Kilts et jupes en cuir

100% genuine leather, not bonded, coated or reconstituted material. Bonded leather is shredded hide scrap glued to a backing and printed with an artificial grain, and it cracks along seat and hem creases within a few years. Genuine hide softens where it flexes and improves with wear rather than degrading.

Leather is more neutral and pairs with anything, so it gets worn more often. Tartan carries more character and more meaning. Leather also needs no ironing and holds shape without pressing. If you want one skirt that goes with everything already in your wardrobe, take leather. See tartan and plaid skirts for the alternative.

Keep everything else soft, since leather already provides the hard surface. A fine knit, a silk blouse or a plain roll neck. Boots or heels rather than trainers. Black leather with almost anything, brown with cream, camel and rust. Avoid pairing leather with heavy denim, which makes both read as texture rather than clothing.

Never machine wash it. Wipe with a barely damp cloth and let it dry away from heat. Condition with a neutral leather product once or twice a year. Hang it on a broad hanger rather than folding, since a crease pressed into leather is permanent. Professional leather cleaning for anything beyond surface marks.

Only in limited ways, and only by a specialist. Leather shows every needle hole permanently, so a seam let out leaves visible marks along the old stitching line. This is why accurate measurements matter far more here than in cloth. Send waist and the fullest hip measurement and take both carefully.

Hang it immediately after wearing and let the creases relax out at room temperature, which they mostly will. Do not iron leather directly. If a crease persists, a professional leather cleaner can steam it out. Storing it folded is what sets creases permanently, so always hang. For the same silhouettes in woven tartan, see tartan and plaid skirts.