This weeks denim review is on the Citizens of Humanity Racer low rise Leatherette jeans in Rubia. You may remember my original review and follow up review on the Rocket Leatherette in Black from last year, these are almost the same, except a lower rise cut and a different colour, but the Leatherette is the same.
The Racer cut is one of Citizens of Humanity’s lower rise cuts, it’s around 7 inches, but it’s super skinny, so it fits a lot like the Rocket, but with a lower rise. The leg opening is around 5 inches across, so you can tell they are very slim, but they are very, very stretchy, so you can see that I do have the leg opening over the top of my boots. The Leatherette styles from the brand don’t feature the signature stitching on the back pockets, they are plain, but they are still just as flattering. The back pockets are positioned very central and are larger than other brands, but I still find them to sit nicely on the butt.
The Leatherette material is a very thickly coated denim, so they are a lot heavier than regular denim and are quite weighty and dense. This is really good for autumn that’s approaching though as it means they will keep your legs warmer. When you fold these up, they do sort of stick together, so you have to peel them apart after they have been folded for a while, but I don’t mean that they stick down and leave a mark and you can’t get them apart, it’s more of a tacky/sticky situation from the coating, but it doesn’t leave a residue. When you do pull these so they stretch out, you can see some cracks in the coating, however you can’t really see it when worn, unless they are extremely tight on you and pulled out to the maximum.
The Leatherette is actually one of the best coated denim I have seen, they really do look a lot like leather, but you can tell they are denim at the same time. They aren’t overly shiny either, they have more of a matte finish to them as well, which is what I love most about them. Due to having this amount of coating on a very stretchy denim, they do wrinkle a lot when worn. As you can see around the knee areas and under the butt, as well as at the ankles, they do bunch up a bit, but it might also be because I have shorter legs and these are quite long in length. For a super skinny, they are a lot longer than most. Usually the 10 inch leg opening skinny jeans skim the ankles, but these are full length.
The Rubia wash is beautiful! I was hoping they would release the Leatherette in a burgundy again as I missed the Rocket version, they sold out, but these are a pretty deep red, with brown undertones. They aren’t a jewel tone, they are more of a dark brown red instead. They are very pretty and suit most colours as burgundy does, but if I could choose, I would prefer them to have more of a red/purple undertone, so they are really rich in colour, but that’s just my personal preference. I can hope that Citizens of Humanity may release another wash that’s like that in the Rocket as I love the higher rise! I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
I did take my usual size of 27 in these, and much like the Rocket (if you remember me saying) they look really tiny as soon as you get them out of the package. They look like they wont fit, but with the amount they stretch, they fit perfectly as soon as you put them on. Definitely don’t be alarmed by how small they look when not worn. They definitely mould to you when you put them on.
I do absolutely adore these and when people are looking for a coated jean, I always recommend the Leatherette from Citizens of Humanity first, I think it’s the best coated denim so far, and that’s all my own opinion, as I’m honest with every single review I do, as you know, I’m never paid for them. I haven’t really washed them yet (the Rocket or these), so I am not sure how they hold up in the washing machine, but I will be sure to update you as soon as I do. I’m a little bit scared of washing them to be honest as I don’t want to ruin my beloved black skinny jeans, ha ha. Have any of you tried the Leatherette from Citizens of Humanity? I definitely think these are gorgeous and perfect for autumn! I fell for them as soon as I saw them on Shopbop! You can buy these jeans online at Shopbop for $228.
Jeans courtesy of Citizens of Humanity/opinion all my own.
Written by Lorna Burford