We all buy clothes, but no two people shop the same. It can be a social experience, and a deeply personal one; at times, it can be impulsive and entertaining, at others, purpose-driven, a chore. Where do you shop? When do you shop? How do you decide what you need, how much to spend and what’s “you”? These are some of the questions we’re putting to prominent figures in our column “How I Shop.”

Though it’s never truly gone out of style, leopard-print is having a major nostalgia-fueled moment these days. The animal pattern has been a mainstay in pop culture for decades, but arguably reached its peak in the late ’90s thanks to stars like Fran Drescher in “The Nanny,” Patricia Arquette in “True Romance,” the women of “The Sopranos” and, perhaps most significantly, Mel B of the Spice Girls — a.k.a. “Scary Spice.”

With girl power at the center of the Spice Girls’ ethos, each member visually embodied their specific take on what it meant to represent a strong woman. As “Scary Spice,” Mel B took on the most literal personification of strength, almost exclusively wearing the prints and patterns of the jungle’s most formidable species. While the resulting looks contributed to some of the most influential fashion moments in music, there was a deeper meaning for the singer beneath all the glam.

“It made me like a tiger,” Mel B tells Fashionista. “It was me saying, ‘Don’t mess with me.'”

The star says her affinity for the distinctive aesthetic started in her childhood, rooted in a desire to embrace fierce femininity at a young age.

“My dad used to be a massive fan of a television show called ‘Coronation Street.’ It’s very much a Northern daytime TV drama thing. I remember I saw this woman behind the bar and she always had some kind of leopard print on. So, I asked my mom, ‘Why can’t I wear leopard print?’ And she was like, ‘When you get older, maybe you can.’ So I had that stuck in my brain. As soon as I was allowed to, my whole entire wardrobe was filled with little bits of leopard print.”

Once she was in the band and the time came to select her signature aesthetic, the decision was easy and completely organic.

“Believe it or not, I was loving life whenever I put my Spice outfit on. We got to choose whatever we wanted to wear. We didn’t really have a stylist in the beginning. And when we did have a team around us, we were very much still authentically ourselves.” 

About 28 years after the Spice Girls made their instantly iconic debut, Mel B has no regrets about her sartorial choices. 

“Leopard print has luckily been the one thing that I was addicted to and I still am. It never seems to go out of fashion. Even though my kids say I’m vintage now, my fashion’s come back in style. So, I’m glad that I stuck with something so timeless.”

Below, the ’90s idol and “America’s Got Talent” judge talks splurging on full Jean Paul Gaultier collections, sharing catsuits with her bandmates, her secret to wearing stilettos for hours on end and the looks she loves most from her career.

“I was influenced a lot by Neneh Cherry and her oversized rugby shirts. I liked how she was very mixed-race and proud. She had a big pregnancy belly and embraced her curves.

“I was a dance competition girl from when I was nine to 17 years old. My mom used to hand-make all of my costumes. She would make some really beautiful embroidered beaded tops with flares. I was kind of [obsessed] with the fact that you didn’t have to buy something from the high street. You can actually make it, and it will last if it’s made well. From there, I tweaked every outfit so it didn’t always look the same when I wore it twice and the third time and the fourth time.

“When I got into the Spice Girls and we started earning money, a lot of designers started throwing their clothes at us. I was very fortunate to have Vivienne Westwood just want me the whole entire time. Only I was allowed to wear her stuff. She was like, ‘I don’t want any of the Spice Girls wearing my stuff — apart from Mel B.’ I was so honored.

“I got really into Jean Paul Gaultier. I used to buy more or less his whole collections. I still wear his stuff now. He had the patterns and the comfy clothes, the see-through stuff. Everything was a bit stretchy or mesh material, so it was fun to mix and match. I’ve had a blast with his stuff.

“I very much like figure-hugging [silhouettes] — comfortable and stretchy, so you can breathe. I’m a big fan of low-rise bell-bottoms, too.

“When [the Spice Girls] did our first Brit Awards, I wore this multicolored red, yellow and bronze little thing with a matching bra. Like a full-length dress. I’ve still got that.

“My kids call me a bit of a hoarder. But I’m like, ‘You know what? You are going to want to borrow it someday.’ And my 26-year-old is doing just that. I bought a lot of Plein Sud stuff, which is really good quality. I still have a jumpsuit that Emma [Bunton] and I bought together that still fits me. The material is amazing to this day.

“[Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood and Roberto Cavalli], are my go-to [brands] without fail. There are also some new, up-and-coming designers I like.

“I find a lot of stuff on Farfetch. To be honest, my fiancé is like a guru stylist. So he finds me things all the time and sends them to me. He’s really good at that kind of stuff.

“1stDibs is also great. I like it when shops have pre-owned [product] too.

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“I do not like shopping [in person]. If somebody said to me, ‘Let’s go shopping all day and we’ll have brunch,’ I’m not going. I’m not going to find the right thing, then I’m just going to buy something for the sake of buying it. So I’m more of an online shopper. Taking the clothes off, putting them on — it’s a lot of work.

“I recently bought this pink, short, sparkly dress by Balmain. It’s got shoulders that are kind of crazy. But it’s all leopard print. I also bought some stretched knee-high leopard print boots.

“I always buy my heels half a size bigger, because by the time you’ve walked around in them, even if it’s for five minutes or five hours, your feet swell. You’ll enjoy your life so much better and you’ll want to wear them longer.

“I’m obsessed with evil eyes, so I either have evil eye earrings, evil eye necklaces or evil eye rings on. It never goes out of fashion and it’s there for protection. I’ve got a lot of them in my house, too. I just think it gives good energy and it prevents anything bad from coming your way. That’s what I believe.

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