Yesterday was a bit on the chilly and blustery side for my tastes. So I took the opportunity to break out my Isabel Marant leather pants with the lace up detailing on the sides. These are the ones that I recently had shortened and tapered to get a more flattering fit on my leg. I opted to have them shortened to just above/around ankle length so I'd have the option to wear them them with either ankle boots or a lower vamp shoe and not have them look weird (to my eye, anyway). I also had the seamstress taper them in more so they would followed my leg line better and not be too wide at the ankle.

I've really been liking the ultra comfortable looking style of pairing an oversized slouchy sweater with leather pants (as seen in 3 inspiration photos included here with my outfit shots). Whether with a heel or flat boot or oxford I just really like the casual and effortless look of it.

So I considered going the oxford or loafer route with the pants -as shown in my last photo, those Sam Edelman patent oxfords with the gunmetal hardware or the pointy toe black and white Chanel loafers would have worked (and I'm sure at some point I will end up pairing these pants with them).

However, I decided to go a bit more rocker for a couple of reasons --primarily the colder temps made me concerned the fully exposed ankle would make me cold but also because I rather liked the hardcore look of my new Zara open-side chain ankle boots with the grommets/hardware on the pants. The pants hit just at the length where they touch the front top of the ankle boots. So they sort of look like they were made for each other

It would have been easy to let this slip into so much OTT hardware that I could look like I was going to hang out at a bondage club. Instead I chose to knock everything down a notch in terms of casualness everywhere else. I opted for a fluid plain white tee and oversized/slouchy and warm Vince cashmere and alpaca cocoon sweater in a dark charcoal gray. I then used much more subtle jewelry accents that picked up on the overt hardware going on in the pants and boots, but were far more understated. So it didn't compete with the hardware. So, no pattern. Nothing fussy or intricate, no other bold items.

All in all I liked the way it turned out. Yes, the heavy duty hardware on the shoes and pants paired together danced along the edge of being a fashion faux pas. But I think I "cha cha -ed" around the actual line in my badass boots without crossing too far over it

What do you think? Too much?

Black Newsboy Hat: Brixton Brood (via Zappos)
Oversized white tee: Vince (via consignment store)
Dark gray slouchy cashmere & alpaca sweater: Vince (via Nordstrom's)
Leather pants with side lacing and grommets: Isabel Marant for H&M (via ebay)
Buckle and chain ankle boots: Zara
Sterling necklace: Recent gift from boyfriend (he said it reminded him of a photo of us together on a swing that was one of his favorites)
Sterling hand earrings: Etsy (can't remember the designer's name)
Sterling cage ring: Vintage 60's by Zina (private sale with another dealer when I was in the biz)
Bracelet: Vintage 60's lucite by Lea Stein (private sale via a collector)