Confessions of a Leather-holic

I love leather. LOVE it. Leather belts, leather jackets, leather boots. I mean, just like any other normal, healthy woman, I never feel that I have enough apparel, but unlike some who always need new shoes or crave designer handbags, I am very particular about leather, and it is by far my most expensive material splurge. I don't do this often, of course. I get an item of leather probably once every two years, because it IS a pricey splurge, and because it has to be the perfect item. I'm not talking about wanting to be decked out in a leather bandanna and leather chaps with fringe or anything, but not much makes me feel as cool and confident as when I am wearing a hot pair of leather boots and the rubbing/crinkly sound that my leather jacket makes when I move. I love the smell, the supple texture and the weight of it. Hopefully I'm not offending anyone and some angry person isn't going to hate me and stalk me and douse me in red paint or something. I'm not heartless and I really do love animals, but, mmmmm, leather. (I would never wear fur and I don't go for exotic, endangered animal leather, if that helps (please let it help ;) )

I like the look of distressed leather the best, and for jackets I like mock collars. I have two leather jackets, one brown and one black. It took me ages to find them both, and ironically they were both from the Gap, which is not generally one of my favorite places, but is worth browsing once in a while for hidden gems. I had always wanted a great leather jacket, but I wasn't going to spend the money unless I found one that was perfect. It may be a surprise to some, but I actually can be patient on occasion. You can't/shouldn't impulse buy when it comes to leather. Even in the famed leather market in Florence, Italy I couldn't find the jacket I wanted. (Though I did purchase a wonderful leather messenger bag). Then one day, I was lazily browsing through the Gap, (it was going through one of its all-too-infrequent cool seasons) and there it was. The perfect brown leather jacket. I wish I had a Gap shot of this instead of just a personal photo, but here his is it:

It was a couple of years after this, after searching and searching for the perfect black one, that I got a text from my lovely friend (and roommate at the time)Janelle, who knew what I was looking for, that said something elusive yet decisive like, the Gap has your black leather jacket. What an amazing friend (also, maybe I am just really annoying and raved about the details of the yet-to-be-discovered item all too often) because I went in and at the first glance I knew that she was right. Perfect. Had to be mine. SUCH a satisfying feeling. This is it:

I would really like to get a bomber style leather jacket at some point in my life as well, possibly with a hood. Anyway, back on track, this whole spiel came about because I just purchased a beautiful new pair of leather boots. These leather boots:

Heaven. I already have some tall dressier leather boots in both brown and black that I love, but I have been wanting some mid-calf, more casual motorcycle style boots for months. The ones I have really been pining for are from Frye which is my favorite leather boot brand, but they are really pricey so I have been holding off and holding off and then I unexpectedly found these ones at American Eagle of all places for a third the price (plus I had a $50 gift card because I returned some stuff last Spring and it was maybe later than thirty days so I got a gift card instead of my money back ... so I ended up paying like $40 instead of the $250 or so the Frye ones would have been.) These are the ones from Frye:

Don't look a ton different, right? I am contradicting myself a little bit here because there are definitely a few differences in quality and sturdiness, but for how long I have been wanting them and for how much cheaper they were... I was okay with not absolute perfection ;) The important thing is that they are still 100% leather and they match the style I wanted. I'm sort of a snob about the 100% leather thing. If you are going to get leather boots, get leather boots. Just my feelings on the matter- I like authenticity. Not only are these beautiful, but they are also comfortable. My other black boots are heeled and fabulous, but I couldn't, say, spend a day comfortably strolling around the city in them. These I can. When my eyes first clamped onto this motorcycle style it was love, and who am I to stand in the way of love?

This love of leather extends to furniture as well. One day when I can afford it, I am buying leather furniture from Restoration Hardware:

This couch is amazing- its gooshy and supple and soooooo deep. This picture doesn't even do justice to how deep it is. It could be my bed. Basically when I sit on it with my bum to the back cushions, my feet don't touch the ground. Now I am perfectly aware that I am slightly below average in the height department, but still.

This is the all time perfect reading chair. It's deep like the couch, and it has a really curvy head rest. I could sit in this chair for hours. Leather is just so cozy and earthy and homey to me.

They even have a leather dresser and a leather bed! Now I probably don't need those, but they're still pretty cool. I definitely need the couch and chair though. Not want. Need. My ultimate future happiness requires it.