How I Wear My Leather Leggings

via 9to5chic.com

It's Trend Watch Wednesday! And we're talking about...leather leggings. Two words that may strike fear into the hearts of women. Two words that also evoke pure joy and excitement in the hearts of me – er, other women : )

I love a good leather legging, boot, handbag, skirt or skinny pant.

I do not love leather biker pants, leather vests or leather chaps, (unless Brad Pitt is wearing them, circa the Jesse James movie.)

Those two items fall into the creepster/carnie category. Remember the carnies at your local county fair? Mine wore leather. They were fashion forward like that.

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I decided way back in the summer that I’d give leather leggings a “go” for fall and, last week, I did just that. I bought mine at Forever 21, because they were cheap and I figured if I hated them, it was only 11 bucks down the drain-o. You can find them below!

Ignore the disheveled appearance...this was taken at 10:30 last night. 

I paired it with my pointy ballet flats with the snakeskin accents and presh ankle straps. They came from Savoir Faire and I’d suggest hightailing it over there and buying them if you know what’s good for you. They were a steal at $35.

The top? A mega-slouchy, long(ish) sweat shirt from Forever 21 in an oatmeal color. I wanted the pants to be the focus on the outfit, you see.

Coated Leggings

(P.S.- Savoir Faire also has a great pair, which I plan to scoop up this week, now that leather leggings and I have established a committed relationship.)

The top? A mega-slouchy, long(ish) sweat shirt from Forever 21 in an oatmeal color. I wanted the pants to be the focus on the outfit, you see.

Let’s take a simple quiz to see if…YOU + LEATHER LEGGINGS = SUCCESS

1. Are you self-conscious about your booty? Leather is meant to be tight. If you’re self-conscious about your legs or bottom, these are not the pants for you.  

If your answer is yes, thank you for playing. You may want to opt for wax jeans, which have a leather-like look, but feel like denim.

If your answer is no, proceed to question #2.

2. Are you familiar with any of the following bands Iron Maiden, Heart or Styx?

If your answer is yes, congrats! Move to question #3

If your answer is no, then you have no place wearing leather – period.

3. Do you prefer skinny jeans or bootcut jeans?

If your answer is bootcut jeans…this is a serious question. If you don’t like how your body looks in skinny jeans, you won’t like leather leggings. So you may want to vie for a skirt instead.

If your answer is skinny jeans…congrats! You and leather leggings may have chemistry.

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Avoid the following pieces when sporting leather leggings:

-Any large statement jewelry with spikes or points. I’m serious, this stuff is “in” right now, but unless you’re going as Billy Idol for Halloween, it will appear a bit over-the-top.

-Avoid leather jackets with leather pants. You'll have yourself a leather tuxedo. Or you’ll look like The Crow. Or Batman. Or any other fictitious character in dark comics.

-Keep the entire rest of the outfit super simple. Go simple with the top, sleek with the shoes and don’t overdo the jewelry. It’s all about the pants with these puppies.

So yeah, leather leggings...a "do" for fall 2012. Try it if you dare.

Be blessed, lovelies-