Sunday, December 30, 2012

Love Letter To A Leather Jacket

"Did I ever tell ya that this here jacket represents a symbol of my individuality, and my belief in personal freedom?"




The above Nick Cage line from 1990's David Lynch masterpiece Wild At Heart has to be about my most favorite quote of all time. Nothing NOTHING, is better than the first time you hear him say "in-div-iddd--uaaal-ity", as he puts the make on a smokin' hot young Laura Dern. Cage's off the cuff remark (pun!) also encapsulates everything that makes a favorite jacket so powerful-- it's uniquely yours, it embodies your traits and characteristics better than an other thing you own/vwear/ are born with. Someone else can have that snakeskin jacket, but no one can wear it with that same bad ass flair.

For awhile now I've been rocking my Mike Korres leather jacket (purchased at Annie Sez) like it's from someplace someone would admit to shopping at, and each time I think about the above quote. So far while wearing it I've been mistaken for a member of the Italian Fashion press, a graphic designer, and a rich person, and one guy on a skateboard in Greenpoint told me it was "cool as shit". 

But despite all the fashion writing I've done, I still hate the idea that what someone wears is more important than what they have to say. However, I do feel that fashion, at its best, can be a universal way to express one's creative individuality. As an ex once described it: "It's how we wear our personalities on the outside."

So for this purpose, I think there's nothing more iconic than a good leather jacket. It just seems to have such a wide range of personalities:

Fun-loving rock and roll high school student:



(Ps. How emotionally scarred would you be if Joey Ramone broke into your room and tried to kiss you? I still get chills during this scene seeing his weird lizard body perched over a young PJ Soles. Also, side note: do you know they originally wanted The Velvet Underground to be the band in R n' Roll High? It must have taken balls of steel to ask Lou Reed to be in a lighthearted teenage musical...)


Punk Rock Poetess:




Adorable young musician from New Jersey:




And finally, person who can't believe they're in Aspen:



That said, have a happy New Year ya'll!


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