Over recent years, the popularity of leather trousers has spilled out into the sartorially-sound elite, with the fashion-forward up and down the country shrugging off their humble everyday jeans in favour of adopting the buttery-smooth trews.
Long have we loved the leather jacket - and even the leather blazer - for its ability to upgrade a look and create a more elevated ensemble, and leather trousers offer the same ‘zhuzhed’-effect. Not only are they durable, they’re also versatile in their ability to be both a statement piece or blend into a cold-weather outfit with ease. Dressed up with heels and chunky accessories to create an edgy feel or thrown-on with a cashmere cardigan, t-shirt and trainers for an of-the-moment, day-to-day uniform.
Leather-on-leather
If you’re a long-time leather trousers convert, you’ve likely mastered the art of curating your closet to suit the piece and are ready to ramp things up. The good news is, just like double denim, the leather-on-leather look is one fashion editors and our sartorially-savvy cohort are adopting with increasing fevour. Adding a leather shirt for a matching look can be softened with a soft-textured coat or cardigan, while layering up colour and texture with the addition of a leather chainmail bag can give any leather-based ensemble a playful feel. While leather shoes can really round off the look, serving to highlight the structure of the trousers and neatly tying the material into a different style. A leather-on-leather look is about playing with your own boundaries, as well as exploring the versatility of the medium to help create an attention grabbing outfit that isn’t afraid to stand up for itself.
Luxe weekend casual
Though leather trousers can, at first, seem as though they belong in the well-dressed ranks of the party ensemble (and they do), their great, and perhaps untapped joy, is their ability to seamlessly blend into a casual off-duty look with ease. Adding softer tones and textures give leather trousers or jeans a more feminine feel, helping to create a cosy, comfortable outfit that will move with you from a brunch to beer garden or an exhibition to a crisp stroll. Pairing leather with shearling is a particularly impactful mix, with the two textures playing off each other to make each feel simultaneously more bold and more measured. Add a wooly coat and a heeled animal-print ankle boot for a pop of pattern and you’ve got a weekend look that will play just as hard as you do.
Party season
The festive party season is in full swing and though many of us will take a brief hiatus over Christmas itself, the celebrations resume for the New Year. Not to mention, the copious events peppered throughout our calendars next year, from birthday soirees to intimate gatherings and demure date nights that turn into dancing the night away. In short, as far as we’re concerned, party season never really ends, and your leather trousers will match you step-for-step, memory-for-memory as you go. Adding sequins to a leather look is a simple way of pulling two trends together, not to mention that the reflective trousers create the perfect base to help sparkles shine even brighter. Add diamantes for extra festive sparkle and a double-breasted blazer (another worthy investment) to pull the entire ensemble together.
Workwear
As the true comfort and versatility of the leather trouser has dawned on society’s sartorially-minded, the idea of hiding them away for evenings or weekends has become a task of near impossibility. Their durability against all weather types, their ability to flatter all figures and their seemingly endless multifunctionality are too good a fashion-find to lock up during the week. Not to mention that when paired with a satin shirt, a pair of elegant heels and a wool coat, they’re as workwear-appropriate as any other dress or trouser combo. Keep the shirt loosely tucked to counterbalance the tighter fit of the trousers and soften the look with a smart pair of flattering, floral slingbacks. Finally, a stiff-collared coat completes the softer-structured look and can be used to diversify the colour palette.
