So your man thinks he can wear a black leather jacket ?

If you’re going to wear a leather jacket, you gotta be worthy of it. Or so Marco, singer of long forgotten French punk band Wunderbar, once said to me.

He was of course trying  to justify the fact that he had just robbed some poor unfortunate "mummy-irons-my-jeans-with-designer-holes" punk rocker.

This was of course long after Edith Piaf, inspired by  Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots immortalised this item of clothing in L'Homme à la moto
.
Il portait des culottes des bottes de moto, un blouson de cuir noir avec un aigle sur le dos... 
Sa moto qui partait comme un boulet de canon 
Semait la terreur dans toute la région.....
He wore motorbike pants and boots,
A black leather jacket with an eagle on the back.
His motorbike went like a cannonball
Spreading terror in the entire region.

The music spells danger, the guy sports an Eagle on the back of his black leather jacket, there is the essential  sense of impending doom...

A black leather jacket (BLJ) - and it HAS to be black - spells, youth, rebellion, rock and roll, bad boys, Altamont, even drugs. A BLJ oozes masculinity and freedom, it oozes danger and desire, hence, I guess, its ridiculously frequent recurrence in the world of fashion.

But boys beware! Because of its iconic associations, the BLJ is tough to wear. Despite its simplicity pulling off a BLJ is tricky, and if I may, here some useful tips from the very best.

Exhibit 1 - Marlo Brando in The Wild One

Very tough to wear. Observe the cap. You may not just attract the ladies in this gear!

Exhibit 2 - Jimmy Dean

Begin with the smoking The cigarette is not optional. So you may want to weigh the health implications...

The T-shirt is white, It can only be a regular undershirt –crew cut- t-shirt. In Grease,  Travolta wears it in tucked into his pants, another difficult one it pull off, if you dont have a six pack.

Exhibit 3 - The rock guys

Elvis

and Jim

This time, there is the requirement of the matching leather pants... and I believe right next to his skin... ROAARRRRRR (sadly I'll have to skip The Ramones for the purpose of this ditty).

Exhibit 5 - Peter Fonda in Easy Rider

The most elegant, the most sophisticated, the most iconic, and the most natural, in my mind.

The "Captain America' is a very different type of BLJ and is reported to have been designed by Peter Fonda and made by "two little old ladies" in Los Angeles. Ms. Amberg was reportedly the first person to mix colorful leathers to produce distinct jackets. Back then, the motorcycle jackets were predominantly black and it would probably be confusing to figure out who was who during a race. She was also the first woman owner of a motorcycle jacket company.

Fonda is reported to have worn that jacket until it wore out. Yes guys a BLJ isn't just for Chritsmas!

Most importantly watch carefully how Fonda mixes a psychedlic shirt, a neck tie and  killer shades.

Essentially behind its mask of harshness, the BLJ is an über-romantic item of clothing to pick. It is a brave choice, one which reveals in fact much femininity in a guy, since flashing a BLJ is actually a strong stylistic choice that not all males are prepared to do. Let's just say that the BLJ is to men what the LBD is to women, deceptively simple, It is an essential item of clothing for the guy who can wear it.

So has your man been a bad boy lately?

Oh, and one last credibility test. If your guy cannot say the following convincingly:
- We wanna be free! We wanna be free to do what we wanna do. We wanna be free to ride. We wanna be free to ride our machines without being hassled by The Man! ... - Heavenly Blues, aka Peter Fonda, The Wild Angels
He just isn't cut for the BLJ.
Yes life is unfair, and then you die!