meow: what's all the purring about cat shirts?

roar. meow. prrr. i'm really more of a dog person, although i don't have any pets.

last year, my sis came back from key west with a birthday gift for me they knew i would love hate: a poor-fitting, tourist tee with an obnoxious photo of a cat. it was so "duval street." did i mention that i am not a feline fan?

well a few things have changed since then. including my feelings about the shirt.

imagine my surprise when i started seeing not only lions, tigers and kittens gracing the front of tie dye t-shirts a year later, but that same image from my own cat shirt pop up on my pinterest feed. once a joke, now a hot trend, cat shirts are all the rage.

i don't know why i kept mine, but now i'm glad i did. i'm not one to wear something just because it's "in style" - hence why i don't do round sunglasses, ombre hair or teardrop bib necklaces - but i do like to spice up my wardrobe with pieces that are a little "out there," if only for the reactions. 

that doesn't change the face that the shirt i own is still ugly, so i put my own twist on it. a simple slice of the sleeves and that god-awful "key west, fl" script at the bottom, and now it's fun and frisky weekend wear.

today i'm sporting the new crop top for father's day dinner to remind my dad why he loves this crazy (non)cat lady.   

want your own? you're in luck. urban outfitters has at least a dozen to choose from, plus a number of other animals, even narwhals. 

urban outfitters cat face tee, $2

urban outfitters the mountain kitten face oversized tee, $24

urban outfitters tiger allover tee, $32

or, don't want to spend $14-$32 on a silly shirt? visit enough goodwills and you're bound to find one traded in from 1994.

peacock print update: katy perry wears them too!

as an update to my first blog, i saw that katy perry likes to sport peacock prints too. according to instyle.com (http://ow.ly/2xMk), katy wore this short feather dress with black tights to paper magazine's "the beautiful people party." the dress is from british designer matthew williamson's collection for h&m.

although i normally admire katy's crazy fashion ensembles, i really don't like this particular use of peacock prints, especially with katy's choice of makeup and hairstyle. too many colors going on for me and the dress is not flattering.

peacock prints & snakeskin shoes

animal prints have gone in and out and then back in style again over the years. first leopard print, then zebra, then even cow...but all i wanted for years was to find peacock patterns (those of you who know me understand why...). sure there were a few here and there - feather earrings at urban outfitters and a "proud peacock" shirt at hollister, but that was all i could find, just a few lame pieces.

finally this year i got my wish and peacock prints are popping up everywhere! two of my recent favorites include this betsey johnson necklace my boyfriend gave me:

and one of two feather-patterned dresses from francesca's collections, which i scoped out and purchased during the first few weeks of its opening at cityplace in west palm beach. i like the atypical color palette used in this particular dress, which makes the proud peacock in it a little more subtle:

my other current craze is snakeskin. it's a difficult pattern to work with because, like many other animal prints, it can come across as trashy if it's not done right. with just a touch of it here or there though, it can be edgy or sophisticated.

my favorite python piece of the moment is this pair of shoes, which i snaked for less than $30 from nine west. i love the innocent, double-strapped mary jane style mixed with the daring print and they look stunning with an lbd or a high-waisted, red pencil skirt:

and just for good measure, even though it's a little off the topic of "peacock prints and snakeskin shoes," i had to get in one of my favs for leopard print...i am obsessed with this classic a-line, wool and silk skirt that i bought at 70 percent off from bcbg at cityplace: