How to Wear Animal Print Maxi Dresses

Wearing animal print maxi dresses may seem daunting, but these simple style tricks will help you don a bold and daring outfit like a pro.

Animal print is a severe and very challenging print to wear. It’s something that can make you look highly fashionable and stylish if done right, but can also make you look like a disaster even with a very tiny mistake.

Wearing a little animal print piece, such as an accessory, is easier to handle than wearing a huge ensemble like animal print maxi dresses. But this shouldn´t stop you from wearing one. You don’t need to be a celebrity or a model to perfectly pull off a fabulous animal print maxi dress. All you need is finding the right dress and knowing how to wear it right.

So before you put on that gorgeous animal print maxi dress, consider these tips:

See: How to Wear Animal Print

Table of Contents

Choose the right dress

It’s important that you pick the right animal print maxi dress for you. You’ll have to consider the shade that flatters your skin color, the patterns that would work for your figure, the style and the cut of the dress, as well as its fitting.

You must be comfortable with the cut. By being comfortable I mean that the dress should flaunt your assets but still allows you to move easily and confidently. The print shouldn´t subdue you. You want to wear the print instead of it wearing you.

This monochromatic animal print maxi dress is my favorite. It´s silk so it´s very soothing to the skin in summer. It also has a layer of ruffles on the chest and bodice which allows me to wear this spaghetti strap dress confidently despite my rather flat chests. I chose this maxi dress because it flatters my slim figure.

1. Choose the right accessory

It’s important that you choose the right accessories for your animal print maxi dresses. After all, it’s with the accessories that girls easily commit mistakes. The colors must jibe with the print. If you choose to match, make sure the accessories have finer prints.

See: 11 Ways to Wear Animal Print to Work

Animal print comes in different variations. The tiger print, for example, usually comes in bigger patterns with light brown as background shade.

The leopard print is much more fierce and darker. The zebra print usually comes in diagonal/stripe patterns of dark brown or black and white, and there are even more creative colored animal prints such as dark pink, purple, and more.

Jennifer Lopez’s animal print cut out maxi dress behind screams fashion with matching accessories

3. Use colored accessory or jewelry to accent your animal print maxi dress.

The thing is, you must know how to play with colors.

This is Serena’s daring animal print combination featuring a Jenny Pacman maxi dress. By adding some bright sequined accessory to the outfit, the look was quickly elevated to something playful and modern.

When in doubt about the right shoes, better stick with plain dark brown or black for shoes and bags.

Loving the idea of maxi dresses yet? Don’t feel limited by the amount you think you should own! There really is no such thing as too many maxi dresses, as long as you shake up the look between different dresses. Keep the bold prints and loose sleeves for going on holiday – obviously to the beach would be first choice! If you need to hit up a more refined, and dare I say, conservative look, pick a plain black or white formal maxi. There honestly are as many maxis as there are reasons for wearing them.

4. Try out a mini maxi dress.

Choose the length that perfectly goes with your personality or that´s appropriate for the occasion. If you feel intimidated by a long animal print maxi dress, then go for a mini-maxi dress. Showing more flesh can tone down the fierceness of the print. Make sure that your footwear complement your dress.

15 Creative Ways to Mix and Match Animal Print

Pick a shimmering pair of silver or gold strapped shoes because it has the ability to demand attention, automatically shifting the eyes from the dress down to your shoes.

Model Jessica Stam bared more skin to tone down this animal print maxi dress.

If you feel intimidated by a long animal print maxi dress, then go for a mini-maxi dress. Showing more flesh can tone down the fierceness of the print. Make sure that your footwear complements your dress. Pick a shimmering pair of silver or gold strapped shoes because it has the ability to demand attention, automatically shifting the eyes from the dress down to your shoes.