How to Style Animal Print — Resort Wear Edition

Animal print has a reputation for being bold, which makes people either love it or avoid it entirely. The reality is that animal print is one of the easiest prints to wear — it behaves like a neutral, pairs back to almost anything, and looks intentional with minimal effort. This resort wear edition covers everything you need to know about styling animal print.

Treat it like a neutral

The most useful mindset shift: animal print is a neutral. A classic leopard or snake print pairs back to black, white, camel, olive, rust, and navy just as easily as a solid. This means your animal print kaftan or tunic works with more in your wardrobe than you think.

The rules that apply to wearing black apply here too — keep the rest of the outfit simple and let the print lead.

One animal print piece per outfit

Unless you're intentionally doing a mixed-print look (which requires confidence and a good eye), keep to one animal print piece per outfit. If the top is printed, the bottom is solid. If the dress is printed, the accessories are understated.

A full-length animal print kaftan or dress is a complete outfit — add block heels and minimal jewellery and you're done. Adding more print or pattern competes rather than complements.

Colour within the print matters

Not all animal prints are the same. A warm-toned leopard print calls for different pairings than a cool-toned snake print or a bright abstract animal print. Read the dominant colour in the print and use that as your guide for accessories and footwear.

Warm prints (gold, rust, tan, brown tones) pair with gold jewellery, camel or tan footwear, and earthy bags. Cool prints (black, grey, white, green tones) pair with silver jewellery, black or nude footwear.

For resort and holiday wear

Animal print performs particularly well in holiday contexts. The print reads as intentional in beach and resort settings where bold colour and pattern are expected. A kaftan in a statement animal print works from beach to bar without changing — the gold sandals at the beach become appropriate for sundowners too.

Pair with a solid stole in a colour pulled from the print for cooler evenings.

What to avoid

• Competing prints — floral with leopard reads as chaotic, not stylish
• Overly matched accessories — an animal print bag with an animal print top looks costume-like
• Too many colours in the rest of the outfit — let the print be the statement

Browse the full animal print collection or explore tribal prints and abstract prints for related options.

Best animal prints for Indian skin tones

Animal prints vary significantly in their wearability depending on the colour palette within the print. Classic warm-toned leopard — amber, caramel, black — works particularly well against Indian skin tones, which generally have warm or olive undertones. Snake print in earthy tones (olive, sand, rust) is equally flattering. Cooler animal prints — grey-toned leopard, blue-tinted snake — are less universally flattering and require more thought in how they're styled.

Scale matters: smaller prints work better for petite frames; bolder, larger-scale prints suit taller or fuller figures. When in doubt, go medium scale — it photographs well at every distance.

Animal print for resort and holiday wear specifically

Resort wear is the context where animal print is most at home. A leopard-print kaftan on a beach is one of the most reliably excellent outfit choices that exists — it works in strong sun, photographs beautifully against water, and requires no thought to style. The key is choosing the right ground: a silk or georgette animal print drapes and moves; a stiffer synthetic in the same print reads as costume.

For the pool and beach: animal print cover-ups over black or nude swimwear. For sundowners: an animal print kaftan with simple gold jewellery. For an evening out: a co-ord in an animal print with understated accessories — the print is doing enough.

What actually to avoid with animal print

Multiple animal prints together — the thing most people already know to avoid. But there's a subtler mistake: pairing animal print with other statement prints. A leopard-print kaftan with a boldly printed bag or heavily embellished shoes creates visual noise. Keep everything else in the outfit clean — the animal print should be the only thing competing for attention. Solid gold or silver accessories, simple sandals, and a neutral bag are the correct formula.

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