animal print blouses can be worn with skirts and trousers for business casual, and they can be worn with jeans. They tend to look really good with solid black and brown support acts, or denim blue. Lighter toned animal prints look fab with dove grey, cream and white bottoms. I particularly like a leopard animal print blouse worn with a bright red skirt, red pair of trousers, or layered under a sleeveless red sheath dress. This bold statement always makes me smile. I also love animal print worn with red accessories. 

It’s amazing how an animal print can function both as a basic and as a statement piece. I guess that’s the nature of a fairly timeless and ageless item of clothing. Versatile!

I’ve been thinking about this for a while and a recent article in Business Insider was the catalyst for finally writing down some thoughts. The parents of teenage model Hailey Clauson are suing Urban Outfitters and the photographer for putting a sexually suggestive photo of their daughter on a T-shirt. In this case the model’s age itself doesn’t bother me — Urban Outfitters caters to a young audience — but I do find it jarring to see a 15 year old in such a provocative pose. 

Not that provocative poses are necessarily bad. Last year we documented some very racy retail advertising in Zurich and Milan (caution: not suitable for work) and this doesn’t faze me much. Even nudity can be tasteful in advertising.

That said, I do think the sheer amount of sexuality in ads these days is getting tedious. I’m tired of seeing provocative poses, lustful looks and pouty faces.

Recently forum member Jonesy pointed us to Jezebel’s take on “SexyFace”:

SexyFace, of course, is the ridiculous, open-mouthed, come-hither look that is always the go to for stories on ingenues and sex symbols. A woman is usually seated in a somewhat awkward position, with her eyes expressing one emotion (lust for sex symbols, innocence for ingenues) and her mouth hanging open in a way that makes it seem like she’ll do anything with it except, you know, talk to you.

She captures it very well. And once your attention is drawn to the phenomenon, you’ll see SexyFace everywhere — advertising, magazines, fashion blogs, the red carpet, and even in social networking profile pictures. It all seems so silly and obvious. Why is this happening? Is a sexually provocative look the best way to capture our attention these days? 

Of course, things get really complicated when the trend of selling with sex mingles with the trend of ever younger models. Then it can quickly go from tedious to offensive. American Apparel has been pushing this boundary for a while now, and it seems that Urban Outfitters has just jumped on the bandwagon. No doubt sex is a compelling, sophisticated message to use when marketing to a younger market that is eager to grow up, but is that ok? I don’t think so.

Maybe one day people will look at this blog post and laugh at how much of a prude I was for being offended by a 15 year old in a sexually charged pose. Perhaps some people would even think so today. How about you?

Suz enjoyed Imogen’s tips and super visuals on how to look taller by creating a column of colour.

MaryK believes that fashion and home decor go hand in hand and is currently swooning over belle maison’s tribute to zig zags and coloured suitcases. Very fab. 

Dresslover informs us that Lady Gaga is teaming up with her sister to launch a new fashion line because according to Gaga, her sister has an edgier eye than she does. I shudder to think. 

Goldenpig fell in love with the collection of Chie Miharas that she found via goldenmeans. Vildy swooned over their stars and striped pair. I own a pair of Chie Miharas and can vouch for their comfort and fab design. 

RoseandJoan found herself nodding in agreement through most of this article on the right NOT to bare your arms. I couldn’t agree more with this sentiment.

Annagybe, who has the magpie gene, loves these sequined harem pants.

Like the rest of the blogosphere, Marianna is very excited about the Missoni for Target Collection after viewing their look book.

Kyle says that J.Crew is under fire for it’s international pricing policy. She thinks that J.Crew should also be under fire for their declining quality.

MNSara said that this video in the Huffington Post made her think of the collective YLF view of UGGs and leggings worn as pants

Marley thinks that these pictures of hands and rings are very beautiful. 

Isabel, who says that she is a little obsessed with the French, was inspired by the secrets of French girls on deadfleurette. Having lived in France, I also found this an interesting read. 

Laura B. was intrigued by delightfuldozen’s transformation of a dress into a skirt.

When ballet flats first started to resurface in a big way about eight years ago, I was instantly taken with the look and comfort of the style. I had worn them a lot in the ’80s and was only too pleased to see them return back to mainstream fashion. I realized a good while later that I was in the minority liking this style of shoe. Most of my clients find them uncomfortable, preferring flat sandals, clogs, mary janes and loafers, or heeled footwear. So it won’t surprise me if there are lots of nay-sayers with the “newer” pointy toed style. 

If you don’t like to wear heels, but want to create a longer leg line with footwear, pointy toed flats are the way to go. The elongating effect is super effective with a low contrasting colour of footwear. 

I see pointy toed flats working especially well with tapered trousers and skinnies, leggings, and both pencil and flared midi skirts or dresses. I think of Audrey Hepburn and the ’80s when I see pointy toed flats. And most importantly, my feet are happy striding in this style.  Three glorious reasons to I vote yay on this dainty style of footwear. What’s your verdict?