I just wanted to add a little more on my thoughts about animal prints (see my previous post first). How many of you said “that’s too much” when you clicked the Google link?
Ever since the first cave man stuck an animal skull on his head in an attempt to have the spirit of the animal infuse his body for some perceived power we’ve been doing pretty much the same thing. You can throw all the anthropolgy and sociology you want at me but animal print comes down to simply sending the message that primal instincts are sexy. The young woman in leopard print lingerie is seen to be aggressive, dangerous and cat like … irrelevant of her actual personality. Looking at the google images, the word aggressive comes to mind more than any of the others. Don’t get me wrong, the image of a powerful woman is a huge turn on for the obvious genetically built in Darwinist reasons … and I’d certainly find her more attractive at first. But let’s look at the next step. Do I really want to wake up with a man-eater? Sure it’d be a great night, but I’m afraid I might wake up to find myself bound up in a cocoon with her babies eating their way out of my stomach from the inside out!!
Let’s be honest for a minute. How many women find themselves attracted to aggressive, tough-guy, muscle-car men who just aren’t good for them? How many men find themselves attracted to aggressive, jealous, moody women? That’ll be a lot of you I’m sure! We seem to perceive this antisocial behaviour as sexy because in our long distant past our genetics were more likely to be passed on if our partners had these attributes. We know it’s bad for us but we just can’t help ourselves, right?
OK I get the fur keeping us warm bit … but animal print specifically?
When I left the semi-populated city of Perth for the remote tropics of Cairns, something I noticed was a sudden and obvious drop in the level of general aggression exhibited by people. It seemed that the more people per square kilometer, the higher the general level of aggression was … and it was obviously not good for people. Psychologists have known for a long time that the higher your aggression and stress levels are, the shorter your life will be and the more likely you are to get sick.
If I’m right, why is it that we want to look more aggressive? … and why do we still see this as sexy? Do we really need every little edge we can get to compete with others who are sucked into the same rat race? Let’s be really honest here? Do leopard print Victoria Secret undies say she’s going to be a better mother than, say, white cotton Bonds undies? I know my stomach will be free of claw marks if I go to bed with the Bond’s girl (that’s Bond’s with an S, not Bond Girl). Is it about attracting a mate, or about getting a single dose of sex, or about simply feeling sexy in yourself? Is it more about the image the wearer is trying to give others whom she is trying to attract, or is is more about the personality of the wearer reflected in their choice of clothing?
What are your undies saying about You?
We all know Roberto Cavalli … he’s one of the industry’s Gods … and his offering yesterday for 2011 was right on topic: Milan Fashion Week: Roberto Cavalli channels Cher. Definately some very sexy silhouettes on some really beautiful girls … but do they look like the girl you want to take home to meet mother or the girl you’d first want to sprinkle with garlic just to make sure your head would still be attached to your body in the morning?
In this article on Fall’s topmust-haves …
“The cat is on the prowl,” says Gap spokeswoman Tara Wickwire.
Nothing says fall 2010 like leopard print or, indeed, almost any animal print from python to zebra. You will find it in everything from accessories — skinny belts, silk scarves, gloves, faux fur collars, calf-hair pumps and handbags — to major pieces like pencil skirts, cashmere sweaters and Jacob’s faux fur coat.
“If animal prints scare you a little bit,” advises Claudia Augusti, fashion designer for Plum, “a great belt would be a good way to work it into your wardrobe.”
At least someone gets the bit about scary animal prints (OK so I’m playing with her words a bit) but how on earth does a belt help??? And python?? Do I really want to go out into the dark with a woman who’s trying to say she can crush my ribs into suffocation while staring into my eyes and bemusedly watching me gasp for breath?? Oh come on people?? Sheesh I’m starting to think those cute little Hello Kitty prints that used to say “I’m socially immature for my age” at least still said “let’s stay up all night and play happy games”. OK so some of them are better placed in an assylum but at least you’ll get the chance to put them there!
Jess Cartner-Morley wrote in The lure of leopard print a very honest look at animal print … she calls herself a lepoholic. Yes even the die-hard leopard print lovers still believe you can wear too much of it!
My question at this point is does animal print attract the type of lover you are really looking for? Or are you advertising the wrong message? This question is coming from the same guy who makes microkini patterns freely available on this very blog so I’m not opposed to this type of imagery. I’m just questioning why I’m suddenly turned off by animal prints.
So that’s fur, leopard, snake and oh yeah zebra … this one I really don’t get … why on earth do you want to dress up to look like a horse’s ass??? What is sexy about a zebra?? I don’t care which designer’s name is embossed into the item, he/she is clearly making you look like a fool and laughing all the way to the bank … sheesh, show some self-respect people. I’ll conclude the zebra opinion with this link: Ugly Prom Dress Sighting: the zebra-print prom dress x2.
So I ask you to ponder the question “What are your undies saying about you?”
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Hi Sandra, true leather by definition doesn’t stretch … there are faux leathers (printed embossed pvc) but they don’t stretch that much. Stingray is known to stretch a tiny bit but not consistently.
I would like to make a leather leothard. Is there such a thing as leather lycra with 4way stretch. Please advise.
Hi Liz!
You know I’ve been wondering about the length of fashion cycles recently … how every now and then certain prints, colours and styles come back into or out of fashion … this would make a good blog topic! I’m only 42 but I’ve seen a few things come and go more than a few times. Styles seem to have the longest cycle time, print types the next longest, and colours the shortest cylce … or should I say recycle times. It may well be possible to draw a Sine wave graph of styles, certain colours and certain prints that keep coming up and graph them in some sort of Fashion Biorythm … hence predict what we have to look forward to (or not)in the future. The hard part would be cutting out the effect of those lagging behind the current trends … an interesting experiment anyway!
Part of it may be that “the hot, new” animal prints have become boring. Since the 1960s (or before), every couple of years animal prints are proclaimed hot and new. They may be hot, but they are anything but new.
And when they show up everywhere from the runways to Wal-Mart, those of us on the extreme ends of the fashion spectrum* get thoroughly sick of them.
* By this, I mean 1) those like you, who are interested in fashion and are far ahead of the current trends, and B) those like me, who have virtually nothing to do with fashion except snicker at it. In my defense, I’ll say I’m middle-aged, not slender (though also not fat), hard to fit (why I’m here learning pattern drafting) and don’t work at a job where I have to dress up.
Hi Katherine, good to hear from you again. I also have to confess to once liking animal print, having made enough animal print garments to illustrate a very large coffee table book. What was I thinking? Well I still think leopard print is sexy, but now I’m looking for the appropriate treatment clinic. I love zebras, giraffes and all the other creatures put on this earth (I have a thing for camels!) … I wonder if they’re wishing they could wear a human print garment?
Mostly I’m with you on the animal prints. I also think, that along with tattoos, they have become so mainstream that they have lost their rebel / dangerous edge. However, I do confess a liking for zebra prints. Not sure why. Zebras and giraffes are my favourite animals at the zoo. I think it is their uniqueness and foreigness (is that a word?). And now for confession number two…I have made a dress out of a Cavalli lipstick pink zebra print and I loved the fabric so much that I used the leftovers to make undies. (Check them out here… http://sewblooms.blogspot.com/2010/01/hot-pink-zebra-print.html) So what are my undies saying about me? That I am thrifty and can’t bear to waste fabric…not the usual message sent by animal print knickers!