Although it doesn't look that way at first glance there is a fine thread bringing these three subjects together.
I'll start with the last, as reading Vanity Fair on the plane from Albuquerque new Mexico to Dallas and skipping speedily through the ads there was no doubt that anyone who likes animal print is going to be wearing it, stepping out in it, cinching their waists with it and carrying it on their arms this season. More about that later.
Santa Fe is somewhere many don't visit, particularly from the UK, it's a heck of 
a journey, and unless you have a specific reason you may well not bother. But it's well worth the effort and almost certainly more scenic than anything you could have imagined, with incredible mountains and sometimes extraordinary weather.
My journey there was one such, punctuated as it was by high winds, sand storms, hail and torrential rain. All within a half hour.
Get that far and you have to have lunch at Tesuque Market.
A great place for star spotting, for tacos, and their famous pork stew, Posole. Tesuque market may appear a strange place for celebrity spotting and fine food, but it's a local institution and famous for miles so don't miss it.
This is not a place you have to dress up for as you’ll see immediately when you arrive, it couldn’t be more casual. Order your take-out here, sit under the awning outside or at one of the much cooler inside tables and expect friendly and speedy service and great local dishes. Chain restaurant Mexican food has absolutely nothing to do with what is served here, other than the names. And by the way, beware of the hot chillie sauce, it’s labeled ‘hot’ for a reason.
Now back in Dallas and 90 degrees+ which the Texans, incidentally, describe as awful weather and don't understand why this Londoner disagrees, I'm back to thinking about the one piece everyone has to have this autumn, an animal print bag.
There's a great deal of python printed leather around, plus the inevitable leopard and zebra. Whichever you choose this has to be one of the best seasons for picking up something right on trend but that manages always stay a classic as well.
These designer animal print darlings are by J Crew, Mulberry, YSL and Stella McCartney
Definitely worth the investment......although you can choose from their much less bank-breaking sisters by Love Moschino, Michael Kors, Biba and Karen Millen.
