How this ￡59 skirt became the status buy of the summer
While the humble floral wrap dress has long been recognised for its efforts in making an easy art form of summer dressing, another punchy contender has slipped in at the last minute to steal its high summer crown: the leopard print midi skirt.
We can thank Australian-based Realisation Par for the sudden lust for an animal print skirt: the brands Naomi style threw the leopard midi into the social media spotlight, with everyone from Lucy Williams to Leandra Medine sporting the coveted piece, with the latter's Instagram post in the skirt racking up 30,000 likes. As such, it’s sold out a number of times and is now back in stock on the site in sizes XXS to M, so be quick if you want to get your hands on one.
The brand’s fans include Kaia Gerber, Bella Hadid and Margot Robbie, and it regularly makes light work of creating cult pieces, so while we’re not surprised the Naomi skirt is all over our Instagram feed and constantly out of stock, it has made us realise there's a hole in our own summer wardrobes.
Thankfully for those of us keen to get our hands on something similar, its success has spawned a plethora of copies.
Leopard midi skirt, ￡59, & Other Stories
While we’ve spotted fabulous silky ones at Ganni, and a great little wrap version at Rixo, & Other Stories has pipped them all to the post with a chic and affordable option at just ￡59.
Here's why we've just added it to our virtual basket...
It's universally flattering
Never has one item proved itself so versatile, chic and ageless. As well as being brilliantly cut - the slinky hem falls at a flattering length between your ankle and knee - it has a quirky and eye-catching brighter-than-average leopard print.
The floaty style of it means it nicely skims curves rather than hugs them, and in the current heatwave, we can't think of anything worse than a figure-hugging skirt.
It really will go with everything
Believe it or not, leopard really does act as a neutral, and looks great with everything from brights such as cobalt and cherry red, to marl grey and navy.
Often, particularly with skirts, we'll buy something and have a hard time navigating what to wear on your top half and which shoes will work with the length, but fear not, as the leopard skirt truly is most versatile. Pair it with a cream blouse and black mules for the office (which we'll swap for a polo neck and ankle boots come autumn) and with a grey T-shirt and white trainers for the weekend. The cost-per-wear speaks for itself.
It will jazz up your summer wardrobe a treat
We don't know about you, but we've spent the heatwave wafting around in a sea of creams, stripes and khaki so a pop of print will be a welcome addition to our roster of summer looks. The super-savvy among us will also have this skirt work for summer occasion dressing; a drawstring velvet pouch, satin kitten heels and a silk cami are all you need to take your new leopard number out-out.
Here are 7 others to grab while you can…
Naomi skirt, ￡138, Realisation Par
Wrap skirt, ￡225, Rixo
Masscob midi skirt, ￡350, Matches Fashion
Big cat Grace skirt, ￡135, Lily & Lionel
Maxi skirt, ￡155, Essentiel Antwerp
Pleated skirt, ￡29.99, Zara
Calla silk skirt, ￡210, Ganni