Sunday, September 20, 2009

Leather lovin'

One of the current trends that I needed plenty of time to warm up to is the leather craze that's been prevailing for a while and seems to be here to stay for at least a couple of more months. Despite being a huge animal lover, I am not at all opposed to the material per se: I have no qualms about buying leather boots, gloves or bags, and I'm always open to checking out a cool-looking leather jacket or blazer. Who's not?! The studded biker jacket is undeniably a modern classic, at least for me, who flirted a lot with punk rock fashion during my teens. However, however.... that Domina look that is supposedly in style right now - leather rompers, lingerie and even pencil skirts and skintight pants - actually makes me shudder a little. It is in 9 cases out of 10 just way too much and, in my opinion, most often ends up screaming of bad taste and tacky styling. The YSL runway look (pictured right) and even more so Chloe Sevigny in Proenza Schouler (pictured left) are perfect examples of what I mean!

Maybe one of these in-your-face leather getups would do it for me if I was starring in a remake of Madonna's "Open Your Heart" video, or if I worked the whip all day long at The Nutcracker Suite (and then the clothing would be a nice tax write-off, too!), but as it is, I'll gladly pass! Let's please wear leather only on top and our feet/hands, and pretend these awful head-to-toe looks never existed!

There are some exceptions, though, for those who are stylish enough to know how to tread with caution. I do think a leather dress that is long enough not to look slutty and short enough not to give that scary head-to-toe dominatrix impression is a great choice for a night out. For instance, Angelina Jolie looked lovely in her Kors dress at the LA premiere of "Inglorious Bastards" (pictured right)! I believe the key to pulling off her look (other than being ridiculously beautiful with a great body) is to accessorize sparingly... the dress is almost a statement piece in itself and looks best with little to no bling. Worn with an updo, I guess a choker-ish necklace could have come in handy, but I'm a hair-down girl so I'd rather get a good blowout and just let the dress speak for itself - like Angie did!

Other current inspiration: boot at Fendi (on the left) and Angela Lindvall for H&M (below). Note how Angela's cotton tee softens the somewhat tough and bitchy look of the dress - I like it a lot, but am still not convinced it's the kind of style that would compliment me and my looks. However, a piece that I anxiously do think would fit me like a hand in a glove, is the fall '09 biker jacket at Rodarte (below - the one I am always crying over in here as well as in comments on other people's blogs!), or actually, at any model or fashionista trotting around New York C right now -- check out Taylor Momsen and Agyness further below, as well as the awesome snapshot of Belle Franke over at Jak & Jil from earlier today! I am fairly sure this jacket is how I am going to embrace the leather trend, as it's not only easy to wear and style, but also looks fantastic with mini skirts and dresses, which are garments I own en masse and desperately need to mix with some current pieces, so I can stay stylish throughout the season!

Now, for everyone's info, I will probably NOT step out of my house sporting Fendi-esque leather legwarmers, but I am indeed currently experimenting with knitted leggies and big platform pumps (from my closet) reminiscent of those in the ad above, and the results do not look too bad! The knits offer an excellent way to play up the rocker/biker/domina vibe if you're wearing a leather jacket and want to have a little fun with your outfit, or just offset the toughness of it.

I might have to write a blog on those legwarmers soon... but meanwhile, let me just share my love for these stripey ones with little skulls from Discount Dance Supply (on the right)! They would most likely look adorable with a purple knitted dress that I re-discovered today when I cleaned out my closet(s)... not to mention the GUESS faux leather jacket I just purchased, against better judgement! Obviously, I wanted Rodarte, but $4,000ish is a tad too steep for me, so I ended up choosing between these two from GUESS and Forever 21 (below). In the end, however, the former one just appealed to me a little more -- I prefer to be able to accessorize freely, as opposed to being restricted by a miniature minefield of punk chic rocker studs! Also, since I am mostly going to wear my jacket with dresses and skirts, I was very particular about the fit - it needed to be very snug without giving off that "one size too small" look... and the GUESS piece turned out to look like a million dollars on me, while the F21 was kind of blah!
And speaking of blah, I hear there is a similar jacket selling for a nice price at H&M, for anyone who's willing to search rack after rack of unsorted merchandise...! I've seen pictures and it looks great... albeit very difficult to find in NY stores (I tried).

To sum up for tonight, I am super excited about this aquisition and have a myriad of ideas on how to style it... but that will have to be a separate blog entry. Hope you all will have a great Monday tomorrow! xoxox

40 comments:

  1. I love leather!! That dress that Angelina is wearing is super hot!! Great post!

    http://www.hottheels.blogspot.com

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  2. i absolutely agree with too leather is disgusting. when i saw chloe wear a leather jumpsuit, i thought she was a somewhat spy for an extreme mission. and when angelina jolie wore her kor, the hair made a gentle touch to the outfit
    yours truly, C

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  3. leather is so hot right now, especially with studs right? cool blog!

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  4. Great post of leather... I love this material, so special to wear. (and I'm a huge fan of Chloe Sevigny)
    Thks for your comment btw.

    love

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  5. I'm usually a big fan of Chloe AND rompers as well, but this was not her best outfit! :D

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  6. I'm kinda a fan of the leather craze. I'm not too sure I have what it takes to pull of a leather dress, but I do own leather jackets, and love the loook of them.

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  7. Leather , leather and more Leather!! bring it on..i love it!

    One Love,
    Jowy
    www.iseejanemary.blogspot.com

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  8. I'm limiting myself to leather shoes, leather bags and leather jacket. I love the Guess jacket... good choice.

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  9. Thanks for the sweet comment on my blog. :) It lifted my spirits.
    And I just want to say that I absolutely LOVE this post. It's so weird, just last night my boyfriend bought me my first leather jacket. I can't wait to wear it this fall. Maybe if I'm brave I will start attempting the other leather items (mini dress and leggings) too. Hehe. We'll see! :P
    PS. Wanna exchange links?

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  10. I guess for me, I don't like the way leather sounds when you move wearing it.... Weird, I know. :O)

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  11. I'm so glad I'm not the only one with leather on my mind. I'm absolutely dying for a pair of leather pants or shorts - so amazing! :)

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  12. love the jacket! I think leather jackets look awesome with dresses

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  13. I love leather jackets with dress or pants !

    http://mimietnini.canalblog.com/

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  14. I'm at work so excuse any typos (iPhone!)...

    @sugar: I'm so biased when it comes to thigh-highs! I own them in suede but think they work well in leather too as long as the material is not too shiny...!

    @Jennifer: anytime, sweetie! I will add you to my links when I get home tonight and also give you a little heads up on your blog! Can't really read blogs when I'm working since all the pics and collages always freeze my iphone! :D

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  15. Great blog page. :) Also, Angelina's dress was gorgeous. She can carry off almost any look. She kept it simple but still made a statement.

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  16. oh yes! leather is so cool. i love to combine my leather jacket with a flower-printed dress

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  17. i feel a bit guilty sometimes, but I love my leather motorcycle jacket- it's one of the bast fashion investments i've ever made and so timeless.

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  18. That bicket jacket with the scarf is so fabulous!! I need one right now :)
    xoxo
    Giovanna
    www.bohomarket.blogspot.com

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  19. I'm not against leather but with my teenage allowance I don't have too much of it, but I wish i could rock it like some. i have leather pants but I don't look like Kate Moss in them unfortunatly!
    XOXOX
    Libby
    http://fashionconfectionairy.weebly.com

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  20. I love leather too! I actually grew towards it a few years ago and everyone was like "um. leather shorts? what?" and now I'm like "HAHA. BAM, told you they were cool!" haha. Anyways, great post! I agree that too much leather is not a good thing, though! Have to dress it down!

    Thanks so much for stopping by!
    girlwiththebowtie.blogspot.com

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  21. Love leather...but it took me time to warm up to also. I never get tired of my leather jacket!

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  22. i absolutely agree with you on this-- i LOVE leather so much but it has to be styled real well to not look garish or over the top. also i'm in the tropics so i can't always get away with it given the heat and everything:(

    btw, don't mean to sound pluggy but i happen to have a great giveaway going on at my blog. hope you do pop in!

    xxoo
    eden
    http://chicinthetropics.blogspot.com

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  23. I am technically rubbish with leather so do like the H&M pic the best - I like the grey tee with leather it makes the whole thing easy as you said.

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  24. leather love ahhhhh!!!! taylor momsen looks awesome.

    angie xoxo
    http://mintvintagejunk.blogspot.com/

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  25. I LOVE the leather jacket look, I have a cropped biker that I wear to death and I'm more than likely going to invest in the studded Mohan jacket from All Saints come payday. It;s a great look!

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  26. There is no sexier material! I love and I am crazy about over knee boots in black leather!

    About your question, the boots are from here, Brazil. They are from Via Uno. However, I am so sure you can find something as cool as mine in USA!

    Many kisses and thanks a million for being around!
    Kira

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  27. Ah, I see. Well, they are really hot - I should have guessed Brazil right away! xoxox

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  28. I just love that the 80s are back! But we were shopping last weekend and they had an entire rack of leather pants. I was telling my boyfriend, unless I'm a rock star or biker, I see no need for those. One, they're HOT! I burn up in them. Two, they are expensive to get cleaned and I'm one of those that MUST wash my pants every time I wear them, so there's no way I'm doing that!

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  29. Exactly! I forgot about the laundry issue! Plus, I can't think of anything worse than coming home from the club at the crack of dawn and somehow having to get out of those (possibly) sweaty, skintight pants. I guess real rock stars/ bikers never take them off to achieve that worn-in look. :D

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  30. Great post-I love the leather YSL does!

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  31. So funny to come here and read this post after writing mine. I guess leather is in the air!

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  32. love leather....especially angelia in leather...she just pulls it off! :)

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  33. i also love limon, modern dance is so wunderful

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  34. Totally gorgeous post! I neeeeeed that Rodarte leather jacket, or at least a black leather bustier!

    xoxox,
    CC

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  35. You are spot-on with this post Miss Couture, leather is just smokin' hot right now. And this is an excellent post on the topic, sharing great insight for those not as "up" on the topic, or knowledgeable about what is available. .

    Have a fabulous week!
    tp

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  36. i love love love gossip girl. and 90210. they dress better this year. nice post. thanks for the comment too.

    angie xoxo
    http://mintvintagejunk.blogspot.com/

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  37. Wow, your post is Excellent. i like it very much.
    And welcome to my blog .

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