HOW I STYLE: Leather!
I love Leather! Sexy, sophisticated and with the correct styling it can easily be translated from night to day. BUT, when I originally started buying some leather bottoms in the Autumn of 2011 (for example: leather hotpants, high waisted shorts and trousers) I came Home to find that I in fact had minimal clothes that would go with them.
There has always been a lot of controversy concerning leather, associating the fabric with Rock and Roll, Hookers and the Punk era (a la Vivienne Westwood), but through the help of the Media and Leather returning to the Catwalks in more of a sophisticated style it has returned to our wardrobes. Personally, when I first bought my Leather pants (£20 from Internacionale - as pictured above) my Mother was not best pleased, and that it turn made me a little apprehensive to wear them! Alas, I tried them on and found them relatively tight, yet after walking around in them for a while I began to realise they moved with my body very well and felt more as if I were wearing well-insulated leggings. (despite Leggings being a massive Pet Hate of mine!!!). but they were soon pulled off, as I dreaded sweating too much in them, as in the memorable episode of Friends in which Ross wears leather pants and they stick to his sweltering legs… embarrassing!
After the initial trying on of the Leather pants, they returned to my Wardrobe for about a month, until I rediscovered them whilst hunting for an Outfit for a night out. During their hibernation I bought two separate pairs of Shorts: A high waisted, snake skin printed short with slightly turned up bottoms from Bank (they were £19 in the Sale), and also a pair of smaller hot-pant style shorts in semi-matte black from Select (they were £12): both from Stores I never usually shop in. I found these easier to style, especially during the day as they were both more casual and less ‘in your face’ than the almost shiny full-length pants I’d originally bought!
I paired my high waisted shorts with plain jersey tops, such as a plain white sleeveless and relatively high-collared top from Topshop, a similar shirt with an Aztec style print hand stitched on the front of the shirt in a baby blue also from Topshop: these two were more day time looks and were very similar, I wore them with a high waisted belt to synch in my waist and they were relatively preppy. I also styled the high waisted shorts with quite and infamous crop top from Topshop,with Knuckle head written across it and white tassels coming from the bottom, this slightly showed off my mid rift and so I would wear this either on warmer days or if I was going out. My Hot pants worked in relatively the same way, except I chose either long tops or fitted tops that could be tucked into my shorts, as I got they only stocked them in a size ten, which is slightly too big for me. I liked to wear quite plain or dark colours with these shorts, just as I felt they suited a relatively simple top as they are not as matte as the snakeskin shorts: my favourites to wear with these are a bluey-grey fitted shirt from Zara, buttoned all the way up to the top. Or, a dark grey long line and long sleeved, jersey ribbed top with the seams stitched in navy blue by Jack Wills for a more off-duty, comfortable look! Of course, I paired them with tights and styled them with one of my trusty Cross necklaces to make them a little less plain, also adding either my quilted black gilet or my black fur gilet…..
Styling my shorts in many different ways showed me that Leather actually wasn’t as daring or risky to wear during the day as I thought, and if styled correctly can look brilliant! But I still had doubts concerning my Leather trousers, both for practicality and styling. Then, when I popped into a Local vintage/retro Boutique, called Boutique 73 (who I had modelled for, check out their site on Asos https://marketplace.asos.com/boutique/boutique-73) I found an amazing see through, cream shirt with black trimming and a black collar: made in a heavy chiffon fabric, and I instantly thought it would go perfectly with the Leather pants, so I ended up trying the two pieces on together and finding they worked perfectly, especially if worn with the bottoms turned up (as I always do with any form of trouser) also with a nude bra, hehe! (this look is pictured, I am wearing summer cork wedges that are from the Candies section in Kohls, and with a silver cross necklace made purely out of tiny skulls. my make up is very natural, just mascara, foundation and blush!) I have yet to find anything else to wear with these that fits both the weather and my style, though as it begins to get warmer I may try them with a selection of cropped tops or maybe even attempt a knitted Jumper/Sweater during these colder months, but we shall see!
I shall do a follow up video to this rambling post, to show some of these looks as I am not too great at describing!
But note to self: leather does not have to look raunchy, slutty or in your face: it can very easily look sophisticated or casual.
