Further in pursuit of the Big Question for the 50-plus woman about what she can or can’t wear – or more accurately – how she should wear it, our subject is the Leather Skirt.
We are discussing leather skirts because of a feature in a recent edition of The Times Saturday Magazine in which columnist Robert Crampton declared his dislike of Leather Skirts.
He writes: “Honesty compels me to reveal I do not find leather skirts in the least bit sexy. In fact, I can’t stand them. I’d go so far as to say I detest them.”
Apart from flat-out disliking leather skirts he thinks they have about them connotations of the “hooker.” a word which Crampton sort of apologises for: “An ugly word, granted, and yet, surely, in the context of leather skirts, the salient one.”
He doesn’t mention the “A” word (Age) in this context, which is noble of him, but we will mention it, while also firmly refuting his view of the leather skirt as having hooker connotations.
Maybe 25 years ago before the leather skirt became an iconic fashion piece, and maybe in certain styles. In fact, it is when Mr Crampton writes about styles of leather skirt that his carefully crafted arguments collapse. He writes: “Any colour, any style, any length. Your black and your brown, your A-line and your pencil, your micro, your mini and your maxi, your tulip, split, puffball, rah-rah, pleated, flared, hobble…”
Yup he’s done his homework, or at least delved into a thesaurus, but while he may dislike all leather skirts, which he is perfectly at liberty to do, it doesn’t make them all equal in terms of making the wearer resemble a hooker or of being inappropriate for an older woman.
Because the style (together with the length and the fit) are absolutely crucial in terms of whether a leather skirt looks slapper-ish or too young or looks perfect and perfectly on trend.
To return to Mr Crampton’s list of style-options: “Your …A-line and pencil, micro, your mini and your maxi, your tulip, split, puffball, rah-rah, pleated, flared, hobble…”
Generally speaking, A-line and pencil are perfect shapes for leather skirts; a leather maxi is fine but very hard to wear and should only be attempted in ultra-soft, ultra lightweight, ultra-pricey leather. Ditto pleated leather. Flared is basically A-line, but a bit wider and can be extremely flattering. Our case is largely made by the line-up of celebrities (above) who, in our view look sensational, apart from Courteney Cox, whose skirt is waaaay too short…
We do agree that micro, mini, tulip, split, puffball, rah-rah and hobble are all shapes which should definitely be avoided by anyone over the age of 10 and not earning their living as a sex worker…
Styling is also critical… no double leather (so a cloth blazer or a knit/fabric biker with a leather skirt); ankle boots or point-toe flats are perfect; high boots or, worse still, over-the-knee boots plus leather skirt take us back to slapper territory. A classic combo of cashmere sweater- plus-leather skirt is tempting but it’s a bit suburban housewife, so try to keep the look fashion forward with layering…
Do tell! Do you love or hate leather skirts?
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