Leopard Print Outfit: The Coat That Made a Pattern Famous

In 1962 Jacqueline Kennedy traveled to India with her husband, and she wore a leopard-skin coat designed by Oleg Cassini. Cassini reportedly designed around 300 outfits for her, and that coat was among the most copied. The demand was so extraordinary that an estimated 250,000 leopards were killed for their skins, which pushed the species close to extinction. Real leopard skin was banned in the US by the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the pattern carried on as a print. That is the version I want to talk about. If you want to keep going, Leopard coat: A Fall Neutral With a Complicated Past is the one I would read next.

 

A good leopard print outfit is not a costume. Kate Moss has a formula for it: one jolt of leopard, everything else simple or muted. Roberto Cavalli built a house on animal print, and Vogue once called leopard practically a neutral for the label. I like that framing, with one caveat. It is a neutral the way a red lip is a neutral, which means it still gets noticed.

 

So October is the right month to start at the top, with coats. In my fashion dreams she is walking to the train in the Lee cropped jacket, brown and black faux fur with big contrast buttons, over plain black trousers. The Apparis Elis is chocolate brown with a collar and snap placket, and it stops at the hip, so it sits well over a dress. Marc Jacobs makes a heavyweight faux fur jacket with a shawl collar, and the Michael Kors in dark camel is the most traditional of the group. If you want the print without the fluff, the Great trench in dark leopard is cotton and small in scale, so it reads closer to a pattern than a statement.

 

My tip: keep everything under the coat one color, and let the coat be the only spotted thing in the room.

Kate Moss gets quoted on leopard for a reason, and her one-jolt idea is easiest to follow with a skirt. A midi in leopard with a plain knit and a boot is already a finished look. Nothing else has to join in.

 

The Great Highland is a cotton midi with a gathered, flared shape and a button placket, so it moves like a casual skirt. The Karen Kane bias-cut midi is silky crepe in a gray and black snow leopard, which is the quiet choice. L'Agence makes a pleated maxi in a large tan and black print that I would wear with a tucked black turtleneck. Le Bop's cheetah A-line is small in scale with a covered elastic waist, and it is the easiest to dress down with a sweatshirt. For a shorter day, the Marc Jacobs faux fur mini has a hidden side zip, and in October it works with opaque tights and knee boots.

 

Trousers are the bolder move. The Tahari ASL wide-leg in brown and black has a smooth waistband and a lot of swing. The Marciano Amy has a jaguar-style print that fades from tan to brown, and the SIMONMILLER Pia is a high-waisted poplin in cotton with a little stretch.

 

At the fitting room, stand in daylight and check how the print repeats across the seams, particularly at the waist and the hips. A pattern that breaks cleanly there looks deliberate.

 

What I would skip: a leopard top with leopard trousers. Pick one spotted piece and let the other half be solid.

Edie Sedgwick is hard to picture without a bit of leopard, and her leopard skin coat is the piece people remember. Knitwear is how I would borrow that attitude on a Tuesday.

 

The Zadig and Voltaire Soulo is a wool and cashmere crewneck with dropped shoulders and ribbed trim, and it sits well over a white collared shirt. Caslon uses the same wool and cashmere blend in a small-scale tan and taupe cardigan, which is the one I would pick for the office. GUIZIO's June is a cropped gray snow-leopard cardigan with a ribbed hem, made for high-waisted jeans. H&M's boxy jacquard sweater has elbow-length sleeves in dark brown and gray leopard, so it layers over a long-sleeve tee. Le Bop and AQUA both make button cardigans, olive and black on one and taupe and black with camel trim on the other. Alice and Olivia's Delaina is a sheer turtleneck in classic tan and black, built to sit under a slip dress. Beach Riot's Callie is the fuzzy one, with spots knit from soft yarns.

 

Check the knit in your hand. Pull the fabric gently at the cuff and see whether the ribbing springs back, and look inside to see whether the print is knit in or printed on top.

 

What I would skip: a sheer leopard turtleneck worn with no layer at all, unless the room is warm and the plan is dinner.

Roberto Cavalli showed leopard print lining the cuffs of a denim ensemble for Spring and Summer 2003, and the Fashion Institute of Technology notes that animal print is a Cavalli signature. I like that detail, since it shows leopard working as an accent. A dress turns the whole outfit into one clean gesture.

 

The Great Hartford is a cotton seersucker midi with puff sleeves and pleats, and it has the easiest attitude of the group. L'Agence's Jovie is an olive-brown bustier midi with a square neck, slant hip pockets and a flared skirt. Naked Wardrobe makes a fitted long-sleeve maxi with a mock neck, and Elie Tahari's Lauren is a silk-blend maxi in a tan and black cheetah with a V-neck. The L'Agence Anya is ruched and bodycon, in nylon and spandex with a back zip. For a lighter touch, Nicholas's Courtney is a sheer gray and bordeaux snow-leopard georgette mini with a tiered skirt and a stand collar. AQUA's animal jacquard mini has a square neckline and wide straps, and Bardot's Lea is a soft tan mesh midi with a turtleneck and a thigh slit.

 

For October, add black tights and a plain leather boot with the mini, or a long coat in a solid color over the maxi. Sit down in the fitting room once, because bodycon fabric tells you quickly where it pulls.

 

What I would skip: a leopard dress with leopard shoes and a leopard bag. The pattern needs room to be seen.

The simplest place to try leopard is the last thing you put on. Shoes and bags are a small amount of print, which is the Kate Moss formula in its smallest form. She once left her London home on her 30th birthday in a muted yellow chiffon dress with a leopard coat thrown over it, and it was the plain dress that made the coat work.

 

FitFlop's Delicato is a suede leopard Mary Jane with an adjustable front strap and cushioning in the midsole, so it is a walking flat. Gianvito Rossi's Carla is a suede ballet flat with a buckle strap and round toe, made in Italy. Kurt Geiger's Annabel is a mid-calf boot in leopard-spotted calf hair with a fold-over shaft, in orange, black and tan, and it is the loudest thing on the page. Stella McCartney's loafer is black patent with a leopard velvet vamp and gold-tone hardware, and the Mascaro pump has a three-inch heel and a pointed toe, made in Menorca. For bags, STAUD's Harlow is a baguette in genuine calf hair with a red strap, the Falabella mini is velvet with chain trim and a crossbody strap, and the H&M tote is a soft beige leopard hobo with gold buckles. I went deeper on a related idea in Carbon38 Leggings: The Ballet Dancers Who Made Liquid Shine Famous.

 

Calf hair needs a little care. A suede brush works on flat-laying hair and lifts light dirt, so brush gently in the direction of the hair. In the shop, check the strap anchors on a bag and the heel counter on a boot.

 

What I would skip: calf hair in a downpour. Suede flats and velvet bags are happier on a dry day.

I would begin with a single piece and decide where it sits. If it is a coat, everything under it is black or camel. If it is a skirt, a plain knit and a sleek boot. Add one more spot of leopard at most, usually a bag or a flat.

 

Some people call leopard a neutral, and I think it is closer to an easy way into statement dressing. That is fine. It is a good first step, and the checking is simple: does one thing in the mirror get all the attention, and is everything else calm.

 

Jackie Kennedy's coat caused a terrible rush in 1962. These days the faux fur versions give you the same swagger with none of that history.