Leather jackets are a multi-season wardrobe staple and they are wearable in fall, winter, and spring. They can be versatile, thanks to cut, color, fit, and embellishment. Well, singer and actress Hailee Steinfeld rocked a leather jacket embellished with a fabulous, pearl-encrusted skull on the back panel and with pearls on the sleeves and I just about fell in fashion love.
The jacket was an unusual mix of tough, ladylike, and cute. It was also super high fashion.
Steinfeld, a card-carrying member of Taylor Swift's well-dressed and talented squad, has been focusing on her music career lately with the release of her Haiz EP. She opted for rock chick chic with this jacket. She can easily wear it with gray skinnies, black leggings, or a bright red mini dress, since the pearly skull adds a ton of accessorized pizazz in one fell swoop.
When shopping for a statement leather jacket, you need to consider the jacket fit and size and you have to think about your budget. You may want to spend a little more for an investment piece that you will not only wear for several seasons but for several years. So there are a lot of factors to consider before plunking down cash.
Steinfeld's jacket might be super pricy, given all of the detail and the pearls; it hardly looks like an arts and crafts project. But even with the skull embellishment, she can wear it with anything, really. Except maybe a backpack, since that might cause some of the pearls to come loose or fall off.
I found this phenomenal recycled and studded leather jacket on Etsy that is in the same spirit as Steinfeld's likely one-of-a-kind piece. It's not cheap, but it is cute, thanks to its hardware. ($250, etsy.com)
I wouldn't recommend using a hot glue gun and some faux pearls from Michael's to make your own similar version of Steinfeld's jacket. Unless, of course, you grab a cheapie faux leather jacket that you don't mind screwing with or you find something vintage and inexpensive at a thrift shop and enjoy customizing things.
You just have to be cool with making mistakes and leaving them "as is." You also can't worry about ruining the jacket, hence my suggestion at going with the cheapest one you can find. Maybe do a practice run before designing your own pearl-encrusted leather jacket!
ICYMI, Steinfeld also showed off the most amazing French fishtail braid earlier this fall! Her jacket game is always on point, too.
Images: Hailee Steinfeld/Instagram (1); Courtesy Etsy
