Real and faux leather pants are having their fashion moment in assorted silhouettes and colours. Most of the fabrics are faux leather, some of which are sustainably and ethically produced. Faux leather pants are more affordable than real leather, and easier to launder. Solid neutrals are the norm, but non-neutrals are gaining popularity. Styles range from body-con leggings, skinnies and streamlined straight legs, to roomier relaxed straights, barrel legs, joggers, paperbag waists, flares, and wide legs.

Here are some examples.

I’m building the solid components of my wardrobe and unexpectedly added a pair of orange faux leather cropped wide leg pants to my bottoms capsule. They are sustainably and ethically produced, and machine washable, which is compelling. I showed them to our forum here, and wore them to host Thanksgiving dinner. I LOVE them. As sensible and effective as it is to plan the purchases of our wardrobes, a dead right impulsive purchase that finds us is an extra fun addition.

The orange pants are easy to style because I will wear them with the red, shocking pink, burgundy, white, cream, blue, and orange separates of my wardrobe. I find that real or faux leather pants add an interesting textural dimension to an outfit. Personally, I like combining leather bottoms with a soft and cosy top, like a cashmere/merino pullover, and wool coat. So far, I have only worn them with dressy boots, but can see them with my hi-tops too.

Here are some easy leather pants outfit ideas to get the creative juices flowing. A range of leather pants silhouettes are shown, but feel free to wear colour palettes that are more to your taste.

1. Sweater, Sneakers, Scarf

Combine a pair of leather joggers with a comfy fluid or oversized sweater in a fine or chunky gauge. Add hi-top sneakers and a scarf that works in the palette of the outfit. Here the Winter white adds a crisp touch to the brown leather joggers. The scarf is seasonally fun in orange and olive. I can see a brown, orange, or cream bag in the mix.

2. Tee, Shacket, Stompy Boots

Combine a pair of leather pants with a tee or lightweight sweater. Pop a shacket over the top and finish things off with a pair of flat stompy boots. Here, the shacket is long and patterned, but a solid short shacket is fab too. I’d have preferred to see brown boots that pick up the brown of the plaid, but the black works well. I like the addition of the glam necklace.

3. Denim Shirt, Coat, Dressy Boots

Combine a blue denim shirt with a pair of leather pants. Add dressier boots. Top things off with a dressier coat and a bag to match. Browns look good with shades, tones, and tints of blue, and this look is a great example. Sub the shirt with a sweater if that’s more your thing. Or create a look in shades and tones of brown from head to toe.

3. Chunky Sweater, Dressy Boots, Crossbody

And last, combine a pair of leather pants with a chunky sweater or sweatshirt in a solid or pattern. With these wide leg pants, the sweater is semi-tucked to hint at a waistline to create a bit of outfit structure. Add dressy boots and a crossbody over the top. Here, the pants are sported at the new shorter full length to showcase more of the boots. I have grown to like this length and visual effect, especially for wet Seattle so that I can avoid soggy hems. Add jewellery, watch, eyewear and headgear as desired.