Is this look strictly for the young & beautiful...or can us norms get away with it too?

[Ujjayi]

Here

and Here

I have leather leggings. I have leopard faux fur coat. I am thinking the first look for evening, the second for daytime. I am 43 and size 8-10.

Yep agree make up will make a big difference too. Natural looking and stay away from the red lippy, definitely the way to go. My hair is very, erm, "undone" (Alexa Chung-style balayage and loose waves).

And Oh My Word, always always ALWAYS avoid the Loose Women look at all costs! That became clear when I posted a thread the other week about buying the leather leggings!

I really like this look. Would you wear a scarf with it and what colour...black?

Haha, I remember that thread, I'm still haunted by that pic of Cilla

I'm roughly the same age and size. I'd happily wear either.

DataColour Think I would probably forego a scarf on this occasion (rare for me). My coat has a shawl collar here so I don't think I would need it.

SofaCanary - oh yes, that image is burned onto my retinas still!

From my perspective, I'd find that wouldn't work in a village (live in a village), it would be too different to what other people were wearing, but I suspect would be fine somewhere more urban.

herecomesthesun you have just encapsulated why I couldn't live in a village

Ujjayi, you are only 43 and a size 8-10 - Go for it!

Do it - they both look stunning. And you've inspired me so thank you!!

Love it...
Am 47, haven't got leopard print coat but got couple of other faux fur ones.
Have some coated skinnies too.
am a size 8 with toned legs so may try a version.

Do it!

I love this look and wear it - I'm the same size, and almost 40. Life's too short not to wear things you love. That said, I live in central London so no one would look twice at most things I wore.

Ujjayi I am 42 and size 8 (and dotty about Ashtanga though I still don't get the ujjayi bit really...). I have leather leggings and usually wear them with these trainers

They are not flat but are comfy and look pretty cool and not tarty. Flat Ash hi-tops are nice too. I had some gold ones but they wore out quite fast I remember.

I don't think any 'look' is off my limits because I'm 'norm'. I only think they're off limits due to bodyshape or general 'look'.

For example I'm in my thirties but I still wear very short (hotpants) denim shorts in summer. I'm slim and my legs and muscular and my bum's toned.

BUT, I think a low-cut dress is off limits, even when I was in my twenties it was, because I don't have boobs!

IF it suits you, it suits you . Go for it!

I am neither young nor beautiful. I would wear fake fur but not leather leggings - because I don't like them. If I avoided wearing things just because they looked better on beautiful women, I would never leave the house.

Mind you, I also love Joan Collins so maybe I'm not the best person to advise

I was just contemplating a leopard coat or a dress for the Christmas party. DP isn't keen and I was wondering if I can get away with it (33) but I'm going for it now.

Oh and I live in a village and I don't give a shit - I vary between joules and wellies and fake fur and leather.

I wore leather leggings and faux fur last night. Am about the same size as you. Go for it I say!

I think the "village" vs "urban" comments are interesting. Like Whippet81 I live in a village and it has never entered my head to shape my style according to my surrounds, other than if it's cold and raining then I need a pair of wellies and a decent coat over my Vivienne Westwood dress when I take the dog for a walk!! Honestly, if I tapered my style to my actual life then I would wear nothing but jeans, tees and sensible shoes as I work from home and rarely have meetings etc.

I dress for my love of fashion & style and rarely care what others think. That said, I think my question mark over this particular look is that it does seem very much a "bloggers" look and has the potential to be "too much" if it's accessorised the wrong way. Ditto my thread a few weeks ago about purchasing the leather leggings in the first place!!

No, no, no.

Sorry, but I think it looks tacky. The older the woman the tackier it looks.

Or maybe I am jealous because I couldn't pull off that look without looking too Bet Lynch like.

Romann - thanks for the heads up on the Ash trainers. And as for the ujjayi bit of ashtanga - make the sound of the sea lapping the shore using the back of your throat as you breathe in and out. It makes for deeper, more even breathing which fuels your muscles and CV system with oxygen more effectively than focusing on the breath coming in through the nose

Thanks ujayyi
I'm too pear shaped to wear leather leggings, even at my 'fighting weight'. Its the one item I covet that I can never have!

I have that second one on my pintrest page. I like both just prefer the second as it is more me. I am the same size as you and late forties.
I have the jeans but not the coat as not a fan of coats anyway and the only one I have is a trench with leopard lining. Apart from that I only wear jackets.

For those that think leather leggings are a no I can really recommend Peacocks coated jegging/skinnies really flattering and about £16 iirc

I really like both looks...

For those with the faux leopard skin coats, where did you get them from. I realise that it would be hard to buy them online because I guess you'd like to see whether they are not to crap, had a look on asos, but I only stick to a few shops when when shopping in rl, I forget what's out there!

imip I bought mine from eBay - it's a Topshop one. I remember seeing them in store two winters ago and loving the fact that they were properly fur like rather than the cheaper looking versions which look like soft toy fabric. Not sure why I didn't buy it at the time but anyway, there are loads on eBay. It took me a while to get one for a decent price but I finally scored one for £30 plus P&P.

This is the one I have This is similar but not as nice IMO. I think the surface pattern is a little flat compared to the one I bought.

TK Maxx have a good selection usually. Someone on here recommended Wallis & Dorothy Perkins too on another thread but they were plain faux fur rather than leopard print.

So here's my take on it: I chose Topshop black suede ankle boots with fringe detail instead of Converse. I'm doing the "blogger pose" with my arm so you can see the layers beneath