Cheryl Shops

One of my favorite coworkers used to say "prints are personal," and they are—I love stripes, plaids, and the occasional tie-dye but have a hard time with florals, paisley, and anything abstract. But when it comes to animal prints, leopard is always a yes in my book. I joke that leopard is a neutral (it's made up of neutral colors, after all), but in my opinion, it's one of the most versatile prints around. Here are my favorite ways to wear it. 

OUTFIT DETAILS: Ganni coat | Everlane cashmere turtleneck dress | Cuddl Duds leggings (c/o) | Mango bag | Jimmy Choo youth boots 

Ermigahd, how is it August already! Spring seemed to drag and now we are blitzing through summer, which is actually fine with me, because I can't wait for autumn. September and October are generally the warmest, clearest, most glorious months here in San Francisco, but first we have to make it through Fogust. And in case you were wondering why I'm wearing a coat (albeit a lightweight one) in the middle of summer, that's why. Generally, it's foggy until midday, at which point the sun comes out for a few hours, then by mid-afternoon, the wind picks up and the fog rolls back in. And now that you know way more about San Francisco's weather conditions than you ever wanted to, let's delve into the outfit. 

Kate Moss has been my style icon for as long as I can remember. She's only four years older than me, which makes her the perfect age to idolize—she's old enough for me to look up to, but close enough in age that we're of the same generation. While some may criticize her for not evolving her style over the years, I love that she remains true to herself and doesn't feel the need to "dress for her age." At 45, Kate looks just as cool and sexy as ever. She also has some go-to outfit formulas, and a Who What Wear story dissecting one of them, Kate Moss has been wearing the same outfit for 15 years, inspired this post. The two key pieces are a leopard-print faux fur coat and a little black dress, but I made a few adjustments for winter (and the fact that I don't roll around in a chauffeur-driven car like she probably does). Here's how I recreated one of Kate Moss's most iconic looks.

Remember The O.C.? And Laguna Beach, the reality show it inspired (which then led to The Hills)? I always think of those shows when I visit Orange County, where my boyfriend's mom lives, which is funny, because I've found it to be nothing like any of them. It's just a sunny stretch of southern California—yes, it's wealthy, but it's pretty laid-back for the most part. It just kind of feels suburban to me. The nice part, though, is that along the coast, the weather is perfectly temperate—even when it's blazing hot in the rest of Los Angeles, it's usually somewhere in the 70s with a cool breeze in Huntington Beach, where we shot these photos. Thus, my outfit is usually some combination of summer and fall. This is the first year in awhile that we won't be spending Thanksgiving weekend down south, but if we were, this is what I'd be wearing.

As I mentioned back in December, I've been looking for a leopard-print coat for what feels like forever, and this is a problem of my own making, because I'm very, very picky about my leopard prints. I also didn't want a faux-fur coat (I already have one, and it's rarely cold enough in California to warrant it), which really narrows one's options. I'd had my eye on a particular Ganni coat as a contender, and when it went on sale at Net-a-Porter, I jumped on it. And I'm so glad I did, because I've been wearing it pretty much nonstop. For those of you who don't believe leopard is a neutral, I'm going to try my best to convince you.