As I worked a shift in a coat check booth long past midnight, a drunk lady shoved a huge leopard print coat through the window. When I told her I admired it—and I really did—she replied, “Yes, it was very expensive. Don’t lose it.” Since that moment, I’ve been unable to ignore how, especially among the students of St Andrews, this age-old print is making its ‘comeback.’
But did it ever really leave? Leopard print has adorned wearers long before coat checks were invented.
One of its first notable advocates was Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. Initially, leopard print symbolized exoticism and the highest rank of wealth. Hunters paid dearly for the chance to claim the lives of leopards in their African habitats, flaunting their pelts as tokens of power and masculinity. It wasn’t until the 1920s that the print began to take on a smoky, feminine reputation, with wealthy actresses draped in the skins of their husbands’ kills depicted in early films.
However, the mass popularization of leopard print through film and television diminished its cachet. By the 1970s, animal rights activism largely curtailed the production of real pelt clothing, leading to the rise of affordable synthetic alternatives. Naturally, as soon as everyone could access the print, its value declined. Wealthy fashionistas understand there’s nothing less elite than sharing styles with the masses.
Leopard print trickled down from rebellious punk musicians to budget-conscious teenagers, swiftly moving from high-end brands to the mainstream. Today, it’s not uncommon to see elderly ladies in leopard print blouses purchased during their weekly grocery run. While some may view this as a loss of culture, I see it as a tremendous victory. Wearing tacky, second-hand leopard print is a glorious two fingers up at the bourgeois, those fat cats who flaunt superiority through the destruction of beautiful creatures.
However, it’s disheartening to witness leopard print creeping back into high fashion, championed by the likes of ‘mob wives’ and Y2K revivalists.
By boasting about the expense of your coat, you’re reverting to the print’s elitist roots. Unless you personally oversaw the killing of the leopard, don’t splurge on a high-end ‘leopard print’ coat. Instead, embrace the squalor of the affordable, the synthetic, the fun.
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