Designing a printed shoe is always tricky. Unless the designer chooses a knee-high boot, shoe real estate is limited and making sure that a pattern is fully realized and visually intact in such a limited amount of space usually makes the whole endeavor too annoying to undertake, to say nothing of the fact that patterned shoes can be a little wardrobe-challenging.

The Elizabeth & James Rinna Booties pull off the patterned look with considerable aplomb, though, and thereby manage to make a very normal bootie shape into something tactile and interesting with the addition of draped leopard print. Animal print functions as something of a neutral, as we all know so well, and these booties are a bit different than most of the leopard shoes we’ve seen over the past several months.

When it comes to leather goods, you usually find leopard printed on haircalf, which makes sense on a certain level and works great for cold weather. Haircalf is heavy, though, and it doesn’t make for a very good winter-spring transition. The silk used on these shoes is not only a welcome respite from the tough fabrics that cold weather brings, but it also gives these shoes a unique quality among their leopard counterparts. You should be able to wear these booties well into spring. Buy through Nordstrom for $395.

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