leather jacket lifestyle question 1

[dudewuttheheck]

I did actually wear a leather jacket to a couple of zoom calls for work, but it was just too much when I'm at home. I will be wearing them when I go back to work in person, however.

 

[El Marro]

Nice photo there El Marro - jacket suits the situation well, and while we're at it, the M18 Fuel hammer drill is quite the excellent tool. I have the same one and have used it extensively. I have a little too much "red" in the toolbox these days, which is a good thing.

Ok enough derail - back to the normally scheduled thread on jackets and work!

Thanks AeroFan!
And I agree 100% about the drill, I love all of my Milwaukee tools, both the M12 and M18 series.

I hope you don't wear that leather jacket with metallic buckles when there is potential exposure. Even if the job you are doing at the time had no exposure, it's easy to forget. Sorry to sound preachy. I have seen too many fatalities in industry.

Coriu,
I generally take off my jacket when I am working on energized equipment because I don’t want anything restricting my range of motion. The metal buckle that you see in the photograph is actually the buckle on my toolbelt and that I often do have on when I am working on hot panels. I try to keep my hands in the panel and nothing else!

 

[navetsea]

I think any horsehide, cowhide, goathide, anything called hide and not skin
made into jacket could withstand all those work activities, including Carlos's bigfoot hunting mission, but then the jacket would show wear that's unique to your activity, on weekend you'll probably try to clean some stains with lighterfluid on rag, lick your thumb and buff scratches with it, would be full with stains and scratches, and you'll be oiling it it with neatsfoot oil or obenauf's LP every month, probably you'll be field stitching popped stitches, maybe replace a missing button, or frayed liners, you won't be making thread about frayed button holes, you probably just shrugged it off and rub paraffin candle on them and buff it with spit.
will look and smell like workwear, yet it won't look scratched everywhere, there must be places under the collar, under the arm that stay pretty much pristine, it would look like a combination of wear and stain and your maintenance effort, it would look glorious
and probably you will need to retire it after 10 years, then you put it on auction or sell it to Ralph Lauren.

 

[navetsea]

@Carlos840, nah man, too legit. Where are the RedWings? Where's your leather jacket? And what's that, a chainsaw!? What, you left your axe with your high heels at home? And I won't even mention the fact that you haven't had the decency to check your cuff just once. 10/-10 on a Rugged scale and here are some inspirational photos of real, rugged men.

these rough dudes, would drive home just to take a piss... what if the piss blown by the wind into his slubbyslub raw denim its not 6months worn yet... it will ruin everything... will lose followers because of it.

 

[MrProper]

I'll join in Lol
Empty garage basement and dispose of it. unbelievable what accumulates for garbage. tons of old wooden boards, old iron, etc.

 

[Superfluous]

Unless you work outside, the notion of wearing a leather jacket "at work" is something of a misnomer. For those who work indoors -- e.g., in an office and/or at a desk -- wearing a jacket "at work" often means nothing more than wearing a jacket from your car door to your office door. Wearing a jacket around a heated office seems rather silly and forced.

Unfortunately, the foregoing phenomenon is not limited to work outings. Even when I wear my jacket "out for the evening," that often is limited to my car door to the venue door. If I am going to a friend's home or a restaurant, I rarely wear the jacket inside a heated home or restaurant (unless there is an outdoor component to the gathering).

Thus, wearing a leather jacket is often limited to short bursts of outdoor travel.

I recently moved to the coast, 100 feet from the water (I was previously thirty minutes inland). I thought the cooler coastal climate would present more opportunities to wear my leather jackets. However, I have discovered that no one wears leather jackets at the coast (and I don't mean on the sand, but rather, in the community). I don't mind doing my own thing, but I stick out like a sore thumb wearing a leather jacket when everyone else is wearing shorts and flip-flops. Recently, I reached for a leather jacket, only to have my wife laugh at me for forcing the issue and being the odd duck.

I personally do not wear leather jackets when riding my bike, walking my dogs around my neighborhood, or shopping at Costco. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with doing so and I salute those who wear their leather jackets for a broad variety of activities. That said, I still differentiate leather jackets from other forms of outerwear and attribute a certain reverence to leather jackets. For me, there are certain types of outings appropriate for leather jackets and certain outings for which leather is incongruent. In recent years, I have expanded my leather jacket threshold. That said, I will not wear a leather jacket to purchase pipe insulation at Home Depot (even though the insulation is being used on the hanger for my leather jacket). For me, personally, wearing a leather jacket to Home Depot, Costco, when walking my dogs around my neighborhood, or when riding my bike is incongruent with the reverence that I attribute to leather jackets. Moreover, I personally would feel silly wearing a leather jacket for such outings. Again, I exalt those who have no similar boundaries and wear their leather jackets everywhere. On the other hand, please do not explain to me why my paradigm is wrong. It is just my idiosyncratic perception of leather jackets and any evolution will occur organically rather than through forced change.

 

[handymike]

You made me smile with this @Superfluous!
I grew up near the beach, and the only change one makes for cooler weather is a long-sleeve t-shirt or hoodie.
Your insight reminds me of my watch journey. When I turned 40, I wanted a “real watch”. My dad always wore a Rolex, but it was out of the question for my budget, so I got myself an Omega. Wore it to work, and got a scratch on it within an hour...never did it again. Told myself I’d wear it out on date-nights...I didn’t. Eventually I sold it. Now, I have a few vintage ones that I like the design of, but they didn’t cost a lot...love them, and wear them all the time at work, out, and everywhere. I find I’m the same with my jackets. My GW only comes out once in awhile, as I feel self-conscious explaining the price tag, and usually start going on about the long wait-time and custom-made aspects of my experience to detract from the $1000 jacket comments.

 

[Will Zach]

We really run a gamut - from guys who do physical work in leather jackets to guys who won't wear one while walking a dog. It's all good - I am right in the middle. I will wear a leather jacket for any kind of shopping, visiting with friends, any kind of travel, and to any restaurant. But only in fall, winter and spring. Summer around NYC is way too hot and humid for a leather jacket.

 

[Boyo]

It was the 20th anniversary of Joey Ramones death last week. There was a story in the paper about how as he was dying from cancer he wore his signature leather jacket in the hospital bed during his last days...

 

[dudewuttheheck]

@Superfluous it's interesting that we live relatively close to each other (same general metropolitan area at least) and yet we have completely different perspectives on where it is appropriate to wear a leather jacket.

One major difference that I think has a major effect on our different attitudes toward wearing our jackets is our general styles. Correct me if I am wrong, but you dress a bit more modern casual than I do, preferring sneakers and such. I go a bit more in on a vintage inspired look. This mean that I stick out most of the time even if I'm not wearing a leather jacket. As a result, I have no qualms about wearing a leather jacket anywhere because it just simply fits in with my look. I don't blend in anywhere that I go.

At the same time, I don't think this is the only reason that I wear my leather jackets more than you. For example, I'm surprised that you said that you wouldn't need to wear it inside of your office. I'm not saying you're wrong, but every place I have ever worked in has always felt extremely cold to me and has always necessitated some form of jacket or outerwear for me. In my experience, socal offices and places of business air condition their buildings even in winter. This means that I am more than comfortable wearing a leather jacket to work, the grocery store, the bank, etc. I almost never feel too warm inside of a building with a jacket on.

As far as dinner goes, I will take my jacket off in a nice restaurant, but I don't go to many of those. If I'm at In n Out for example, my jacket stays on. Again, these places are always air conditioned so I don't feel the need to take the jacket off, especially when the atmosphere is so casual.

The one place I do always take my leather jacket off is while driving a car. I simple don't think leather jackets feel nice while driving a car. In fact, I take off any thicker jacket while driving and just crank the heat if it's cold.

None of this is to say that what you are doing is incorrect, but I wanted to reply to show how different our jacket routines can be despite living in such a similar area.

 

[ton312]

Unless you work outside, the notion of wearing a leather jacket "at work" is something of a misnomer. For those who work indoors -- e.g., in an office and/or at a desk -- wearing a jacket "at work" often means nothing more than wearing a jacket from your car door to your office door. Wearing a jacket around a heated office seems rather silly and forced.

Unfortunately, the foregoing phenomenon is not limited to work outings. Even when I wear my jacket "out for the evening," that often is limited to my car door to the venue door. If I am going to a friend's home or a restaurant, I rarely wear the jacket inside a heated home or restaurant (unless there is an outdoor component to the gathering).

Thus, wearing a leather jacket is often limited to short bursts of outdoor travel.

I recently moved to the coast, 100 feet from the water (I was previously thirty minutes inland). I thought the cooler coastal climate would present more opportunities to wear my leather jackets. However, I have discovered that no one wears leather jackets at the coast (and I don't mean on the sand, but rather, in the community). I don't mind doing my own thing, but I stick out like a sore thumb wearing a leather jacket when everyone else is wearing shorts and flip-flops. Recently, I reached for a leather jacket, only to have my wife laugh at me for forcing the issue and being the odd duck.

I personally do not wear leather jackets when riding my bike, walking my dogs around my neighborhood, or shopping at Costco. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with doing so and I salute those who wear their leather jackets for a broad variety of activities. That said, I still differentiate leather jackets from other forms of outerwear and attribute a certain reverence to leather jackets. For me, there are certain types of outings appropriate for leather jackets and certain outings for which leather is incongruent. In recent years, I have expanded my leather jacket threshold. That said, I will not wear a leather jacket to purchase pipe insulation at Home Depot (even though the insulation is being used on the hanger for my leather jacket). For me, personally, wearing a leather jacket to Home Depot, Costco, when walking my dogs around my neighborhood, or when riding my bike is incongruent with the reverence that I attribute to leather jackets. Moreover, I personally would feel silly wearing a leather jacket for such outings. Again, I exalt those who have no similar boundaries and wear their leather jackets everywhere. On the other hand, please do not explain to me why my paradigm is wrong. It is just my idiosyncratic perception of leather jackets and any evolution will occur organically rather than through forced change.

This is my approach as well. My leather jackets are generally reserved for going “out”. Ideally to a bar where I can leave it on. There’s no way I’m eating dinner in my jacket. If I had to do that I’d want to be somewhere else. Short bursts are all the wear my jackets see.

I do wear them to Target or on grocery runs, weather permitting. I wouldn’t wear one to work as I would feel entirely too self conscious. I’d probably be ok walking the dog in one but it seems like a bit “much”. Plus ‘ol boy is 17 and doesn’t want to go much past the front yard anymore anyway.

 

[El Marro]

Moreover, I personally would feel silly wearing a leather jacket for such outings. Again, I exalt those who have no similar boundaries and wear their leather jackets everywhere. On the other hand, please do not explain to me why my paradigm is wrong. It is just my idiosyncratic perception of leather jackets and any evolution will occur organically rather than through forced change.

I was quite self conscious when I began wearing my leather jackets to work about six years ago. Carhartt is what you see people wearing in my industry and a leather jacket looked almost as odd as a three piece suit would have to many people. I got a lot of jokes and good-natured ribbing from friends and coworkers but they all got used to it and now nobody bats an eye when they see me wearing leather.
I think your attitude towards leather jackets is quite sensible and somewhat less eccentric than my own.

 

[willyto]

I honestly don't understand your points of view but I respect them. They're just garments to be worn, this is a piece of outerwear, nothing else. It is not a formal suit to be worn at a special occasion in my opinion that usually one wants to be pristine(and I do wear suits on the regular too anyway, I love creases and wear on mys ummer stuff) but something to wear like any other garment you wear on the regular.

People wear gym sweatpants, football/basketball shirts, flip flops, skin tight "jeans" and oversized tops while I wear wide leg linen high rise trousers with loafers and summer dress shoes with short sleeve polos or cellullar cotton shirts. I keep myself cool during the summer that way and couldn't care less that others go out like that. I won't stop wearing what I want just because others are dressed down and usually lazy to dress up a bit. I'm not judging them, just saying that I will never feel self conscious just because I choose to dress up my way and they don't, that's not my problem and I don't want to fit in and change my way of dressing because of people I don't even care abour or know.

During the winter I wear almost exclusively a leather jacket while doing everything(walking to work and back to work, doing errands, riding my Vespa, using public transport, loading boxes, furniture,luggage,etc etc) and when I get to work I just put my leather jacket in the locker room without second thoughts and when I get home I throw it on a chair, the floor or the bed, whatever I feel like at the moment. Other people wear those ugly Michelin looking coats and other type of outerwear

I want my leather jackets to tell my story. Sometimes they get scuffs, some discolouration where I was leaning against a wall or a traffic light(I always lean against them when waiting for the light to turn green) and the creases are there because I use it regularly. Sunlight, rain, wind, etc they protect me from the elements.

What I have seen is that depending on where you are but specially in the US you guys drive everywhere and that limits a lot the use of your leather jackets. I don't drive anywhere except when I'm feeling lazy and ride my bike but honestly I can go months or even spent 2 years without riding my bike.

I get complimented on my leather jackets very often but I wear them because they make me feel like a million bucks and I guess that just shows.

 

[ton312]

What I have seen is that depending on where you are but specially in the US you guys drive everywhere and that limits a lot the use of your leather jackets. I don't drive anywhere except when I'm feeling lazy and ride my bike but honestly I can go months or even spent 2 years without riding my bike.

There is definitely some truth to that. I can’t walk to work as it’s 10 miles from my home and even in a big city like Chicago, I still “need” my truck to do certain things. There are plenty of people in Chicago that do live without automobiles though.
I’d imagine in California it’s next to impossible to live without a vehicle. LA is so spread out. The times I’ve visited I felt like we drove for hours to get somewhere seemingly nearby.

 

[handymike]

Ummm... you did.
In LA, it often takes over an hour to go 6 miles.

 

[ton312]

Ummm... you did.
In LA, it often takes over an hour to go 6 miles.

LOL. Yeah. I remember we drove to Santa Monica from LA and felt like we crossed over into another state. But I really liked it there.

 

[ton312]

We stayed at the Sunset hotel in LA and I do remember I walked to a grocery store deli everyday for lunch. I loved that hotel. I would workout, swim and drink everyday while my wife worked. LOL. That summer my contract went from 10 months to 12 and those days were done. Went out with a bang though!

 

[Brandrea33]

It was the 20th anniversary of Joey Ramones death last week. There was a story in the paper about how as he was dying from cancer he wore his signature leather jacket in the hospital bed during his last days...

That’s awesome and appropriate

 

[Rgcards]

Hospitals are always cold. People wear wind breakers indoor all the time. In fact the hospital gives out logo ones for bonuses. So instead of a white coat I wear a black one. Joey I'm sure was just cold

 

[navetsea]

I honestly don't understand your points of view but I respect them. They're just garments to be worn, this is a piece of outerwear, nothing else. It is not a formal suit to be worn at a special occasion in my opinion that usually one wants to be pristine(and I do wear suits on the regular too anyway, I love creases and wear on mys ummer stuff) but something to wear like any other garment you wear on the regular.

People wear gym sweatpants, football/basketball shirts, flip flops, skin tight "jeans" and oversized tops while I wear wide leg linen high rise trousers with loafers and summer dress shoes with short sleeve polos or cellullar cotton shirts. I keep myself cool during the summer that way and couldn't care less that others go out like that. I won't stop wearing what I want just because others are dressed down and usually lazy to dress up a bit. I'm not judging them, just saying that I will never feel self conscious just because I choose to dress up my way and they don't, that's not my problem and I don't want to fit in and change my way of dressing because of people I don't even care abour or know.

During the winter I wear almost exclusively a leather jacket while doing everything(walking to work and back to work, doing errands, riding my Vespa, using public transport, loading boxes, furniture,luggage,etc etc) and when I get to work I just put my leather jacket in the locker room without second thoughts and when I get home I throw it on a chair, the floor or the bed, whatever I feel like at the moment. Other people wear those ugly Michelin looking coats and other type of outerwear

I want my leather jackets to tell my story. Sometimes they get scuffs, some discolouration where I was leaning against a wall or a traffic light(I always lean against them when waiting for the light to turn green) and the creases are there because I use it regularly. Sunlight, rain, wind, etc they protect me from the elements.

What I have seen is that depending on where you are but specially in the US you guys drive everywhere and that limits a lot the use of your leather jackets. I don't drive anywhere except when I'm feeling lazy and ride my bike but honestly I can go months or even spent 2 years without riding my bike.

I get complimented on my leather jackets very often but I wear them because they make me feel like a million bucks and I guess that just shows.

I agree with you however
You have Huge geographical advantage to wear your style, living in old city with old buildings and roads, any kind of style of clothing past and present make sense in old cities of europe, try imagine to live somewhere either ultra modern minimalist or very rural or decidedly very tropical holiday themed, soon you might feel the need to adjust even when no one give any negative comment on your style.