How to Wear Leather Jeans: A Woman's Guide to Slim, Straight and Wide

There is a version of the leather trouser that fashion keeps trying to sell women — skin-tight, high-shine, built for one kind of night. It is not the only version, and it is not the interesting one. The interesting version is the leather jean cut like a jean: a five-pocket trouser with a real waistband, a real rise and a leg you choose, in a leather that drapes rather than clings. Worn that way, leather jeans stop being an occasion and become a wardrobe.

This is a guide to wearing them that way — across the three cuts in the CNOIR Leather Jeans collection, each of which is cut in a dedicated women's fit as well as a men's.

The slim: Noir Femme

CNOIR Noir Femme — explore the piece.

The Noir Femme is the pair to start with: a slim cut with a straight, tapered leg, in smooth leather with a soft sheen, the house spiral in corded embroidery at the left hip. It is the most tailored of the three and the most adaptable — flat with a heeled sandal it is evening, with a loafer it is a working day, with a trainer it is a weekend.

Wear it with: a fitted black tank and a gold heel for dinner; an oversized white shirt, sleeves pushed up, for daytime; a fine roll-neck and ankle boot when it turns cold. In Jet Black, Dark Brown or Burgundy — and the brown, worn with cream, is the choice that looks least like everyone else's.

The straight: Noir Serpent Matte

CNOIR Noir Serpent Matte — explore the piece.

The Noir Serpent Matte trades the smooth surface for python-embossed scale texture with a subtle sheen, on a straight leg with panel seaming at the knee. Texture is what makes it — the leg catches light differently with every step, and it needs nothing else in the outfit to be interesting. This is the pair for the woman who wants presence without volume.

Wear it with: a plain black tank and a heel, and resist adding a print anywhere. A cropped knit and a pointed flat by day. In Jet Black, Chocolate Brown or Burgundy.

The wide: Noir Flare

CNOIR Noir Flare — explore the piece.

The Noir Flare is the fashion register: a high-rise waist and a wide, flared leg in smooth leather that moves as you walk. Because leather holds shape, the flare stays architectural rather than collapsing — which is what separates it from a wide-leg in cloth. It asks for a fitted top half in return, and it rewards a heel with length.

Wear it with: a fitted white tank and a slim heel — the outfit pictured, and hard to improve on. A cropped fitted knit or a tucked shirt by day. In Jet Black, Chocolate Brown or Oxblood Burgundy.

Getting the fit right

Each pair is offered in waist sizes 28 to 38 with three leg lengths (30, 32 and 34), in a women's cut and a men's. The women's cut is the one to order in the first instance; the men's cut is a legitimate choice if you prefer a straighter hip and a lower seat — leather jeans, like leather jackets, move between wardrobes more freely than most garments. Choose the length that gives you the hem you want with the shoe you will actually wear: no break for a heel and a clean line for a flat.

The three rules

• Fitted above, decided below. The trousers are the volume or the texture; keep the top half close to the body.
• One material story. Cotton, fine knit and silk sit well against leather. Avoid a second heavy texture unless it is deliberate.
• Let colour do quiet work. Black is the sharpest; the browns and burgundies are warmer and more unexpected, and photograph with more depth.

All three pairs are £295, in 100% genuine leather, unlined, with professional leather care recommended. Explore the Leather Jeans collection.