diff --git a/examples/basic.rs b/examples/basic.rs
index 91e905b..9a5d91a 100644
--- a/examples/basic.rs
+++ b/examples/basic.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-use tracing::{debug, info, instrument, span, warn, Level};
+use tracing::{debug, error, info, instrument, span, warn, Level};
 use tracing_subscriber::{layer::SubscriberExt, registry::Registry};
 use tracing_tree::HierarchicalLayer;
 
@@ -34,6 +34,16 @@ fn main() {
         std::thread::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(300));
         debug!("connected");
     });
+    let peer3 = span!(
+        Level::TRACE,
+        "foomp",
+        normal_var = 43,
+        "{} <- format string",
+        42
+    );
+    peer3.in_scope(|| {
+        error!("hello");
+    });
     peer1.in_scope(|| {
         warn!(algo = "xor", "weak encryption requested");
         std::thread::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(300));
diff --git a/examples/basic.stdout b/examples/basic.stdout
index b43c28e..aafc4b9 100644
--- a/examples/basic.stdout
+++ b/examples/basic.stdout
@@ -1,35 +1,40 @@
-1:mainbasic::hierarchical-example{version=0.1}
-1:main├┐basic::hierarchical-example{version=0.1}
-1:main│└┐basic::server{host="localhost", port=8080}
+1:mainbasic::hierarchical-example version=0.1
+1:main├┐basic::hierarchical-example version=0.1
+1:main│└┐basic::server host="localhost", port=8080
 1:main│ ├─ms INFO basic starting
 1:main│ ├─ms INFO basic listening
-1:main│ ├┐basic::server{host="localhost", port=8080}
-1:main│ │└┐basic::conn{peer_addr="82.9.9.9", port=42381}
+1:main│ ├┐basic::server host="localhost", port=8080
+1:main│ │└┐basic::conn peer_addr="82.9.9.9", port=42381
 1:main│ │ ├─ms DEBUG basic connected
 1:main│ │ ├─ms DEBUG basic message received, length=2
-1:main│ │┌┘basic::conn{peer_addr="82.9.9.9", port=42381}
-1:main│ ├┘basic::server{host="localhost", port=8080}
-1:main│ ├┐basic::server{host="localhost", port=8080}
-1:main│ │└┐basic::conn{peer_addr="8.8.8.8", port=18230}
+1:main│ │┌┘basic::conn peer_addr="82.9.9.9", port=42381
+1:main│ ├┘basic::server host="localhost", port=8080
+1:main│ ├┐basic::server host="localhost", port=8080
+1:main│ │└┐basic::conn peer_addr="8.8.8.8", port=18230
 1:main│ │ ├─ms DEBUG basic connected
-1:main│ │┌┘basic::conn{peer_addr="8.8.8.8", port=18230}
-1:main│ ├┘basic::server{host="localhost", port=8080}
-1:main│ ├┐basic::server{host="localhost", port=8080}
-1:main│ │└┐basic::conn{peer_addr="82.9.9.9", port=42381}
+1:main│ │┌┘basic::conn peer_addr="8.8.8.8", port=18230
+1:main│ ├┘basic::server host="localhost", port=8080
+1:main│ ├┐basic::server host="localhost", port=8080
+1:main│ │└┐basic::foomp 42 <- format string, normal_var=43
+1:main│ │ ├─ms ERROR basic hello
+1:main│ │┌┘basic::foomp 42 <- format string, normal_var=43
+1:main│ ├┘basic::server host="localhost", port=8080
+1:main│ ├┐basic::server host="localhost", port=8080
+1:main│ │└┐basic::conn peer_addr="82.9.9.9", port=42381
 1:main│ │ ├─ms WARN basic weak encryption requested, algo="xor"
 1:main│ │ ├─ms DEBUG basic response sent, length=8
 1:main│ │ ├─ms DEBUG basic disconnected
-1:main│ │┌┘basic::conn{peer_addr="82.9.9.9", port=42381}
-1:main│ ├┘basic::server{host="localhost", port=8080}
-1:main│ ├┐basic::server{host="localhost", port=8080}
-1:main│ │└┐basic::conn{peer_addr="8.8.8.8", port=18230}
+1:main│ │┌┘basic::conn peer_addr="82.9.9.9", port=42381
+1:main│ ├┘basic::server host="localhost", port=8080
+1:main│ ├┐basic::server host="localhost", port=8080
+1:main│ │└┐basic::conn peer_addr="8.8.8.8", port=18230
 1:main│ │ ├─ms DEBUG basic message received, length=5
 1:main│ │ ├─ms DEBUG basic response sent, length=8
 1:main│ │ ├─ms DEBUG basic disconnected
-1:main│ │┌┘basic::conn{peer_addr="8.8.8.8", port=18230}
-1:main│ ├┘basic::server{host="localhost", port=8080}
+1:main│ │┌┘basic::conn peer_addr="8.8.8.8", port=18230
+1:main│ ├┘basic::server host="localhost", port=8080
 1:main│ ├─ms WARN basic internal error
 1:main│ ├─ms INFO basic exit
-1:main│┌┘basic::server{host="localhost", port=8080}
-1:main├┘basic::hierarchical-example{version=0.1}
-1:mainbasic::hierarchical-example{version=0.1}
+1:main│┌┘basic::server host="localhost", port=8080
+1:main├┘basic::hierarchical-example version=0.1
+1:mainbasic::hierarchical-example version=0.1
diff --git a/examples/stderr.rs b/examples/stderr.rs
index 071048c..ab9868c 100644
--- a/examples/stderr.rs
+++ b/examples/stderr.rs
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ fn main() {
     let layer = HierarchicalLayer::default()
         .with_indent_lines(true)
         .with_indent_amount(2)
+        .with_bracketed_fields(true)
         .with_writer(std::io::stderr);
 
     let subscriber = Registry::default().with(layer);
diff --git a/examples/wraparound.stdout b/examples/wraparound.stdout
index 6268580..018cb96 100644
--- a/examples/wraparound.stdout
+++ b/examples/wraparound.stdout
@@ -1,67 +1,67 @@
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=0}
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=0
 1:main├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:main├┐wraparound::recurse{i=0}
-1:main│└┐wraparound::recurse{i=1}
+1:main├┐wraparound::recurse i=0
+1:main│└┐wraparound::recurse i=1
 1:main│ ├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:main│ ├┐wraparound::recurse{i=1}
-1:main│ │└┐wraparound::recurse{i=2}
+1:main│ ├┐wraparound::recurse i=1
+1:main│ │└┐wraparound::recurse i=2
 1:main│ │ ├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:main│ │ ├┐wraparound::recurse{i=2}
-1:main│ │ │└┐wraparound::recurse{i=3}
+1:main│ │ ├┐wraparound::recurse i=2
+1:main│ │ │└┐wraparound::recurse i=3
 1:main│ │ │ ├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=3}
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=4}
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=3
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=4
 1:mainms WARN wraparound boop
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=4}
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=5}
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=4
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=5
 1:main├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:main├┐wraparound::recurse{i=5}
-1:main│└┐wraparound::recurse{i=6}
+1:main├┐wraparound::recurse i=5
+1:main│└┐wraparound::recurse i=6
 1:main│ ├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:main│ ├┐wraparound::recurse{i=6}
-1:main│ │└┐wraparound::recurse{i=7}
+1:main│ ├┐wraparound::recurse i=6
+1:main│ │└┐wraparound::recurse i=7
 1:main│ │ ├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:main│ │ ├┐wraparound::recurse{i=7}
-1:main│ │ │└┐wraparound::recurse{i=8}
+1:main│ │ ├┐wraparound::recurse i=7
+1:main│ │ │└┐wraparound::recurse i=8
 1:main│ │ │ ├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=8}
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=9}
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=8
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=9
 1:mainms WARN wraparound boop
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=9}
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=10}
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=9
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=10
 1:main├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:main├┐wraparound::recurse{i=10}
-1:main│└┐wraparound::recurse{i=11}
+1:main├┐wraparound::recurse i=10
+1:main│└┐wraparound::recurse i=11
 1:main│ ├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:main│ ├┐wraparound::recurse{i=11}
-1:main│ │└┐wraparound::recurse{i=12}
+1:main│ ├┐wraparound::recurse i=11
+1:main│ │└┐wraparound::recurse i=12
 1:main│ │ ├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:main│ │ ├┐wraparound::recurse{i=12}
-1:main│ │ │└┐wraparound::recurse{i=13}
+1:main│ │ ├┐wraparound::recurse i=12
+1:main│ │ │└┐wraparound::recurse i=13
 1:main│ │ │ ├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=13}
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=14}
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=13
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=14
 1:mainms WARN wraparound boop
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=14}
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=15}
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=14
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=15
 1:main├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:main├┐wraparound::recurse{i=15}
-1:main│└┐wraparound::recurse{i=16}
+1:main├┐wraparound::recurse i=15
+1:main│└┐wraparound::recurse i=16
 1:main│ ├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:main│ ├┐wraparound::recurse{i=16}
-1:main│ │└┐wraparound::recurse{i=17}
+1:main│ ├┐wraparound::recurse i=16
+1:main│ │└┐wraparound::recurse i=17
 1:main│ │ ├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:main│ │ ├┐wraparound::recurse{i=17}
-1:main│ │ │└┐wraparound::recurse{i=18}
+1:main│ │ ├┐wraparound::recurse i=17
+1:main│ │ │└┐wraparound::recurse i=18
 1:main│ │ │ ├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=18}
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=19}
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=18
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=19
 1:mainms WARN wraparound boop
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=19}
-1:mainwraparound::recurse{i=20}
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=19
+1:mainwraparound::recurse i=20
 1:main├─ms WARN wraparound boop
-1:main├┐wraparound::recurse{i=20}
-1:main│└┐wraparound::recurse{i=21}
+1:main├┐wraparound::recurse i=20
+1:main│└┐wraparound::recurse i=21
 1:main│ ├─ms WARN wraparound boop
 1:main│ ├─ms WARN wraparound bop
 1:main├─ms WARN wraparound bop
diff --git a/src/format.rs b/src/format.rs
index 2cfd7b9..74ff1f4 100644
--- a/src/format.rs
+++ b/src/format.rs
@@ -42,6 +42,8 @@ pub struct Config {
     pub verbose_entry: bool,
     /// Whether to print the current span before exiting it.
     pub verbose_exit: bool,
+    /// Whether to print squiggly brackets (`{}`) around the list of fields in a span.
+    pub bracketed_fields: bool,
 }
 
 impl Config {
@@ -92,6 +94,13 @@ impl Config {
         }
     }
 
+    pub fn with_bracketed_fields(self, bracketed_fields: bool) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            bracketed_fields,
+            ..self
+        }
+    }
+
     pub(crate) fn prefix(&self) -> String {
         let mut buf = String::new();
         if self.render_thread_ids {
@@ -127,6 +136,7 @@ impl Default for Config {
             wraparound: usize::max_value(),
             verbose_entry: false,
             verbose_exit: false,
+            bracketed_fields: false,
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 6fb97ce..9ffdb56 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -169,6 +169,15 @@ where
         }
     }
 
+    /// Whether to print `{}` around the fields when printing a span.
+    /// This can help visually distinguish fields from the rest of the message.
+    pub fn with_bracketed_fields(self, bracketed_fields: bool) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            config: self.config.with_bracketed_fields(bracketed_fields),
+            ..self
+        }
+    }
+
     fn styled(&self, style: Style, text: impl AsRef<str>) -> String {
         if self.config.ansi {
             style.paint(text.as_ref()).to_string()
@@ -177,23 +186,21 @@ where
         }
     }
 
-    fn print_kvs<'a, I, K, V>(
-        &self,
-        buf: &mut impl fmt::Write,
-        kvs: I,
-        leading: &str,
-    ) -> fmt::Result
+    fn print_kvs<'a, I, V>(&self, buf: &mut impl fmt::Write, kvs: I) -> fmt::Result
     where
-        I: IntoIterator<Item = (K, V)>,
-        K: AsRef<str> + 'a,
+        I: IntoIterator<Item = (&'a str, V)>,
         V: fmt::Display + 'a,
     {
         let mut kvs = kvs.into_iter();
         if let Some((k, v)) = kvs.next() {
-            write!(buf, "{}{}={}", leading, k.as_ref(), v)?;
+            if k == "message" {
+                write!(buf, "{}", v)?;
+            } else {
+                write!(buf, "{}={}", k, v)?;
+            }
         }
         for (k, v) in kvs {
-            write!(buf, ", {}={}", k.as_ref(), v)?;
+            write!(buf, ", {}={}", k, v)?;
         }
         Ok(())
     }
@@ -238,20 +245,26 @@ where
             name = self.styled(Style::new().fg(Color::Green).bold(), span.metadata().name())
         )
         .unwrap();
-        write!(
-            current_buf,
-            "{}",
-            self.styled(Style::new().fg(Color::Green).bold(), "{") // Style::new().fg(Color::Green).dimmed().paint("{")
-        )
-        .unwrap();
-        self.print_kvs(&mut current_buf, data.kvs.iter().map(|(k, v)| (k, v)), "")
+        if self.config.bracketed_fields {
+            write!(
+                current_buf,
+                "{}",
+                self.styled(Style::new().fg(Color::Green).bold(), "{") // Style::new().fg(Color::Green).dimmed().paint("{")
+            )
             .unwrap();
-        write!(
-            current_buf,
-            "{}",
-            self.styled(Style::new().fg(Color::Green).bold(), "}") // Style::new().dimmed().paint("}")
-        )
-        .unwrap();
+        } else {
+            write!(current_buf, " ").unwrap();
+        }
+        self.print_kvs(&mut current_buf, data.kvs.iter().map(|(k, v)| (*k, v)))
+            .unwrap();
+        if self.config.bracketed_fields {
+            write!(
+                current_buf,
+                "{}",
+                self.styled(Style::new().fg(Color::Green).bold(), "}") // Style::new().dimmed().paint("}")
+            )
+            .unwrap();
+        }
 
         bufs.indent_current(indent, &self.config, style);
         let writer = self.make_writer.make_writer();