Leopard print, as we’re always being told, is the ageless wonder print. Pick a decade, pick a name: Jackie O, Blondie, Joan Collins, Alexa Chung; they’re all mad for leopard. We know this but it doesn’t make it any easier to wear. Leopard is not your cosy fall-back friend. It’s the sly, exotic one who will leave you red-faced in the rain if not handled with care. I’ve only ever had real success with a pair of leopard high heels – and even leopard shoes have to be just right or they look too working girl/too cougar/too I’m getting on board the leopard trend (those leopard-print skate shoes). Anyway, it’s one of those raining leopard seasons – so we need to focus.
Rule one: keep it simple. Do as Miranda Kerr and go for one hit of print and keep the rest black or white. A lot of leopard is exhausting to look at, so naturally coats – tailored and, more important, removable – were the big leopard story on the catwalks, from Carven and Tom Ford’s Sixties styles, to Céline, where they were Napoleonic and almost ankle-grazing. On the high street, take your pick from Zara’s leopard-print unlined trench (£99.99) and cropped jacket (£59.99; zara.com) or Topshop’s printed faux fur (£89; topshop.com).
The other big statement was courtesy of Saint Laurent, where filmy leopard-print minidresses were shown under boyish tweed coats with heavy tights and boots (one for the Shoreditch girls). M&S Autograph has done a Sixties turtleneck leopard dress (£59; marksandspencer.com), but for those of us who find all that far too Ready, Steady, Go!, the alternative is a shirt (£42, Topshop) with black cropped trousers. If you can’t do knicker-skimming, then best skip the idea of dresses and skirts: it’s all about short this season.
Next rule: keep it looking modern. That means an abstract print in anything but authentic leopard shades, or, better still, monochrome. This is where Céline really scores (it’s leopard print but without the fishnets and fag ash associations … sharp, fresh and a lot more wearable for everyday life). Mind you, a leopard-print bag (£38, Topshop) or skinny belt (£45; frenchconnection.co.uk) or heels (Office £65) are hard to beat if you want to add glamour to a minimal wardrobe. The other route is undies. Anne Bancroft in The Graduate was queen of leopard (most of it real) but never looked hotter than in her leopard-print half-slip and bra. She was 37, by the way, but playing fortysomething, so we’re OK.