Australian brands that have a focus on quality products whilst thinking about how their garments are made are incredibly important to me. It has been a pleasure to partner with West 14th a label inspired by the bright lights of New York City and designed in Bondi Beach. They focus on essential leather products that will last a lifetime. Think about those core wardrobe pieces you can proudly wear time and time again as they are classic and never date and even better are pure quality so they last.
Personally for me a wardrobe staple does include leather and what attracted me to the brand is that they produce in small quantities, create limited edition products and are encouraging the slow fashion movement, that is gaining strength. The philosophy of '“buy once, buy well” should be a motto we all live by. You will have their pieces forever and the return on investment will become so reasonable you will know it was the investment you needed to make.
This collaboration gave me the opportunity to style certain products three different ways, to show their versatility and how to style dressed up or down depending on what your plans are. This blog will be in two parts. Today I am going to introduce you to two gorgeous products.
The Soho Slouch Leather Trench was the first item and it was divine, beautiful soft leather easy to style. For these looks we played around with the trench with tights, ultimately wearing it like a dress with heels, work appropriate or heading out on the town, when the jacket remains on. Then next we styled it back with the Houston High Rise Legging also a West 14th product. Don’t be afraid to mix leather and leather together, we have broken up the look by the different colour tones and textures. The final look keeping it casual for brunch or lunch with denim jeans and a classic white shirt, I have added heels although street runners or a combat style boot would also complement. A trench can be styled in multiple ways; closed and belted, open and belted, open and belted at the back or draped over the shoulders versus being worn traditonally. This leather was soft so it was easy to push up the sleeves showing a little flash of the wrist and arm elongating the torso.
The next piece I focused on was the Park Avenue Pleated Skirt in a midnight navy colour and it skimmed across the body in my favourite length being midi, very lightweight which makes it ideal for all seasons. The skirt I wanted to tell a story of mix and match. First image it was perfect for the current Victorian winter weather, paired back with another West 14th jacket - Paddington Drape Jacket and paired with boots, easy to add tights if you need another layer. The old saying of black and navy cannot be seen together is not valid as they complement each other so well. Next we road test a more every day style the West 14th Bondi or NYC tee and street runners. I have tied the tee at the back although can easily be tucked or worn out and belted. The last image was a professional style showing you the versatility of the skirt by wearing a long sleeve tee and a scarf cinched in around the waist with the West 14th Long Island Extra Long Belt. This belt can be worn so many different ways and works with all body shapes.
Leather is not for just for special occasions, every day is special, it can alternate between masculine and feminine style depending on the cut and design you select. Stay tuned for the second part of this blog we show case two more pairs of pants and a jacket. Designs that suit all women.
You want your wardrobe to work hard for you then quality leather pieces will do that.
For further information about West 14th; https://w14th.com
Images by Indie Lane Photography