THIS SEASON'S MUST HAVE - LEOPARD PRINT

This season's must-have fabric is definitely animal print - there is just so much of it in the shops at the moment.  While I haven't bought anything new, I have raided my wardrobe to find pieces which will see me through the Autumn/Winter trend without actually spending any money, which means none of these clothes are currently available!

The coat (above) is lightweight, so perfect for Autumn, and surprisingly, came from Tesco.  I have teamed it with black, so a black tee and black smart trousers, as always from Marks and Spencer - similar here.  The black ankle boots are also mock-croc and came from Faith (similar here). 

Animal print has to be accessorised carefully, since we don't want the Bet Lynch look (for non-UK readers, she was a barmaid character in the long-running soap Coronation Street - famed for her leopard print wardrobe).

Red or pink are two favaourite go-to colours for accessorising animal print, so I've gone for red with this red scarf, also from Marks' and a red and black leather bag bought in Greece.

Black always goes well with leopard print too, (and I'm dodging the rain here in this shot), so I am wearing leopard-print trousers with a black linen shirt to keep it simple - but I have snuck some red with the lippy!!

The trousers are again from Tesco bought some time ago, and the shirt is one I've had for years, but there are several similar ones in the shops.  The long necklace was from a local boutique, which keeps the overall look casual. The chunky watch is in fact a FitBit which was a birthday gift from my daughter (need to keep my steps up!)

I'm not a fan of wearing dresses - though I do love a pretty frock for a dressed up occasion.  Here's a more casual one I rescued from the back of my wardrobe and which I may wear for work in the winter months, teamed here with thick black tights and heels, but would look ok with knee-length boots.

Since it isn't a "dressy" dress on its own, I have accessorised with chunky pearls to try and liven it up a little - and of course the red lipstick!

All the shops are now displaying their new stock, and you can find almost any kind of animal print - leopard, ocelot and even zebra so it's great to find your own style and see what works for you.

But I think I may have to stick with trousers!