Unleashing the animal within

I’ve always been somewhat sceptical of the animal print trend. The line between chic (Kate Moss) and cheap (Paris Hilton) is dangerously thin, even if you only experiment with a flash of leopard print on your shoes or a whimsical scarf.

Also, for some inexplicable reason, I always thought blondes were the only ones who could pull of leopard print – perhaps I was guided by movie starlets and soap opera actors. Never the less I decided that this winter I would dip a toe in the murky waters of animal print and I was pleasantly surprised that not only did I like it, but it liked me back.

Originally I had intended to go subtle but, I blame the picture of a member of The Saturdays for stumbling out of a club and being papped and featured in Reveal magazine. Her leopard print dress (which turned out to be a playsuit but more on that later) with pearl button details and pronounced shoulders was actually from Primark, above.

At £13 it was the perfect way to try out the trend without breaking the bank and, by accident, I also ended up experimenting with another trend I’d shyed away from – playsuits. That’s what you get for grabbing the hanger off the rack and heading straight to the till instead of trying it on...

I'm saving the playsuit for the festive party season so for now you'll have to take my word for it that, despite the lack of hanger appeal, this is a really flattering garment and a great leap (in the right direction) into the world of animal print.