I have always loved leather. Real leather. I remember Mum and Dad buying me my first leather jacket while we were on a day out in Chester. I think it was from Lakeland Leather. I thought it was beautiful – a blouson style in ivory – it was the 80s remember. In sixth form I got a beautiful black, bat-winged sleeved blouson jacket (still in the 80s) from Whittakers in Bolton. I got it nicked the first time I wore it. Gutted.
My taste in leather has hopefully evolved but my love for leather has not changed. You cannot beat real leather. There are some good pleathers on the market and I have a couple of pairs of pleather leggings in my closet, but they just aren’t the same…sorry PETA.
I had a great pair of AllSaints leather trousers for a few years but with my constantly fluctuating waistline they didn’t hold their shape well. My glutes are non-existant and I always felt like I had a saggy arse in them – not a good look. They went to a good new home via eBay last year. Since then I have been looking for another great pair of leather jeans – jeans meaning they must have a button and fly, no elastic waists, plus patch pockets at the back – essential for giving shape to that saggy arse.
So, as I mentioned, I stumbled on a pair of J Brand moto leather jeans in Neimans the other day and I had to take the opportunity to try them. Thinking about them, I cannot stop (Yoda eat your heart out). I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about J Brand leather – J Brand, Helmut Lang and Theory always seem to top the lists. No wonder – they are breath takingly beautiful. I started with a 29″ with crossed fingers, holy smokes Batman they were too big! The 28″ was perfect on the waist – there is so much stretch in the leather it’s certainly worth squeezing into a size down as they will give. For the record I take anything from 27″ to 30″ in jeans depending on brand, and I’m normally a US6 in Zara trousers. Now the only issue with this style was the seam that runs across the top of the knee – sausage links sprang to mind. Still for those of you with no squidge above your knee they are stunning, and less than $1000 – my absolute limit for leather jeans, which yes is still shit loads, but think about what you can spend on a handbag.
Having fallen in love with the J Brand leather and now knowing my size I have found what I consider to be the perfect style. Fly – check, pockets – check, zippered ankles – check, zero sausage casing seam – check. Here they are – I SO want them.
They also come in grey which I think is stunning.
Compared to J Brand these AllSaints leather pants are almost cheap at $525 (all sense of reality and magnitude becomes warped when looking at items with 3 figures behind the dollar sign), but for me they don’t quite do it as they are missing that all important back patch pocket. AllSaints are well known for their leather work so worth checking out for almost half the price of the J Brand jeans.
So what do you think – is real leather a colossal waste of money or worth the investment?
As for my attire over the past couple of days I am completely in my comfort zone again – back to being a brunette – I really do have more fun as a brunette, and certainly feel more comfortable, almost radiant:) To celebrate the visit back to the salon I embraced my favorite color palette – black, black and black.
Boots – Newbury suede boots // Trousers – Zara coated chinos // Sweater – Uniqlo men’s cashmere crew neck
And the result….a very happy brunette.
Last night we went out for dinner with dear friends – totally amazing night, 4 hours of great conversation, 1 glass of champagne, 4 bottles of Tempranillo, 5 courses, 1 amaretto and a taxi cab home.
Totally chaotic in my bedroom and closet due to the ongoing packing debacle – please excuse!
Leaving on a jet plane tomorrow so please continue to follow me on Instagram till I get back online with my shopping exploits in the UK – mwah!
Poppy's Style 