Can you wear leather pants to work? I’ve seen them styled a LOT in recent years with blazers and loafers — but does that make them workwear? Let’s discuss. We’ve talked about leather skirts as well as leather jackets, but not for a while (although we did include a lot of leather skirts in our most recent skirt roundup!).
(Pictured above: Ann Taylor offers a bunch of leather pants at the moment!)
Are Leather Pants Business Casual?
I’ve always been fond of faux leather pants, personally — but I will say that in my wardrobe they’re more something I’ll wear out to dinner, and not something I would wear to a work-related function.
That said — they’ve been gaining a lot of traction in recent years, with a TON of websites styling leather pants for business casual work outfits.
A few thoughts from me:
Listen When Choosing Leather Pants
Some leather pants can be a bit noisy when you’re walking down the office hallway — that would immediately make them “no go” for me. No one wants to hear loud swishing repeatedly throughout the day and think, ah, Susie must be wearing her leather pants again.
Know Your Office
As always — if you are junior or new to the office, do not wear leather pants to work until you see someone mid-career, preferably slightly above your level, wearing them.
Choose Work-Appropriate Leather Pants
This is a big question that is largely answered by “know your office.” That said, I would argue that these things might make leather pants inappropriate for the office:
- five pocket styling like denim — if you can’t wear jeans to the office, anything with five pockets will also likely be out
- skintight fake leather — leather leggings were HUGE a few years ago and there are STILL a ton in the office, but I’m not sure anyone really considered them workwear, especially since so many of them were more like tights.
- bedazzling — IMHO, leather pants are, by themselves, a statement. You don’t need grommets or sequins or anything else to dress them up.
Three Possible Work Outfits with Leather Pants
All One Shade
One of the best ways to wear one color is by playing with textures instead of colors — as you can see in the product photo above (from Ann Taylor) the black cardigan looks richer and deeper next to the black leather pants. It looks like they’ve styled it with patent leather heels, which adds a third texture.
Avoid “Sexy“
These cargo leather pants from Theory are a great example of a business casual look during the day. Loose, casual, but still polished and trendy. Everything about the way they’re styled keeps them casual and strictly business, from the crewnecked sweater to the flat shoes.
This is a common styling technique by stores — lots of prim clothing like cardigans, loafers, and the collegial look with a button-front shirt layered under a sweater. (Note that you can cheat!)
I would argue that cargo pants are another trend to be wary of — know your office! Weirdly enough the combination of leather and cargo is working for me here.
Match Your Leathers
Another way to do it is to match your leathers, as seen with this Banana Republic model — her bag and shoes are all the same tone of black, which in turn kind of elevates the softness of her neutral sweater. I particularly like the lug-soled loafers with the pants cropped just above her ankle bone.
Readers, what are your thoughts — are leather pants business casual? Would you wear them to your office on a casual day, or are they only weekend/evening wear for you?
