You'd think that as someone who did not own animal print anything until very recently, that I would start by pairing animal print with brightly colored solid basics. That would be the sensible choice, right?
Actually, I think I started out wearing animal print that way, and I found I loved leopard print with cobalt blue, cherry red, and emerald green.

Lately, though, I've found that my animal print pieces are pushing me further into hectic pattern mixing. At first I barely dipped my toes into the water by pairing patterned micronet hose with an animal print blouse. Then, after the very recent acquisition of two pairs of animal print low-heeled pumps, I went full steam ahead into Team "ALGO" (that's A Lot Going On), inspired to wear this busy outfit to work, incorporating dalmatian print with a large bold, abstract print. I suppose the subtle pattern of the ribbon-as-belt and the layers of different sizes of pearls would count too.
I think that what made me feel that the most recent outfit worked was that black and white were incorporated in all of the patterned pieces, and the scale of the patterned shoes was small whereas the print on the blouse was quite large.

So I decided to give the same concept a shot with the as-yet-unworn leopard print pumps, combining the shoes with a remix of the outfit I wore to the Old Hollywood wedding earlier this summer. Sometimes the marble emerald and black pattern of this knit dress reminds me of a somewhat abstract zebra print, and yet there is the grounding presence of a black base in both the shoes and dress. I wanted to wear this outfit in a more casual way (and needed some extra warmth on a cool day), so on went the denim jacket.
Finally, as animal print also apparently gives me a taste for the theatrical, I added the same black bead/cord necklace and feathery pendant that I originally wore during the wedding.

(#5 is a bonus shot of B. and I behind a "Hollywood couple" cutout poster they had at the wedding, just for kicks.)