Leopard.
Yes I can see the eye rolling from the husband if I were to even mention this concept but ya boo sucks to you big man, it is.
Every season, it cements its place more securely in the Hall of Neutral Fame. Up there with black, camel, navy, grey and (I would go so far as to now add) khaki - leopard is a must have that you can wear all year round.
It's such a neutral shade, it's often my go to for teaming against a stripe or a print (at this point the husband is practically frothing at the mouth with disapproval).
And as I'm sat here watching the rain hammer down, with the family watching a re run of Toy Story 3, I am perusing new season stock online and leopard is what is coming up trumps. A great buy always and I am comfortable in now saying - a classic. (daren't read this out loud to the husband for fear of him tipping into full on Exorcist head spinning mode).
The obvious place to start is with my beloved (for the moment anyway) maxi and this I have fallen hook line and sinker for.
Somerset by Alice Temperley Grey Animal Print Maxi Dress £160
And they also do the same print in a shirt which may be better if you're not into full on all over leopard (although if not, why not...?!)
Somerset by Alice Temperley Grey Animal Print Shirt £69
Another eminently wearable blouse now - for work, for play during the day or out at night. With jeans, with leather - oh I LOVE this.
Sister Jane Double Layer top with heart leopard print £54
Or in for a penny, in for a pound? If this were longer on me I would adore it. Ideal to wear now with ankle boots but into the Autumn with opaques this would be useful on so many occasions. Dear Topshop. Please please could you do this in a Tall?
Leopard Print Ruffle Dress from Topshop £46
Two piece now - super useful to mix and match. Wear as a dress or wear separately.
Baum Und Pferdgarten Ermina Sweat Top in Leopard print £69 and the skirt, also £69
Red leopard now in a tee from River Island. This would look so amazing with a whole host of black. Just to ring the changes. Would also look amazing with grey.
Red leopard print boyfriend tee from RI £20
Shirt dress now from New Look. Apparently this is a maxi.. I'm assuming they mean it's maxi shirt as opposed to a maxi dress....
Mela Brown Leopard Print Maxi Shirt Dress £28
And now don't all yell at me (it's raining....) but one of my best buys last year was my fur coat that I snagged in the sale from Per Una of all places. It rocks.
This year, get in early and for Autumn, these are perfect.
Leopard Print Coat from Topshop £85
Slightly controversial but some may find easier to wear - a monochrome version so still as neutral as the brown version. An easy to wear transitional jacket.
Leopard pattern jacket from Mango £49.99
Knitwear now and more monochrome with a hint of red from Chloe.
Leopard print wool sweater from See by Chloe was £240 now £108
Although - it would definitely be the polo neck that gets my vote...
Leopard print wool turtle neck from See by Chloe was £260 now £130
But possibly the easiest leopard addition to your wardrobe is in the form of a scarf. Mine I've had for 9 years now. And I wear it and wear it and wear it every year. One of my best buys ever. If I were to buy one now, it would probably be the cashmere scarf from hush - and even more worth it with 10% off using the code KAT10 (off everything from hush for readers of the blog only so please don't share this elsewhere!).
Leopard Cashmere Scarf £159
And of course I couldn't not mention shoes.
I had a pair of skater shoes in leopard that I actually wore out. First pair of shoes I have worn out since I was about 10 I think.
Leopard Print Sneakers £35.99
Great leopard options from Seven Boot Lane.
Their classic Flame slip ons in a new this season leopard print.
Flame Leopard slip on sneaker from Seven Boot Lane £135
And the grey version - the Jaguar... simply gorgeous, again £135 from Seven Boot Lane.
Or another easily wearable pair of flats from good old M&S.
Leather Leopard Print Pumps from M&S £35
Heels now and I have to say - these from Boden. Simply swoon. And with 20% off using the code A3G8.
Wave mid court from Boden £109 pre discount
Boots now and these are simply gorgeous. Even more so with the 20% off....
Zip High Heel Boot from Boden £129
More ankle boots from Seven Boot Lane in perhaps a more manageable heel height. I also love the lower cut at the front - I find much more flattering when wearing with trousers. It works wonders in lengthening your leg.
Grace Leopard Leather Heel Boots £165
And completely raging that they don't have these in my size as I genuinely did a little gasp when I saw them and thought YES. I'm splurging. Only to find they're not in my size. WEEEEEEEEEEPS.
Fitz leopard print calf hair from Tabitha Simmons were £875 now £350
And now I need to go and google every which way I can to find those Fitz boots. I fear I may have left it too late... On the upside, I do definitely know that another pair of every day (and I would so wear those every day - perfect heel height) leopard boots is a must. I do have a pair - the M&S wedges which I got for £29 in the sale three years ago which I wear so so much except that they're slightly too high and are looking (unsurprisingly) slightly the worse for wear. Although considering they're not even leather, they pretty much owe me nothing.
So that's me on a leopard print ankle boot hunt. My Friday night sorted.
In the meantime, I shall leave you with my outfits from the last couple of days.
Black shirt dress - & Other Stories
Embroidered Jacket - Penneys (Primark)
Buckle boots - Toga Pulla
Red Soho Disco Bag - Gucci
And here I am the other day when I went to Kildare Village with my lovely lovely friend Helen who writes the blog The Flaky Fashionista (and our two little ones who got on like a house on fire in spite of the 5 year age gap and meeting for the first time. A friendship founded on fashion is clearly a good thing). Yes I did find something to come home with. Which I wore the very next day - always the sign of a good purchase.
Red dress - M&S
Onyx Jacket - hush
Sneakers - Air & Grace
And here I am in my new jacket which I bought from Gerard Darel. 120 Euro down from 520. I have had zero success in finding a shrunken vintage looking track top (funny that) so this is the next best thing. In fact, it's a much better thing going into the Autumn. Perfection in buttery soft leather in my favourite colour of the season. This isn't even a great photo. This is when we're dashing to leave for the airport.
Embroidered Maxi Dress - Zara
Burgundy leather jacket - Gerard Darel
Copeland Trainers - Air & Grace
And in the leopard.. to prove the longevity of this print, I have had this coat for coming up to four years now. It gives me as much pleasure to wear it as the day I bought it. A complete classic. And that's not something I ever thought I'd say about leopard!
Breton tunic - H&M
Leopard coat - Fenn Wright & Manson
Black skinny jeans - Boden
Gold Kipper loafers - Kurt Geiger
Red Soho Disco Bag - Gucci
We are finally home and boy, is it lovely. Except I seem to have brought the rain back with me. I am hugely sorry - just hanging out till Tuesday when it looks like wall to wall sunshine. Can't. Wait.