over 40 fashion

Pleather Invasion

One of the key trends this season is leather. A retro trend I covered in my last post – borrowed from the 90s and apocalyptic films like the Matrix – leather has made a stylish comeback. But leather isn’t the most versatile or affordable of fabrics, so cue it’s more pliable and accessible incarnation; faux leather or pleather.

This season, just about every piece of clothing, beyond the obvious skirts and trousers, is available in pleather. Shirts, jumpsuits, shorts and coats – you can literally dress head to toe in it! Moreover, the AW19 pleather invasion includes gorgeous neutral tones, not just the usual black. And technical fabrication advances mean that the material is more buttery soft and leather-like than ever before. Long gone are shiny, squeaky and cheap-looking leather imitations.

There’s an elegant coolness to pleather this season. The look is less dominatrix, more minimalist and utilitarian. Plus it’s practical and warm too. Although I have to say I have so far avoided pleather on my upper body for fear of overheating and ending up a sweaty mess!!!

Pleather cuts and silhouettes are both sharp and refined or relaxed and sporty; there’s so much to choose from. Trousers from jogging style, cropped flares, culottes, paper-bag waists to leggings offer something for everyone. And skirts styles are plentiful too from pencil or A-line midis, to mini and so will suit all kinds of body shapes.

I recently did a mammoth try-on of high street leather trousers on my Instagram Stories (saved in Highlights) and my top 3 favourites (from left to right) were the paper-bag waist style from River Island (also featured in main pic), Top Shop pleather leggings and Mint Velvet cropped flares.

Pleather Invasion