How to dress like a grown up with Shane Watson: Shh! This season’s It bag is just £55

Up until a few weeks ago, I had no interest whatsoever in a leopard-print bag. I’m not a bag person, and my days of wanting to own the It bag of the hour are long gone.

So if you’d said to me, you may find yourself, at the rainy end of March, eyeing up a Saint Laurent leopard‑print bag, I would have hooted. Saint Laurent? Leopard? That’s two impossibles.

And yet, there is a Saint Laurent leopard-print tote — made of recycled cotton and, therefore, surprisingly affordable (£55, ysl.com) —which I now see is that Holy Grail of fashion items, the instant refresher. A smartener and a reviver — the thing that when added to last year’s favourites, gives them a whole new lease of life.

As of now, a dash of clean, simple leopard print — it could be a bag, it might be a coat, a jacket or a pair of shoes — can put a kick in khakis, make black or cream look new and add some welcome disruption to a plain block-colour outfit. It’s never looked sharper or been easier to wear.

Leopard is, after all, just a print made up of black and beige, so it couldn’t be easier to mix in with your everyday wardrobe — once you get over the fact it’s leopard.

There are other animal prints around this season, including zebra — Zara has some good buckled leather sliders (£59.99, zara.com) — but zebra is more graphic and contains a lot more black. Honey-toned leopard is the mellower, more versatile and more flattering-to-the-skin option.

Bags are arguably the easiest way of injecting a block of leopard into an outfit, and either a tote — Zara does a mini leather one (£99.99, zara.com) — or Accessorize’s canvas shopper (£20, next.co.uk) will do the job nicely. You don’t want anything dinky.

Still, if it’s a choice between bag or shoes, I’d go for shoes every time. They’re a classic and make the simplest of outfits — black cropped trousers and a black blouse; khakis and a white shirt; cream trousers and a Breton sweater; a little dress in any colour under the sun — automatically chicer.

The Saint Laurent leopard-print tote — made of recycled cotton and, therefore, surprisingly affordable (£55, ysl.com)

Because leopard print is no longer just for dressing up but for everyday and evening, the best shoes to pick are kitten-heeled slingbacks (£59.99, zara.com), or ballet pumps (£35, marksandspencer.com), which look great with cropped trousers. These particular ones are cut high on the foot and furry textured in a good expensive-looking print. You won’t find any better.

High heels and courts don’t feel quite right now, but if you are wedded to a high heel make it a solid block one.

A leopard-print coat, likewise, is the glamoriser you used to save for after dark. Now you’re wearing it with black trousers (leopard transforms black), or your sky-blue dress, or white or beige trousers. The only thing that can jar a bit with leopard is a print, but if there’s dark brown or a bit of black in the mix and you’re wearing it head-to-toe, you should be ok.

Marks & Spencer does a good long-line car coat in an animal print that’s less leopard more abstract but still works, and it’s waterproof (£59, marksandspencer.com).

High heels and courts don’t feel quite right now, but if you are wedded to a high heel make it a solid block one. Pictured, Anne Hathaway in leopard print

There are plenty of skirts and dresses out there in leopard, too, but they don’t deliver the same uplift. And by all means get a bag, shoes and a coat, but don’t wear all three together. Pictured, Laura Whitmore with a feline accessory

If you want to try a jacket, M&S’s relaxed, ruched-sleeve blazer in the same print (£49.50, marksandspencer.com) is a good length.

You want your jacket this season to be either cropped and boxy, or roomy and long — never in between.

And why not try a leopard belt with your trousers (£22, johnlewis.com)?

There are plenty of skirts and dresses out there in leopard, too, but they don’t deliver the same uplift.

And by all means get a bag, shoes and a coat, but don’t wear all three together.