Woman vs. Wild

I'm not sure if any of you have watched the show "Man vs. Wild", but I have. It's not like I sat down at the TV and thought, "YES, SURVIVAL SKILLS, I'M GOING TO NEED THESE", but I was once dating someone who felt that these survival skills were necessary. Needless to say, several hours of fine quality television later, I learned the importance of bringing a piece of flint with you in order to start a fire, how to create a dry place to sleep in the mangroves of South America, killing fish using a handmade bow and arrow, and, finally, how to properly burn an old tree trunk in order to make a canoe. Are you not impressed? Not that I plan on every really using any these skills, but I did have to watch this significant other attempt to make fire for an hour using some sort of two sticks, one shoe string, and lots of manpower contraption...FYI similar effects of this "mysterious fire" can also achieved by just bringing a LIGHTER or a SET OF MATCHES with you, but there are points in every relationship where you just keep your mouth shut and politely stand by during these moments of 'idiot male mentality'. During all of this survival training, I couldn't help but think that there was a complete lack of appreciation for hunting animals for food, and then strategically using the fur so that at least when you get rescued people will be super impressed with how good you look, and maybe focus less on how bad you smell. I mean the Native Americans were a spiritual people who believed in using "every part of the animal", so I'm just trying to respect nature. I guess it's thoughts like this that make me wonder how cave men and cave women ever got along well enough to continue evolution of the human species; I'm going to chalk it up to cave men having smaller brains.




Lucky for me, there are enough progeny of gay cave men this season who came to realize that revamping the animal print was just as much about getting back in touch with the survival skills of our ancestors as it is about surviving in the jungle of the fashion industry. I had posted earlier about the art of "de-snookifying animals prints", which is a necessary skill in order to still wear all that nature has to offer while not looking like a Ho who gets punched in the face. So I was pretty psyched when I noticed that several fashion designers have chosen to take this season's trend of fun prints, and use animal prints as an inspiration from which to draw upon.




Some of my absolute favorite pieces have come from "TIBI" which is a chic contemporary line started by two women who met while living abroad in Asia. It pretty much sounds like an awesome movie plot, or the life that I would love to live in general. For more info about the beginning and the brands CLICK HERE. Tibi, named after one of the girl's grandmothers, can be found at www.shopbop.com and at www.bloomingdales.com, and I would highly recommend checking it out. The only problem, is their stuff is super expensive (it's ALWAYS super expensive). Since I'm feeling lazy this week because I have a test coming up, I'm going to feature a few more "stealing from Tibi's genius" ideas, so stay tuned!

Tibi "Brooke Draped Dress"
$360
click on link above or www.shopbop.com

Tibi "Cap Sleeve Animal Print Dress"
$368
click on link above or www.shopbop.com

Tibi "Zola Draped Shift Dress"
$266
click on link above or www.shopbop.com

Tibi "Ruched Long Sleeve Dress"
on sale $132
click on link above or www.shopbop.com

Tibi "Zola Draped V Neck Dress"
$322
click link above or available at www.shopbop.com

But then there was a light at the end of the cave, because another famous designer, Matthew Williamson, decided to design a one time line for Macy's that incorporates this similar love for taking animal prints, making them more abstract and colorful, and selling them at a price that allows me to drape my body in animals prints while I sit by my electric fire. The clothes are going fast, so I would check it out ASAP. I would also recommend checking out "Macy's Impulse Store" in general, which can be found found by going to the women's section on the website and clicking on the "Impulse Fashion Brands" link, since Macy's will probably have more designers do a line for them in the future. CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL COLLECTION

Matthew Williamson "Sleeveless Animal Print Ruffle Dress"
$99
click link above

Matthew Williamson "Sleeveless Printed Pleated Dress" in Warhol Leopard Iris
$99
click link above 

Matthew Williamson "Sleeveless Printed Ruffle Dress"
$99
click link above

Matthew Williamson "Animal Print Sheath Dress"
$99
click on link above