Offbeat Basic: Leather Camisole

Typically, between my daily store-memorization routines and sociocultural analysis (read: street style & runway shows on my Macbook while eating peanut butter from the jar), I can usually pinpoint where trends originate – be it a specific designer, or a specific street style photograph or celebrity wearing a certain piece of clothing or accessory. Often times, it’s simple to tell where a trend came from because it’s shoved down our throats over and over through magazines, commercials, internet ads and, well, blogs like mine.

So when I start seeing a specific garment popping up at every single store, and have no idea where it came from – that’s exciting. I like it when trends arise that aren’t instantly cult-like and adhesive. It feels more genuine, and a little less aggressive (which we could all benefit from).

Such was the case when I began to see leather camisoles and leather tanks in all of my favorite shopping spots.

Source: Ecru

I’ve seen some leather tank tops before, but these are elegant and sophisticated, with narrow straps and a loose, swingy shape. 

First thing’s first: anytime you see the word “leather” on this website – unless the planets have aligned for some kind of ridiculous sale – I mean faux leather. I certainly don’t have “new leather object” money – do you? If so, I encourage you to try faux leather because it’s made of fewer animals and will save you money. Vintage leather – that’s another story… But I’ll leave my soapbox-style commentary for Tumblr.

Source: VEDA

So far, I’ve been able to trace back this sudden surge of leather camisoles to Tibi, and a bit of credit to T by Alexander Wang. Each have their own similar-but-different variation of this boxy luxury top. Each have colorful variations – Tibi in dark teal and Alexander Wang in a poppy red.

These are starting to emerge in price ranges that you and I are more accustomed to… like maybe under $50. Fortunately, some old standbys – Nasty Gal, Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack – come through with some super affordable options.

Midnight Oil Cami, $38 at Nasty Gal

ASTR Faux Leather Cami in Black at Nordstrom, reg. $50 now $24.98; in Orange at Nordstrom Rack, reg. $50 now $14.96

It’s so hard to find photos of people who have styled a leather camisole… for being so desirable, there aren’t many in the hands of stylish ladies! I’d love to see how people style this beyond “wear it as a top,” you know? Maybe it’d be fun to put a super-fuzzy sweater over the top, for textural contrast? Or many wear it with something lace?

It’s such an edgy basic,  yet it can be dressed up or down with some clever pairings. It can be modest, or it can be… well, a leather camisole which conjures images that are the opposite of modest…

How would you style a leather camisole?