I love fabric animal print items in “natural” colors because I bat for Team Black and Team Brown even in my neutral essentials (my apologies to Angie—my life would be much simpler if I took a stand) . I have cardigans, scarves and so forth in a few such prints. So you’d think I’d love leopard print shoes. But they don’t look right on me for some reason.
However, I seem to be drawn to snake print shoes and have gone a bit whacko. Last year I got Tahari reptile print flats in 2 colors –a dark blue and a cream/black. Recently I bought some red snake print flats and some subdued color-blocked ones that go with just about every pair of slacks and skirts I have.
There is just something about the smallness of the pattern and the blended tones that appeal to me and also lets me feel comfortable wearing color in shoes, whereas I don’t find “pops” of solid color as much “me”.
Second, I have color-fickleness so that I like it when something looks like it might be this color, or might be that—I like “chameleon colors” , if you pardon my phrase! For example, the red is also somewhat subdued-appearing and can look like it goes with dark red, bright red, burgundy, deep pinks, or more, depending on what you put with it. And maybe it’s that the reptile is technically a type of leather, so it seems right for shoes (purses,belts).
One problem is that I have to watch getting into outfitting for the life I don’t have. I don’t wear this type of flats (meaning ballet or oval toe, thin soled shoes) on a daily basis, so one pair would have been enough. On the other hand, when I do wear flats, maybe I will wear reptile print flats instead of aiming for standard black or brown. If I could find a somewhat more supportive slip-on or tailored oxford that didn’t look too heavy, that would be perfect. But in some ways a more substantial shoe like that (I wear an 8/12-9) doesn’t always look as good in a color as a more diminutive flat.
These were inexpensive shoes and so might be a bad case of bargain-buying, though I think of them as “experiments” to see whether I have true lizard love vs. lizard lust. For me, reptile shoes could become
a “signature” or style statement when I wear them because I don’t see much similar in my work or circle of friends. So I’m kinda interested in exploring that without over-stocking. One key to keeping them in my style comfort zone is that they have to look simple and effortless—not frumpy, but not over-dressy or like you couldn’t work effectively in them.
Anybody else suffering from lizard love, or possibly having eyes bigger than stomach in a new style or trend, and how do you deal with it?
