Now that animal print has become a wardrobe staple, leather is the newest way to give an outfit a subtle edge. At a conference last week, That's Not My Age noticed an outbreak of forty-something women wearing leather trousers and skirts. Call it a micro trend, call it a midlife crisis, call it a momentary lapse in taste. Leather daywear has landed.
Although I'm a vegetarian, I don't go all Stella McCartney when it comes to animal skin. I wear leather footwear and own one leather jacket (an old M&S skinny seventies zip up style), but that's as far as it goes. Now, I'm more than happy to sprinkle a little rock chicery on my fashion plate but ever since my brother came back from a holiday in Barcelona, in his early twenties, wearing a black leather waistcoat - I've been convinced that in a world of leather, the jacket is king. Now, I could be wrong. There's no denying Elle Macpherson looks fabulous in her Isabel Marant Capri pants but let's be honest, she'd look fabulous in a bri-nylon housecoat. To me, leather trousers on anyone above and beyond a certain age scream, 'Look at me - I've still got it!'
I'm a firm believer in wearing what you like, when you like and I do like the leather M&S skirt (above) and the sell-out Isabel Marant pant. But I can't help thinking that there are certain people - Patti Smith, Keith Richards, Carine Roitfeld - who can get away with leather pants and then there are the rest of us. Who really wants to look like a peri-menopausal Good Housekeeping reader having a racy moment? Not me.
Am I getting into a bit of a lather over leather? Would you wear it on a daily basis? People, let me hear your thoughts.
Isabel Marant catwalk photo: style.com