How to Wear Animal Print, From Leopard Shoes to Zebra Trousers

Leopard is the print people swear they can't wear, usually just before they buy a leopard coat. It has come back so many times that "back" stopped meaning much a while ago. What's different for autumn 2026 is the company it keeps. Leopard is still the favourite in the AW26 trend reports, but zebra and tiger stripes are pushing in next to it, and the softer spots (deer, cow) have turned up on faux fur jackets everywhere from Mango to Primark.

So here are five ways to wear it, in order of nerve. The first is a shoe you could hide under a trouser hem. The last is a pair of zebra trousers you very much can't.

What colours go with leopard print

Look at what leopard print is made of: camel, toffee and a brownish black, sometimes on a cream ground. Those are the colours of a trench coat, tan boots and a black jumper, which is why it slots into an autumn wardrobe more easily than a floral ever will. The trick is deciding which of its colours you're picking up. Echo the black and the outfit goes sharp. Echo the camel and it goes soft and warm.

Denim is the easy one, and dark indigo looks better than a faded wash. Oxblood is richer (our guide to autumn's reds covers which shade does what). Bottle green is my favourite and the least expected. On paper leopard and green shouldn't work. On a person they look like you knew something nobody else did.

1. Start with leopard shoes

If you're not sure, start at your feet. A leopard court shoe or ankle boot does the job of a neutral shoe, so it goes with black and with denim, and it gives a plain outfit one thing to look at. Put it with straight jeans and a black roll neck and nobody will call it a print outfit. Kitten heels and slingbacks keep it smart. Faux suede boots are the version for wet pavements.

2. Wear a leopard shirt or jumper with plain separates

One step up is a leopard top under something solid. A leopard blouse looks best with the most boring trousers you own, black or grey and wide in the leg, with a black blazer over it. Classic tailoring that's misbehaving slightly is my favourite kind of tailoring. A leopard knit does the same job at the weekend. If brown makes you look tired, grey and cream versions of the print are worth hunting for, and a green leopard is the fast way to try the green idea above.

If you'd rather keep the knit plain and put the print somewhere else, the knitwear under £50 edit has the jumpers to build around it.

3. Make the coat the print

This month's autumn jacket round-ups lean hard on animal print: tiger, deer spots, snakeskin, leopard in velvet, cow print with a Western edge. They mostly give the same advice, and it's good advice. When the coat is the print, keep what's underneath plain, so dark denim, a cream or black knit and boots. A leopard faux fur over that is an outfit. A leopard faux fur over a floral dress is a negotiation.

Length changes the mood more than you'd think. Cropped and boxy reads 60s, especially over a mini and tall boots. Long and belted looks like it belongs to someone with a lot of sunglasses.

4. Wear a leopard midi dress from day to night

A long-sleeved leopard midi is the hardest-working animal-print piece you can own, because it changes with your shoes. Trainers and a long coat on a Tuesday. Once it properly turns cold, add a fine roll neck underneath and knee-high boots. For a night out, sheer black tights and a heel. Wrap and shirt-dress shapes are the easiest to wear; satin ones dress up further than you'd expect.

Leopard and black lace have been friends for a long time, and if you want to take the evening version darker, our gothic glamour guide goes all the way down that road.

5. Try zebra print instead of leopard

Zebra is being tipped as leopard's successor this season, and it's an easier sell than it sounds. It comes in black and white or brown and cream, so it behaves more like a stripe than an animal. Trousers are the best way in. Straight or wide, with a black knit and a camel coat, zebra looks graphic rather than wild. A zebra midi skirt does much the same with a jumper and boots.

Wearing two animals at once is allowed if you mean it. Leopard shoes under zebra trousers work because the colours line up even though the prints don't. Keep everything else solid.

Where to start

Animal print doesn't need getting exactly right. Leopard has been around so long it's closer to a wardrobe staple than a trend. Start with one piece, wear it with the plain things you already have, and add the next one when you want more. Prices and stock move quickly once the weather turns, so if something here catches your eye, don't sit on it.