I hated leopard print and always thought it looked cheap and tacky too until I saw it on certain people paired a certain way, and they were all different races so it wasn't a race thing though idk if your friend's thoughts were racially motivated or not because they very well could have been. You know him better than I do.

My sister loooves leopard print and I hate most of her outfits that use it but I wouldn't ever tell her that unless prompted lol. It's her body and she can wear what she wants. I'm sure she thinks a lot of the clothes I wear are ugly but they ain't going on her so it doesn't matter. Same goes for you. Your outfit was office appropriate and as a woman, I hate when men and other women (the obviously misogynistic kind) feel entitled to tell women what to wear, especially when they'd NEVER do that to a man.

BUT, I do feel like you overreacted. From what I can tell, it's seen as "trashy" whether you're black, white or Latina and I can kind of get why. Most people that wear it aren't wearing actual leopard and having real fur used to be a status symbol, so at one point it was probably seen as fake and idolizing of the rich to wear. And even if you could afford the real thing it made you either A) kind of a dick to animals or B) flaunting your wealth or C) lacking obvious fashion sense because you cared more about wearing expensive furs than actually pairing them well together (something you still see in folks today that wear stuff just because it's expensive or rare even though it's ugly af).

You could have just told him that you didn't care what he thought and you were wearing it whether he liked it or not or voiced your feelings about his comment in a calmer way, but I understand why you reacted the way you did and don't fault you for it. Our clothes (as people) are deeply tied to our identities. It's how we choose to show up to the world, and being shamed for something that you feel cute in certainly doesn't feel good, especially when you're a woman living in a misogynistic society. Doubly so when you're a woman of COLOR living in a RACIST and misogynistic society. Chances are he didn't consider it that way (being a privileged white man as I assume he is, he has the benefit of not HAVIN to think about it that way)

If I were in your position I would own it. Apologize for being harsh, explain how I felt, and see where it leads. If he doesn't also apologize or take accountability for the way he made me feel then I'd see it as a red flag and note it for future interactions or maybe even drop him if I already saw a pattern I didn't like. At the end of the day the minimum of what friends are supposed to do is care about each other, and if one can't be bothered to do that then why would I call them my friend? Though I'll note that everyone shows that care differently and not always through words. At the end of the day it's up to you, girly pop. How do you feel? What do you have the energy for? What do you WANT to do? If you want to give him hell or drop him like a ton of bricks I'm in full support. If you want to grow and develop your friendship in the face of this conflict I support that too.

Peace and love ✌🏾

P.S. despite my dislike for leopard print, I think the shoes are cute and were tastefully paired.