What to Wear: In Your Concrete Jungle

The fashionable woman wears clothes. The clothes don't wear her. (Mary Quant)

In light of the reason fashionable favorites (and faux pas) as awards season begins, we thought we'd explore our wild side as 2012 gives us a new year to explore with our favorite kind of print: Animal!

Taking another tip from the beloved Ms. Nina Garcia, today's focus is on the necessity and future of animal print in 2012. While it makes the cut for Ms. Garcia's list of the most important pieces every woman should have in her closet, its certainly a daring choice for those who are not as likely to take fashion risks. However, as Nina says, "the truly fashionable are always daring and never dull. They are willing to run with the leopards, the cheetahs, the zebras" and willing we are. 

But how do we celebrate the concrete jungles we inhabit without making our fashion credibility extinct? Start small. Animal print accessories are bold and slightly dangerous while still looking chic.

We loved the examples we saw on Fashion Binge but we're sure you can be trusted with the mission of finding your own favorites as long as you follow the card-NINA-l rules as you shop:

• Buying a print with pedigree. This is the best way to avoid looking garish. There are items that you can save money on. This should not be one of them.
• Wear only one piece at a time. Any more than that and you will look like fashion roadkill.
• Keep everything else simple, even severe. Pair the print with neutral colors. If you keep everything else classic, the print will carry itself.
• Keep the colors muted. Less is more, but none gets you nowhere!

Michael Kors 2012.

Are you a fashion wild child? How do you rock animal print in the workplace? At a lounge? Send us pics! We'd love to see what you come up with!

And tell us all about your fashion predictions for 2012 on our Facebook page or on Twitter by following @COSMOpolitique. Can't wait to see you in your natural habitat!

Fashionably yours, COSMOpolitique