Pre-Leather (Patreon)

Years ago, back in the old days before Natalia and Olga showed up on the scene, I had this leather jacket. I loved that thing. It was lambskin, super simple, black, fit like a glove, went with everything… Whenever it started getting cold outside, I would always look forward to pulling it out of the closet.

Then, for obvious reasons, it didn’t really fit anymore. Before moving one time, I gave it to a friend of mine. Better that somebody enjoy it than I hold onto it for posterity, or something.

Ever since then, I’ve kind of been on a bit of a lazy search for a replacement that is more complementary to my shape. I haven’t really gone out of my way or anything over the last several years, but every time I happen to find myself in some thrift shop in some city, I do a little poking around to see if there’s anything that works.

I’ve gotten close a couple of times. I was this close to buying a jacket that had no hope of zipping up over my chest, but it was long, and fit everywhere else. Great in the sleeves, perfect around my waist (potbelly and all). I probably would’ve gotten it, but it was one of those things that was just a little too expensive to justify. If I’m gonna spend that type of money, I thought, I might as well go for something perfect.

Long story short, I recently made the acquaintance of a lovely individual who happens to specialize in this sort of thing. Though they live far away, in a distant land, they were willing to help out with a custom job. In hindsight, I guess it seems obvious that things like custom-made leather jackets are a thing, but I just never really put two-and-two together in my head.

So after some conversation, it came down to figuring out my measurements. I did the best I could with a tape measure.

From there, a draft would be made. Leather is some pretty highbrow stuff, and once it’s assembled, it’s not the easiest thing in the world to alter like you would a shirt or a pair of pants. So you don’t really want to just go ahead how to make one, and hope for the best. Especially if you can’t be there in-person for the tailoring. At best, it would be a waste of money and time; at worst, it would disrespect the animal.

The draft, in this case, is a really lightweight cotton canvas, complete with design elements. A couple of small tweaks here and there: shortening in the sleeves, canceling the pockets, several inches longer, and of course, the big one, filling out the upper half of the whole garment to accommodate me without blowing the proportions everywhere else.

When I tried out this draft, I could definitely see where it was going. The design is clean and simple, not very dissimilar from that one that I had years ago. Zipping it was possible, but then I kind of got that pancake effect, and since I have the option to change it anyway? Definitely going to take the opportunity. My boobs cause even the most well constructed of garments to ride up a little bit, so the end result here was more of a zip-up leather bra with sleeves (which can be trendy!). Bringing it down a little more, however, makes it a bit more timeless and intentional.

So those are the basic nuts and bolts! A little more collaboration, a little bit of editing, and… Good God. I might actually end up with a leather jacket that is positively one of a kind. Keep your fingers crossed everybody! At the very least, I have nothing but confidence that it’s going to be pretty amazing (I think a bright red lining even came up!).

And certainly not a garment I’ll be able to easily give away to a similarly shaped friend! Not that I’d want to. 😉