When to wear black leather jacket… How to get past your fashion comfort zone

April 18, 2007

My mother was a very fashion conscious woman and always reminded her girls of "what not to wear”. Well, mom is gone and I wondered if there is any fashion etiquette that tells you when to put your favorite black leather jacket away for the spring - summer season? Or, depending on the weather, is it fashionable to wear it all year?(Sault Sainte Marie, MI)

Updated!
Black leather jacket dress tips + shopping guide!

First off, I’m sorry for your moms passing, with a little luck some of your mom’s more sage fashion advice will stay with you for the rest of your life. But, that’s the overall good sense advice as to what not to wear for your figure, how you really look better with more natural highlights, why you should carry a hairbrush, and why you ought to fix something if it doesn’t fit just right. Oops, that was my mother’s advice!

Once upon a time when there was a slight chill in the air, you never had to think about what to wear because you only wore a black leather jacket or black leather coat—particularly ones with raglan sleeves, shawl collars, and a plunging neckline that calls for adding a muffler of sorts. You even wore your jacket indoors to look cool and never took it off at a club. The ubiquitous black leather jacket was an unbelievable wardrobe staple for so many years. They had their place in fashion, along with big hair, and through time that former wardrobe must-have is verging on a wardrobe has-been.

It’s not to say that you need to completely toss your black leather jacket out, unless it:
Sags from hanger abuse
Lost its shape from too much wear
Has stretched out buttonholes
The zipper is fried
The shoulder pads are not quite back in style just yet
Looks dull and sloppy
Is simply not a fashion silhouette that “goes with” today’s clothing styles

It is to say, wear your well-cared for jacket when it actually makes sense for your total outfit and completes your look. Don’t just toss on any old piece of outwear as a fashion afterthought. Style like you mean it!

Any type of jacket needs to complement the rest of your outfit. It should be part of the whole ensemble rather just a detached element to keep you warm. If your jacket works to complete your overall look, go ahead wear it when the weather is appropriate regardless of the calendar date. For fashion sake, never wear your black leather jacket with itsy-bitsy floral print dresses- that is so Nineties that it scares me.

The next time you go shopping to update your wardrobe, look for more modern leather jackets in colors other than black to set off your wardrobe— when you want to go to the darker side, think about colors that offer the same boldness as black but are visually more interesting, like a midnight blue, steel grey, deep forest, rich chocolate, the entire palette of almost black colors that are not as severe. Most important, think of your jacket as an essential element to your total fashion image.

--April 18, 2007