Who couldn’t forget the iconic photo of James Dean in his leather motorcycle jacket?
Leather jacket is a classic item that would last forever. It’s been IN and OUT constantly from the spotlight as most fashion trends, but a leather jacket is a fashion investment which would never be out of style. It’s been featured on FD forum’s current trend report a long time ago, and there’s already a thread on FD forum about leather jacket and where to wear it. I’m aware it could be very uncomfortable to wear leather jackets in a hot humid weather like Indonesia, but maybe you could get away by wearing it in a fully-blown air conditioned room (yang dinginnya seperti di dalam bioskop2x di Jakarta ;P )
James Dean photo courtesy of fashioninsiderguide.com
A nicely fitted leather jacket would compliment anything you wear, from simple tees, jeans, leggings, short, skirt to dresses. Pairing a leather jacket with a feminine or sexy dress would give a certain edginess to your look. I’ve noticed several fashion spreads making a statement by pairing overflowing couture dresses with distressed leather jackets. Chic Parisiennes and New York hipster kids have been adopting leather jackets as their daily fashion staple. And this also includes an amazing number of models wearing them in the backstage. tFS forum has several photos of models in leather jackets, which could give you some styling inspiration in wearing these jackets. They become some sort of “model’s uniform” whenever they’re off duty a.k.a the M.O.D (Model Off Duty) look. The same look that inspired Alexander Wang when designing his collection.
M.O.D leather jackets, courtesy of tfs.com, style.com
Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, the Olsen twins and several young Hollywood IT girls have been seen wearing their favorite leather jackets. Rick Owens, Andrew Marc and Mike & Chris have been celebrity favorites. I definitely love the slouchy hooded Mike & Chris leather jacket!
Mike & Chris leather jackets, photos courtesy of mikeandchris.com, enamour.ca
some styling inspirations in wearing leather jackets
If you don’t want to splurge for big designer labels, mass retailers like Topshop, Zara, H&M, Urban Outfitters, and Mango always carry several styles of leather jackets every fall/winter season; from cropped ones, bomber jacket, motorcycle/biker jacket with zippers and buckles, to leather jackets decorated with lot of studs and spikes. I’ve helped a friend of mine looking for a perfect leather jacket early this fall, and she found one from Express which she paired it with latex zipper leggings from the same label. For a more affordable one, which could be a total turn-off to some people, you could opt for faux leather or some “vegan leather” jackets. I’ve also spotted several soft PU/ PVC leather jackets in some Asian clothing boutiques in Chinatown *seperti butik-butik di mangga dua kira-kira. But, nothing would beat the quest in finding the perfect 100% leather jacket: Vintage stores.. or try EBAY, of course!
My sister, who was religiously hunting for her perfect cropped leather jacket since last year, gave me her best suggestion: to look for the one that is all made of “leather” and doesn’t have the elastic rib trim which would make your leather jacket look really fake and cheap! She was right, even a designer leather jacket with elastic rib bands on the cuffs, collar or waist would somehow downgrade the whole look compared to a less expensive brand without any of those trims.
Whatever your choice and budget is, would you adopt this M.O.D look and let you inner rocker shine through leather jacket? Yay or Nay?
Sources and images courtesy of: tfs.com, style.com, dailymail.co.uk, asos.com, carolinenoakes.blogspot.com, demicouture.ca, fashioninsiderguide.com, enamour.ca, mikeandchris.com, wireimage.com