Straight Guy In Leather

Guest blog by J, BHD's twin brother

I'm a straight guy, married to a wonderful woman, and I usually wear suits in my daily life. My brother, BHD, has accused me of being the Imelda Marcos of dress shoes as he is the accumulator of boots. Nonetheless, I do not wear leather items other than a leather jacket and shoes. I have not been interested in wearing leather (nearly as interested in wearing leather items as my brother is), nor have I had the reason to wear something like leather jeans since I do not regularly ride a motorcycle or play in a rock band.

That changed last week. My wife and I were on a stroll through Forum des Halles, a large market in Paris (France). This is where we live.

We usually buy items to snack on, fresh vegetables, or the occasional item like a hand-made sweater. The market is wonderful, with many vendors offering all sorts of interesting things.

As we were strolling past the stalls of vendors selling their wares, I saw a display of leather garments. The vendor had some nice jackets, and I stopped to look. They were all too short for my tall frame. I began to turn away when my wife spotted a pair of leather pants and held them up to my waist. She said, "those would look good on you!"

I was shocked. My wife is quite fashion conscious, and has never expressed that she thought I would look good much less want to wear a pair of leather pants.

I looked at them, and checked the size. They would seem to fit my waist and they were unhemmed and longer than my legs. But I wasn't sure of the quality. The vendor was actually from Firenze, Italia, and he kept telling me in very excited and expressive Italian just how wonderful the pants were made and how great they would be for me. He said, "look, all the guys wear them now." I was in a state of disbelief when he pointed, and I looked where he was indicating and saw a man walking arm-in-arm with a woman. The guy was wearing a pair of leather pants with a leather jacket. He looked good.

Vendors in these places sell all sorts of stuff of varying quality. Neither my wife or I knew how to tell about the quality of the leather pants. But I knew who would know! I rang my brother on the phone. It was very early in the morning back where he lives, but he didn't seem to mind. He asked me to check the stitching, seams, and the lining. He asked me to rub the leather between my fingers and see if any of the dye came off on my hands or if the leather turned dull where I rubbed. No -- it remained shiny and smooth. The seams were double-stitched. My brother asked to speak with the vendor, and while I could only hear one side of the conversation, I could tell that my brother was asking a lot of good questions. I was impressed that my brother could have such a technical conversation in Italian. The vendor handed the phone back to me and my brother urged me to buy the leather pants.

I had some fun haggling with the vendor, but thought I got a good price for them at €100. I brought them to a local tailor to have the hems finished. I wore the new leather pants yesterday as my wife and went on passagata around our neighborhood. Two people complimented me on the leather pants. I must say, they look very nice.

I believe my brother now that "even a straight guy who does not ride a motorcycle" can wear leather pants. I did what he suggests: I stood up straight, walked confidently, and smiled. I received many smiles back in return. (But I think the pants would look better with boots, which I do not own. I am confident that my brother will be able to fix that "problem" LOL!)

Thanks, bro'! I have learned a lot from you, including a new confidence in wearing leather in public on the streets of Paris, while enjoying a walk with my wife.