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After the bikini cut off question (how old is too old?), the big one we’re still wrestling with is: at what point do you have to retire the leather jacket and/or trousers?
The answer is very simple: it’s not about a fixed date in time, it’s about retiring the leather you used to wear 30 years ago. There’s only one rule when it comes to leather: don’t, unless you’re prepared to do it completely differently.
That means no to the sort of leather trousers or jacket you find behind a mic at a rock gig, or on a motorbike; it means no to biker jackets, car coats, skin-fit leather pants, or flares, or the hardwearing Chrome Hearts sort.
If you’re wearing leather now you’re moving out of the rebel, Kate Moss hot zone and going for either a sleek, sophisticated yummy mummy look (think buttery leather straight-leg trousers and a luxey merino wool sweater) or a kind of new Parisian look (wide-leg trousers with a little cropped jacket). And you’re trading in your black leather jacket for olive or beige suede. Edgy bohemian, Out, relaxed and affluent-looking in.
You’re wearing your leather trousers now as you would a favourite pair of jeans with an oversize shirt or that luxey loose-fit sweater. You’re wearing your jacket to the office with tailored trousers – and it’s not a biker any more.
The good news is that this is a huge season for leather so the high street has battled to bring down the price of the real thing (leather trousers normally retail upwards of £300).
No surprise that M&S is out in the lead with a chic cropped-at-the-ankle straight style in black (£200, marksandspencer.com), which will look elegant with bare ankles and slingback low kitten heels come the spring, or now, with close fitting pointy boots.
It’s the neat cut (always go for a fly front and a high waist) that puts these at the top of the list, but it’s the natural glossiness of the leather that makes them smart enough for office or evenings.
There only rule when it comes to leather is don’t, unless you’re prepared to do it differently – no more of the kind of leather trousers or jacket you’d wear at a rock gig (Hailey Bieber pictured)
Slightly more affordable (£150, 2.hm.com), H&M’s straight-leg style is longer, so better to wear with loafers or trainers.
On the wide-style front, John Lewis has a much reduced pair (£124, johnlewis.com) as does M&S (£199), both in dark brown, arguably the softer option if you’re wearing this much leather.
Real leather has the same advantages as real wool or silk – it sits better, feels better against the skin and has a sheen that elevates other fabrics, but of course it’s pricey so it’s worth considering the pleather options out there.
Stick with fly front, masculine cut styles like Mango’s wide-leg trousers in chocolate (£49.99, mango.com) unless you’re prepared to show your waist, in which case Mango’s black slouchy, slightly cropped, elastic-waisted trousers (£29.99) would work with a waisted sweater and ankle boots.
There are a lot of elasticated pleather trousers around – the better for wearing in a casual slouchy 2026 way. But beware: unless you’re careful with what you wear on top, you can end up looking shapeless. And avoid suede trousers: you don’t get the same polishing up factor and you’ll spill oil on them in the first month, guaranteed.
If black and brown real leather are the best way to go with trousers, the opposite rules apply to jackets. If you haven’t already hung up your black leather jacket, time to do it now, and switch to neutral coloured, probably tan suede or suedette.
It’s a shame because, again, the high street are pushing out some leather bangers – including funnel neck blousons that look as if they’ve walked straight off the catwalk – but they’re too tough and heavy for Us (you’ll end up looking like a tortoise emerging from its shell).
In any case suedette is looking better than ever this season including M&S’s suedette Harrington jacket (zip up with an elasticated waist and pointed collar) in either beige or light olive (£46). This has one foot in the new blouson jacket camp and it’s a casual classic – easy to wear to the office with cream or brown or black.
There are plenty of suede blazers out there (try Zara for those), but you’ll get far more value per wear out of a cropped patch pocket jacket in tan or tobacco (it goes with skirts and trousers and, in the summer, slip it on over dresses. It’s the can’t-go-wrong option for the second year running. The best of the bunch is Mango’s ‘can’t tell the difference’ horn button tan suedette style and it’s a steal (£34).
