I had this paired with a cardigan originally, but let’s be serious:  When you are embracing the animal prints trend, you can’t really hold back.

Or maybe you can.  That’s what I like about it this season — you can go all out with a leopard print dress, or something totally understated like a small clutch or shoes.  And since it’s in style, you get an auto-pass (within reason) out of the “tasteless” label.  So have some fun — you know it’s going to be another 30 years before you can wear this trend with immunity again!

Last week, my post on leather jackets took a little bit of heat because I didn’t include any moderately priced options.  That’s fair — I didn’t.  It’s because I don’t think a leather jacket is a great piece to be cost-conscious with — as I said in the comments, cheap leather is obviously cheap, and at some point it’s just a waste of money.  (And seriously: the Gap has a leather jacket for $300 — it’s just not a cheap thing to make!).

But this trend is a great one to pick a more affordable version of.   The most expensive item I’m featuring is around $100, and there are plenty of cute pieces in the $30-50 range.

So many, in fact, that I couldn’t come close to including all of them in this post.  But, from top left, below, my favorites are:

1) Leopard Print Ballet Flats, $125 from J Crew, available here;

2) Mossimo Supply Co. Odell Ballet Flats in Cheetah, $12.99 from Target, available here;

3) Leopard Cross-Body Bag, $60 from TopShop, available here;

4) My pick, Silk Leopard Top by Rebecca Taylor, $109 at Saks, available here;

5) Animal Print Combo Dress by Aqua, $62.40 at Bloomingdales, available here;

6) Marlo-Print Top by Ella Moss, $87 at Saks, available here.

style: leather jackets

style: little red dress

style: sixties chic

style: rodarte for target

style: casual blazer