Who doesn't love a fun animal print?   Cheetah looks great on shoes, belts, scarves, and just about anything. The best part is the variations and colors you will find on just about every accessory.

It never gets old!  Which is your favorite, Leopard, zebra, tiger, or cheetah?  Animal prints are often confused with one another because they are so similar in families but are very different cats.  Meow!  I found a fascinating book on Cheetahs and it inspired me to share the history with you.

Since ancient history, cheetahs have been admired the most amongst wild cats.  This is due to their tremendous speed and beautiful coats.  I have wondered how this distinct pattern came about and why it is almost always known as a fashion print.

Cheetah print seems to come and go in trends but always remains as a well known fashion print.

The cheetahs name comes fom a Hindi word, chita, meaning spotted one.  Approxmately 2,500 years ago the cheetah was kept as a trained hunter and a companion to emperors.  The Egyptian pharaohs regarded the cheetah as a royal cat goddess that gaurded the afterlife.

Akbar the the Great of India had over 3,000 cheetahs.  This began its symbolism of royalty and has stayed true to its form.

The cheetah is an unusual member of the cat family, which includes large meat-eating cats like lions, tigers, and jaguars. The cheetah's spotted coat is short and coarse with white hair on its belly.

The cheetahs tail has four to six rings toward the end with a bushy white tuft at the tip.

A unique charactersitic of the cheetah is black lines on its face that look like tear stains.  These black markings help the cheetah to see the bright glare of the sun, and help to hide the cheetah in the tall grass.

Cheetahs slender build and small head have two features that are very different from other large cats.

Animal print became popular for women in the United States in the late 1960s during the Bohemian movement.

Cheetah print has made its way through several years of fashion without much change.  It goes through color transformations and pattern variations but remains recognizable as cheetah.

I scan store aisles to find notebooks, pencils, folders, and love finding anything cheetah.

A little animal print always makes boring things so much more fun.

Animal prints have become a staple in almost every wardrobe and adored by all ages.  Whether you have a closet full of cheetah or secretly buy animal print band aids.  Animal prints play a large part of style evolution and they won't be going anywhere!