GO HELL FOR leather!
If Theresa can do it, so can we all, says SANDRA HOWARD
LEATHER trousers conjure up visions of something skintight, a little flashy and ever-so-slightly squeaky. Think Dorien from Birds Of A Feather, or Bet Lynch behind the bar in the Rovers Return. Certainly not appropriate attire for a 76-year-old Tory wife. And yet here I am in a pair — and they couldn’t look more elegant.
They slide effortlessly over my hips, the buttery soft leather hugging my body without clinging or wrinkling.
Once on, they hang so beautifully that I instantly feel taller, more polished and more elegant.
I feel, I imagine, a little like 60-year-old Theresa May did when she wore al pair of these leather trousers — by the designer Amanda Wakeley, and priced at almost £1,000 — for an interview this week.
I absolutely love the autumnal colour and the perfect cut and the leather is extremely soft. I also appreciate the long length, which makes me look taller.
Once, a woman in middle age couldn’t wear leather without looking like a cougar, or worse, an ageing rocker.
But as the Prime Minister demonstrated, leather trousers have finally come into their own. Now, they can be fashionable, chic and flattering, which is music to my ears for I’ve long had a secret soft spot for a pair of leather trousers.
While in my youth I’d never have dreamed of donning a pair of spray- on leathers — I simply didn’t have the confidence, despite being a sought-after model — I found myself wriggling into a beautiful pair a few weeks after my 60th birthday 16 years ago.
I’d been feeling a little low about my milestone birthday, and my husband Michael encouraged me to treat myself.
I fell in love with them as soon as I saw them: a skinny, tapered pair in a fabulous snakeskin print. They looked like something Kate Moss might wear . . . but that didn’t put me off. Quite the opposite.
THESE trousers were as far from frumpy sexagenarian as you could get. They fitted perfectly, flattered my behind and made me feel fabulous. And Michael was rather keen on them too, if I remember. I wore them for years and still have them somewhere in the attic — they were far too expensive to throw out. But I have to admit the style has dated, so I’m only too keen to snap up a pair of this season’s new modern styles.
We have come a long way since the only way to do leather was black and shiny.
The beauty of the latest leather trousers is that they allow a mature woman to make a fashion statement without looking like she’s come dressed as Olivia Newton- John in the finale of Grease.
Of course, not all leather trousers are made equal. Pick the wrong pair — too tight, too shiny, too embellished — and you might end up looking like mutton dressed as lamb, an ageing biker chick, or a dominatrix on her lunch break.
Luckily, this season’s leathers come fashionably straight or widelegged. They don’t have to be black, but are made in an array of smart, softer hues, from navy and burgundy to green.
And then there’s the clever helping hand your figure gets from modern stretch leathers, which slim hips and thighs rather than adding bulk, as traditional heavy leathers did.
However, when it comes to leather trousers, I do believe you get what you pay for. The cheapest versions I tried, made from fake, plastic leather — or ‘pleather’ as it’s dubbed — rarely cut the mustard.
An H&M pair for £24.99 would look great on a teenager, but felt far too thin and skimpy for a mature woman.
The High street does have plenty of mid-priced pairs I’d consider adding to my winter wardrobe, though. Jaeger has a soft, smoke-grey pair with a quirky, very widelegged cut — great for lounging in, although I did feel a bit like a skateboarder (£399, jaeger.com).
But the best buy this season for a mature woman is a £550 Reiss pair. I do have to pull a little harder than I’d like to get them over my hips, but they fit perfectly and the navy colour is very smart.
I’m not sure my budget really stretches to these, but I’d love to receive them as a gift. And when Michael saw them, he admitted that they look great, so perhaps they might find their way under my Christmas tree.
I can see myself in them for a pub lunch or a city stroll, matched with a cashmere knit or a silk shirt. You couldn’t look more elegant — or less like a tattooed biker — in that ensemble.
There is definitely no age limit when it comes to wearing leather trousers and absolutely no need to look like mutton in them.
Anything goes these days, as long as you have the right attitude. You just need to have lots of energy and to be young at heart.
Who knows? I might just have to dig out my old snakeskin pair from the attic and see if I can give them a new lease of life.