Where the Wild Things Are

With Halloween barely a week away, I've been thinking a lot about costumes. This year, my husband and I have the privilege of attending a Halloween wedding, where festive attire is encouraged. Despite my best efforts to talk my beloved into a theme costume, he has decided upon Max from the infamous Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak's childhood favorite that was recently adapted for the big screen. And while I will not be dressing as a wild thing, that doesn't mean I can't incorporate a little wild thing into my day-to-day fabulousness.

So where are those wild things, you wonder? Allow me to introduce a few of my favorites--and don't worry, they're friendly...

Within the animal kingdom, I'm partial to leopard print. I love the way the warm golds and browns contrasts against black. I'm especially in love with these leopard print leggings from Marc by Marc Jacobs. As functional as they are fun, they are pictured here with a sporty blazer, white tee, and basic black flats--but could just as easily work underneath a little black dress with a pair of heels, or with a chunky sweater and a pair of high boots. The possibilities are indeed endless. Unlike my man Tim Gunn, who professed his dislike for leggings on Project Runway a few episodes back, I am all about the versatility of leggings. Especially these.

But as you can see, there is more than one way to play the wild card. This stunning animal print dress from Chloé allows you to truly embrace the animal within, while amping up the elegance factor by way of ruffles and silk. As an alternative, Stella McCartney's ankle boots offer a fresh take on zebra print. Made of black and blue canvas, they are nothing if not edgy. With a less-than-sky-high stiletto heel, I envision wearing them with skinny black suit pants for the ultimate in high-power business/fashion.

The moral of the story is that there is a wild thing inside each and every one of us. In the world of fashion, this is fairly standard, but we all know that life off the runway can be a little different sometimes. Not so, in this case--at least, not with an arsenal of animal print in your wardrobe. So now, in the words of dear Max, Let the wild rumpus start!

Images, in order of appearance: (1) Image from Where the Wild Things Are, from Warner Brothers Pictures, 2009; (2) Leopard Print Leggings $68 from Marc by Marc Jacobs, available at Nordstrom (http://www.nordstrom.com/), photo from Cool Spotters (http://www.coolspotters.com/); (3) Animal Print Silk Dress $1,920 by Chloé, available from Net-A-Porter (http://www.net-a-porter.com/); (4) Animal Print Ankle Boots $675, by Stella McCartney, also available from Net-A-Porter.