Wearing Leopard Coats for Dress Up
Quote of the day: “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” Winston Churchill
And if you’ve been listening to the trend reports and following other bloggers, then you’ll realize that leopard print is super stylish and the leopard coats are everywhere. Does that mean you better run out and get one? Well, not necessarily, but if you find one at the consignment store for a great price, I’d call that a sign to take it home with you.
And you can see by our 3 coats, how there is a variety of them available. Long, short, lighter or darker could be part of the equation. We started by styling ours with a dressy outfit. Of course for the 3 of us, that means skirts and dresses, but the leopard coats would work wonderfully with your dressy pants too.
Jodie’s (50+) Outfit: Full disclosure. I purchased this leopard coat just so we could style the coats for the blog.
I had originally picked up a leopard coat at a consignment shop when we were in Frisco. It was for sale, yet I found a couple of worn areas on the coat, so I had asked for some money taken off of it. Wonderfully they gave it to me for free, because once I got it home, I realized it wasn’t savable. That’s the moral of the story in some consignment shops where it’s quite dark inside. You are smart to really look the piece over.
So I ended up scouring the internet for a replacement and was lucky to find this one on Poshmark. Poshmark is an online store where people sell their stuff like they would on eBay. And this coat is almost like new and I paid only about $25.
My other accessory that I’ve been wearing non-stop is my fur scarf. I don’t just wear this when I go outside, but also many times as part of my outfit. These scarves come in so many varieties like blue, striped, print or your basic black or grey.
Of course, I also love to add a brooch to the scarf to add some bling to it. We’ve showcased brooches on the blog many times in the past, and it’s probably about time to style them again. I’ve become such a fan of this small accessory. These are another item that are fun to find at thrift stores, but there are also unique ones for sale. Animal ones are always fun, along with flowers and shapes.
Let’s talk hosiery.
Of course if you don’t wear skirts and dresses much, then it’s not an issue. But in the winter, a girl’s gotta have some covering for her legs. And what’s better than printed hosiery?
You may think it would cause too much focus on your legs, but I think it’s a fun way to add some pizzazz to our outfits. And if you think they are too expensive, then let me introduce you to these, these and these.
I have to admit that I normally pair red with leopard items, so I wanted to change that up for this post.
Therefore I grabbed my bright pink purse that I recently picked up for our thredUp post. I figured it brought out the pink flowers on my top, and that’s one of the reasons I choose the pink brooch.
Coat: (similar here)~~Dress: from our local shop, Trendz (similar here)~~Top: (similar here)~~Shoes: (similar here)~~Scarf: the Limited (similar here)~~Brooch: (similar here)~~Purse: from thredUp (similar here)~~Tights: (similar here)
Nancy’s (60+) Outfit: Nancy found her leopard coat on our Wassail Days adventure.
You can see how Nancy’s version is a little lighter in color than mine. I love how she even included her leopard shoes for the outfit. We’ve showcased leopard shoes on the blog previously because they are so versatile.
So if you don’t want to go all out by purchasing a leopard coat, then leopard shoes might work just as well. There are the loafer variety, the boot variety or the ballet flat. Of course if you’re anything like the 3 of us, you might need a pair in every variety, LOL!
I’m sure most of the time you don’t style your outfit before you choose your outerwear. But if you’re like many women, black and white outfits are a go-to selection, and thus the leopard coats would be perfect.
In fact, a white lace top seems to be such a versatile item for getting dressed up. Nancy just wore this same one under her open shoulder top as a great way to update the shirt for the colder weather.
Nancy chose her red leather gloves and hand knitted scarf to accompany the outfit.
Leopard coats are really considered a neutral, which means that any color would look great with them. For example you could keep the extras neutral with tan gloves, or black gloves since those are the colors in the coat. However, adding in a bright color like yellow or bright pink would also be wonderful.
Nancy’s also wearing her leather skirt for our dressy occasion. My mom made the three of us these leather skirts and we’ve styled them many times on the blog. I have to admit that leather items are another one of those that I wasn’t sure about at first because of their reputation. But now? I believe we can wear anything.
And check out the lining on this coat. I know it’s a detail that most people will never see, but it’s amazing how it makes you love it so much more. Any thoughts on why that is?
Coat: (similar here)~~Skirt: Mom made it (similar here)~~Top: (similar here)~~Shoes: (similar here)~~Scarf: I knitted it (similar here)~~Necklace: (similar here)~~Gloves: (similar here)
Charlotte’s (80+) Outfit: I’d like to point out that my mom’s generational number has recently changed! She just had her 80th birthday yesterday, and yet is as fit and fabulous as many younger women I know!! Go mom!!
And this leopard coat she’s wearing? She’s actually had this jacket for many years.
In fact, there aren’t many items that my mom has paid full price for, but this is one of them. She purchased it when she was in Turkey, and the best part? It’s reversible to a tan leather jacket on the other side. Although she will tell you that it’s not always easy to wear the reverse side out because the leopard part is fuzzy and gets caught when she tries to put it over other items.
Leave it to my mom to pull out almost everything leopard for this outfit. But since we talked about leopard shoes, why not include leopard hats and purses?
Because a leopard clutch could be the perfect way to add some print into your outfits. Or some leopard earmuffs would keep your ears warm.
Pleated skirts have made quite a comeback on the fashion scene lately.
My mom wore hers when we were dressing in black and orange around Halloween. It’s such a feminine skirt and wonderful for your dress up events. Of course, you aren’t limited to only black ones. There’s a multitude of other varieties like metallic, print and faux suede.
Since my mom was sticking with a black theme for under all of her leopard wear, she pulled out this beaded sweater. This could have been included in our retro post since it’s probably almost 20 years old. Of course it depends what your definition of retro is.
However, since most women love having black sweaters, the ones with some embellishment are fabulous. There are sweaters with the detailing around the edges of the cardigan, at the top, or even all over.
Coat: (similar here)~~Skirt: (similar here)~~Sweater: (similar here)~~Boots: (similar here)~~Hat: (similar here)~~Purse: (similar here)~~Gloves: (similar here)
Let me know what you think? Are you a fan of leopard coats or not?
Thanks to one and all of you for your support. It means more than you know!
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