FOMO – fear of missing out. Not to be confused with Faux Mo – the desire to wear more fake leather. With lockdown still happening, we all have a bit of #FOMO right now and I wanted to redefine the term in a way that made me laugh.
It has taken me a while to embrace faux leather. My first foray was in the early 2000s when I bought a reddish-brown leather trench coat from Charlotte Russe that ended up being one of my first lessons in not buying something you are unsure about simply because it was trendy. That jacket cost over $100, which was a rather large single purchase on my fresh out of college salary, and I rarely wore it.
Faux leather has come a long way since then. Faux leather leggings were and still are the rage, but those are not for me (I may have even repeated the trench coat lesson, only this time I was able to pass them along to Jennifer, who can rock them).
This time around I tried to be smarter when choosing faux leather pieces to incorporate into my wardrobe. I picked pieces that I would not think twice about adding to my wardrobe in any other fabrication. Both pieces are in a color and silhouette that I wear all the time. Rather than tight leggings, I chose a pair of cropped loose trousers with a paper bag waist feel, my favorite trousers to wear. I paired it with an Isabel Marant blouse I found on consignment and colorful sandals I bought at Yoox.
For the second look, my faux piece is nothing but a button front pencil skirt, something else I wear all the time. I stuck with my trusty vintage modern mix and paired it with an Escada blouse found on Etsy and an ombre pair of Manolos I purchased off eBay.
Part of my style MO includes finding classic pieces with interesting details or modern twists. When I stopped thinking of faux leather as a trend I was unsure of and treated it as a way to add a couple of classics with a twist into my closet it became much easier to embrace. Since then, I have added a couple more pieces to my wardrobe, including a pair of pants that could work as leggings (and in a bright color too!) and yes, I faux leather trench coat. Stay tuned for pics of those!
What are your thoughts on faux leather?
Images by Breezy Ritter