One of the popular recent trends to accentuate your fall wardrobe is to complement your style with animal print shoes. Animal print flats can add that extra ommph to a lack luster casual outfit. A great spin on this theme is to take a walk on the wild side using zebra print shoes to jazz up that favorite evening outfit.

You do have to walk a fine line on this “wild side” of you to avoid having the unintended effect of looking tacky. Showing good taste by not going overboard with the animal print theme is critical. Being selective and somewhat subtle about pairing your ensemble with animal print shoes is essential in pulling off a look that exudes fashion forward and not chintzy.

Rule number one in this style balancing act is to avoid mixing animal prints that could be perceived as looking costume-like. For instance, be sure not to over do it by combining a leopard print skirt with leopard print shoes. This point is really driven home in a scene from the Mel Brooks’ movie “High Anxiety” in which the character Victoria Brisbane (played by Madeline Kahn).She arrives in the scene dripping in animal print from her jumpsuit to her car to her purse.Even thought this animal print fiasco is over exaggerated, it makes a very good case for how this style can be overdone.

So to avoid any resemblance to this fashion disaster, a good practice would be to build your outfit around your animal print shoes. For example, animal print heels may present a clear direction to go with a classy black pencil cut skirt combined with a collared blouse and finished off with a red chunky waist belt. This is a classic example of how the wardrobe could change your look from trashy to classy. Other prints demand that you combine them with muted colors in earthy tones. Making your shoes the foundation of your outfit will create the desired effect.

The same rule applies to accessories here. To keep it simple is to keep it elegant. Too much print emphasis with purses and shoes will only serve to clash with each other. Although the idea with animal print shoes is to stand out from the crowd, you want to do so in a classy, confident style.