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Anyone who’s followed me for more than five minutes might have noticed a theme within my wardrobe. I’ve had an obsession with leopard print for at least half a decade, and enough clothes in the print to wear it for a month straight. Probably more.
I’ve got vinyl leopard trousers, vintage leopard mini dresses, leopard print skirts, blouses, earrings, bags – you name it. But one thing I didn’t own until recently was a midi dress in the popular print.
I quite like when you go shopping with nothing in mind to buy. When you go with half an idea of what you want, you’ll go to seven different shops and they won’t have it. However, when I was absent-mindedly pottering around H&M, I gravitated towards a neutral corner where I located this incredible puff-sleeved midi.
Priced at £24.99, it was surprisingly affordable – I find places like H&M and Zara have really inconsistent pricing structures, but its cost-per-wear is already down to pennies because I’ve practically worn nothing else since. The calf-length dress is mostly cotton weave, with a v-neck at the back, which ties neatly into a bow.
Read more: 11 gift ideas for leopard print lovers under £50
The cut is so different from any of the other dresses in my wardrobe, offering a voluminous shape and gigantic puff sleeves for the most incredible silhouette. The sleeves also have a concealed elastic cuff, so you can wear them longer, or shorter and puffier, if you desire. The fabric itself is quite stiff, which is ideal for maintaining the inflation on the sleeves, too.
Adding to the sass is a small slit up one leg, which lends itself nicely to wearing huge chunky platform boots. I got mine from Everything5Pounds and they’re very ‘Goth Spice’ if there was a sixth member of the girl band.
Inspired by Sammi Jefcoate, who’s ‘let’s get dressed’ videos I’m obsessed with, I styled the dress with a leather harness belt, which makes the sleeves look even bigger and adds shape to my waist. I tied in the texture with a leather beret – a must-have this autumn-winter, but perfect for year-round wear – and a black bum-bag style pleather bag, which can be worn across the body, or over the shoulder.
This was quite a grungy look for me, but I love that you can switch up the feel of this look with nothing but accessories, and how you wear it. I love wearing it without a belt for a relaxed look with trainers, or pop a pair of heels on and you’re practically wedding-guest ready.
As a neutral colour-palette, this dress also looks great as part of a cute colour blocking look, matching a bright bag with shoes and accessories of the same shade. I find that shades opposite orange on the colour wheel look best – think greens and blues for the ultimate contrast.
I’ve even seen reviews where people have said they prefer wearing the dress back to front so that it’s a v-neck cut, which is something that I’m absolutely going to try out myself.
How would you style this leopard print puff sleeved midi?
