Michael Kors Knows His Animals!

The “cheetah vs. leopard print” debacle has stuck again!  I went to Michael’s today just to pick up a few supplies to finish a current art project I am working on and, as always, I decided to browse a little; possibly spark some inspiration.  In the framing department they had a display of adorable mini-frames, a few of which were on clearance.  I was joyed to see that the metallic leopard print frames were on sale for $1.99 (50% off their regular price) so I grabbed 6 and made my way to the register.  I thought they would be cute to use for one of CCF SoCal’s many upcoming events!  Now, at the register they rang up as “cheetah” (which was not on clearance).  I explained to the cashier that this frame WAS leopard print and that there were NO frames with cheetah print but there were zebra and tiger.  When she called for assistance, I told them if they could tell me which of the three frames they were trying to pull off as being leopard, when, in fact, the ones I brought up WERE leopard, I would purchase them because I just wanted African themed.  But, alas, they could not and they would not honor the clearance price despite their mistake.  The prices posted labeled the three frames as Cheetah, Leopard and Zebra.  1 out of 3 is an "F" Michael’s.  Someone doesn’t know their animals and by not knowing your animals, you’re FALSE ADVERTISING!

National Geographic - Photograph by Beverly Joubert

Cheetah?                                                                 Leopard?

National Geographic - Photograph by Anup and Manoj Shah

If I were to give the average person a picture of a cheetah AND a picture of a leopard, the odds are pretty good they might be able to tell me which is which.  If I were to give them a picture of a cheetah OR a leopard, the odds would go down.   Now, if I were to present them with a picture of their coat….all bets are off!  Michael’s is not the only culprit.  The fashion industry has been getting this wrong since animal print made its way to textiles.  This has bothered me for a LONG time.  On March 10, 2008, I wrote on myspace:

“It's a common mistake which is SO easy to correct but people…never take the effort to correct themselves [to] not look like idiots…because they are only idiots if everyone realized they were, [so] by not correcting their mistake people don't learn [and] no wrong was made based on sheer ignorance of the seer received by the ignorance of the doer.”

So here’s your fashion animal prints lesson:

Cheetahs have SPOTS.  Leopards have ROSETTES.  That unbelievably trendy animal print that everyone has been about raving for years…that’s LEOPARD!  Spots are solid.  Rosettes are not.

SPOTS

ROSETTES

At this moment I would like to give a shout out to Michael Kors.  Not only is he an amazing designer who I LOVE but this man holds a special place in my heart because he knows his animal print!

One-Shoulder Dress, Leopard Print
2012 Safari Chic Collection

One-Shoulder Dress, Cheetah Print
I bought this dress in 2010.