NYFW is over and while the shows were amazing, I find myself almost as fascinated with what people are wearing to the shows. Every night after the babes are asleep, I scroll though my Instagram feed ogling over all the street style looks taking mental, and sometimes physical, notes of outfit ideas I want to try.
For me, street style is more helpful in the current sense…meaning it gives me inspiration on what to wear now vs. the Spring / Summer shows which are all about next year. By 2019, I will have a third child, so I’ll be rocking the messy bun / yoga pants look for at least 8 months….potentially the rest of my life.
Many of the ‘influencers’ attending these shows are wearing the latest from designers. Awesome for them, but as y’all know, I prefer a more budget and eco-friendly alternative. More often than not, I can replicate a look with items already in my closet. I bet you can too. If I can’t find what I’m looking for there, look no further than your local second hand store.
I can almost guarantee you already own one of my favorite trends spotted trotting all over the streets of NYC last week (and on the runway too) – animal print. You might be thinking, this was out? I guess it was never really out, but it’s never been quite as in as now….unless you count the 90s or when we used pelts for actual warmth and lived in caves.
The key to any new trend (because a trend is rarely ‘new’) is to somehow make it look fresh again. In this case, I saw head to toe snake skin suits, mixing of a leopard bag with zebra dress, tiger stripe sunnies, and even a classic snake skin accent piece used worn in an unexpected way.
I ran sacked The Hunt Shop closet and pulled out some animal print pieces and tried to give them some new life…
Look 1 – basic animal print dress
This dress is Merona and definitely not maternity, and thus it sort looks like a long shirt. I love it because the print is really bold and almost cartoon-like (oh and it was $5). We’re usually inclined to put on tights or just shoes with a dress. I obviously need more coverage, but even if you don’t, try a pair of jeans for an unexpected combo. I thrifted these Gap maternity ones for $3. About a minute before I snapped this pic, I cut the hem off for a cooler length – it’s very convenient that raw hems are still a thing.
I wanted to add another animal element, so I’m carrying a faux alligator patent leather bag ($7). This has been such a great staple in my wardrobe. It has been to weddings, date nights, etc. Animal print makes me want to wear a lot of bangles, buuuut bangles drive me nuts, so I tied this vintage silk Echo scarf ($2) around my wrist.
I stole one more NYFW trend, a pop of red, and added these beaded earrings – this is the only thing I’m wearing that wasn’t thrifted. I finished the look with some nude heels (never worn, $12), because I’m a big fan of the juxtaposition of casual pants and fancy shoes. Boom, I’m ready for dinner.
Look 2 – mixing animal prints
I love the bold head to toe animal print look. If you have a snakeskin suit, first awesome, and second, now is the time to rock it. If not, now is the time for layering. I have to admit, when I first saw street style pics of people wearing more than one animal print at a time it made me uncomfortable. The more interesting combos I looked at, the more it grew on me.
Plus, layering is a great way to make two boring items look interesting. Take this Oh! Mommy maternity blouse that was given to me by a friend. I’m not a huge fan, but I like black and white, and well, I need maternity clothes. I’m wearing a pair of thrifted (NWT) Ingrid maternity jeans that I hunted for $5. Now, if I stopped there I would look like every other pregnant suburbanite. Since we are going for a look here, we have to keep going.
I decided to add this vintage giraffe shirt dress ($8) and it started to become a look. I know mixing prints can be scary, but it’s pretty easy working with neutrals. Just start trying things together until you find something that doesn’t make you cringe. I finished the look with some thrifted black and white Vaneli slides ($3) and a gifted Philip Lim black tote.
Look 3 – oversized and casual
Talk about making something out of nothing. Both of the dress and jacket have been in my ‘give away’ pile at some point in their lives. Actually, they were successfully tossed by whoever owned them before me. I thrifted them, and since I’ve owned them their fate has been in limbo at least once. I’m glad they made it out of that pile at least for another season.
So the dress isn’t exactly animal print, but it has that vibe. The brand is Boohoo and if memory serves me right it was $6. This gold necklace thing is actually part of the dress. I almost tossed it because the straps are weird. To remedy that, I added this Gap oversized army green jacket. If you’re going for oversized, really go for it. This is an extra large.
To make it interesting (and to try to copy some of the leg action I saw at fashion week) I tied the hem in a big knot. I’m living for these platform loafer-ish shoes that I thrifted for $10! Finally, I threw on some gold hoops. I almost didn’t include this look in this post, but I think it’s actually my favorite now.
Look 4 – a touch of snake skin
There was a TON of snake skin at NYFW, and it was used in expected ways. That’s how this outfit came about. I fought my urge to pair it with something black or white, and I ended up layering it over this Target dress and jacket. I don’t think I would’ve come up with this had I not been inspired from my fav bloggers, so thank you!
I’m in favor of anything that adds versatility to my clothes, and this belt (along with the jacket) takes this lil sundress right into Fall. Also, wearing it over vs. under the jacket make it a little more interesting. The dress wasn’t thrifted, but everything else was. I hunted this wide leather belt for $2 (brand unknown) and this casual Target khaki jacket for $10. I tried it with with both block heels (thrifted for $12) and white sneakers (had to buy these new, sorry!), and both work.
Look 5 – statement jacket 
Hands down the easiest way to look like you tried (when you actually had only 5 min to dress yourself) is just to throw on a statement jacket. Summer in Alabama has prevented me from pulling out this trick…until now.
I thrifted this Club Monaco trench in Chicago for $15 and it’s TO DIE FOR. It’s one of those pieces that makes any outfit look good. In this case I threw it on with some se7en maternity jeans and a Kohl’s white tank.
Another trend at NYFW was flashy fabrics during the day. To play off that I put on these silver loafers ($8), and a Fossil brown cross body ($50) with a gold chain – ALL THRIFTED!
And there you have it – 5 cute and current outfits that cost basically nothing. I promise if you just look at your closet with some new eyes, you can come up with some of your own. Good luck!
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