Boho Skirts and Leopard Print : What influenced the fashion comeback?!

Pull out the print, she’s making a comeback!

To my 90’s girlies we all remember obsessing over The Cheetah Girls and their amazing sense of fashion … or that’s what we thought at the time. Sorry to break it to you girls but we weren’t the first and we certainly won’t be the last to give leopard print its “time”.

Centuries of Chic!

Leopard prints style (or more like the real deal) dates back to the Ancient Egyptians. Animal hide was often worn by goddesses, and this idea of animal hide being a representation of luxury, femininity and decadence stayed with the fashionable print right up to the early 20th century.

The first designer to use the print (not real fur) on the runway was Christian Dior in 1947. The words of the designer are quite on point “If you are fair and sweet, don’t wear it!” During the 40s and 50s the trend continued to make a statement with fashion icons like Marilyn Monroe shifting the ideology of the print to a more Glam one with quite a burst of sexual provocation. Seems as time went on it swayed more on the latter side, I mean we all remember Kat Slater from Eastenders right!

“If you’re fair and sweet, don’t wear it!”

Christian Dior

How to style it?

Now, go back trough your vintage and get out your leopard print because she is back with a vengeance! The current trend has to be my favourite, who doesn’t love a touch of red?! Red bow, red shoes, maybe even a red bag! Go for it girl and don’t forget to be EXTRA fierce and top it off with a bright red lippy!

My current wardrobe obsession and yes OBSESSION! has to be boho maxi skirts! The main reason is the comfort level they provide to a busy girly like my self! They are super easy to style and dress up or down however you like! In 2022 the boho chic style slipped through the cracks once again and we are so blessed for it!

As a teen growing up in UK we often were told that the boho skirts derived from the Romani Clans in the 19th century, however there are different beliefs regarding this style. Some people even give credit to the free spirited hippies of the 60’s! Either way the intent was clearly comfort first unlike many of styles!

Styling the stars!

In the 90’s fashion icon Kate Moss’s wardrobe was predominately Bohemian style which gave the trend a huge boost! Many other stars like Lisa Bonet, Sienna Miller and the Olsen twins also nailed the look!

Is it a lack of innovative thinking or some 90’s babies got creative and thought of this bright idea? Fashion trends are changing at the speed of light in the volatile time of Social Media. So, have you heard of the hemline index?! According to this theory, skirt length rise or fall along with stock prices. So knowing that longer skirts are currently becoming popular once again, and the theory suggests that skirt lengths get shorter in good economic times and longer in bad, should we be pinching the pennies?!

Something I have realised lately is that we are so fast to jump on all the latest trends, throw so much money into fast fashion, when the smarter thing would be to invest in quality accessories (a good belt, bag or statement jewellery)to style different outfits uniquely. An example would instead of buying different pieces of clothing and then even more clothing (5 different tops) to try to create a variety of styles.