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FASHION

Leather isn't as expensive as it seems, because really it's 
indestructible.  Capital outlay is high, but you can wear it 
constantly for years and not wear it out.
                                                                        


What is the ideal leather jacket?  I              Bomber jackets are for
figure it's gotta be black.  Brown is             people who are trying 
too middle-of-the-road.  Grey or green            to pretend that they  
seems like a nice idea in theory, but             don't wear leather    
I've never seen it work.  Has to be               jackets.              
functional, too.  None of that fashion                                  
leather stuff.  Has to cut the wind, and
give some protection from abrasions
(just in case I buy a motorcycle some
day).  A good leather jacket should help
out in a knife fight, too.  (Two hits
per attack.)

But... I don't usually like the basic
motorcycle style jackets everybody wears
on Haight Street (which is too bad,
cause they're on sale at Headlines for
$99).  I don't like the wide lapels, or
the excess of chrome zips and studs, or
the long dangling waist belts.  Waist
length seems pretty cool though (I'm
talking jackets, not coats).

In general I'm not impressed with the
fruity bells and whistles they hang on
leather jackets.  Lots of pockets are
good, but who needs cowboy punk fringe?
For that matter, I don't want lots of
seams running around on my back, either.
And strips of fur, or even elastic/cloth
is right out.

I've been looking around for awhile now,
and I'm beginning to think that they
don't make the kind of jacket I'm
looking for.  Or maybe my criteria is
contradictory?  For instance, I'd reject
a jacket that looked too loose or bulky,
but short of personalized tailoring,
maybe the only way you can get away from
that is to add something I'd consider a
silly fringe (e.g. like the waist
belts).  Maybe the least offensive thing
is to go with small lace-up panels on
the sides, but I haven't seen any of
those I like for sale.
            
Actually, the only one I saw that I did
like had a weird asymmetric zipper,
offset to one side.  Nehru jacket style.

Sometimes I think I should just buy one
and see if I get used to it, but I
refuse to spend a few hundred bucks on
an indestructible jacket that I'm hardly
ever going to want to wear.


        
Chasing after a mirage.
 
I'd searched through many places in California and New
York, and I'd found many close things but I'd rejected them
all for one reason or another.  After a while, everything
started to seem the same, because a lot of it really was.

The same jacket kept catching my eye.  It looked good, it
looked functional...  but it had features I'd been avoiding
(like the odd little elastic panel at the base of the
spine) and lacked features I wanted (like a removable
lining).  Each place I found it listed the price a little
cheaper.  Canal Jeans (which is now on Broadway in SoHo and
no where near Canal Street) had it for $150.  I was in
despair at ever finding The Ideal Leather Jacket, so I
decided to buy the Mirage instead: like a traditional biker
jacket, but with tarnished black zips and snaps (not
chrome) and a set of small adjustment straps on each side
(no long waist belt).  My housemates seem to like it, at
least.

Damn thing sets off airport metal detectors, though.  Next
time I get one with non-magnetic hardware.





            November 24 1990  
                              
There was a cover story in the Wall
Street Journal last week talking about
latest trend in hair styles: avoid
shampooing your hair for weeks.  (The
Homeless Look)
                                         
Once again, the world of fashion
is catching up to me.

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