Leather Weekend in the 'Burbs

Welcome to leather weekend in the 'burbs. That is, the suburbs of Washington DC where Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend -- aka "the leather weekend" -- is being held. Been there, done that, got the boots shined, smoked the cigar, ate the greasy chow....

So what is "Leather Weekend" like for an old-guard (alt. "old fart") leather dude who is not going to MAL and hanging out in the 'burbs?

Read more »

Travelling To MAL in Washington, DC?

Well, it's just about here -- as I call it -- the "second-largest gathering of the Leather Clan in the USA" (largest gathering still being International Mr. Leather in Chicago on the last weekend of May). I have had a few guys contact me to ask if I am going to MAL, but as I said in my previous post, I am not. There are other things going on in my life that make MAL a no-go for me this year.

For those of you who ARE traveling to DC to attend MAL, especially those traveling by air, let me share some quick tips, based on my "Air Travel with Leather Gear" tutorial.

Read more »

Mid-Atlantic Leather

Yep, it's that time of year again for the second-largest gathering of the leather clan in the United States -- an event called Mid-Atlantic Leather. It begins on Friday, January 13, and runs through Sunday night/Monday morning with a dance.

Leather, boots, hormone-driven gay men... all in one place in Washington, DC.

Okay, I've got the boots, leather gear, and last I checked, my hormones are still working. Will I be attending?

Read more »

Ethnic Stereotypes of Clothes and Boots

I received an email recently where someone asked me some questions about wearing boots with certain clothing choices. In that message, he also said,

I have recently acquired yellow Tony Lama boots and a pair of orange Dan Post boots. I plan on wearing them with jeans over the boots, but do not know what type of shirt to wear and not look like a Mexican.

Really? Honestly, this caught me by surprise. Does a certain combination of jeans over colorful boots and a certain kind or color of shirt make one "look like a Mexican?"

Read more »

Post 1400 and Blogging

Welcome to post #1400 on this blog. Regular readers have been accustomed to a new post each day, but I've pretty much run out of new content -- or at least enough to write a new post for each day, 365 days/year.

For a while, unless there is breaking news, I will scale back to a new post every other day and see how that goes.

Read more »

My Man is My Priority

The Light of My Life, my partner, my best friend, my soulmate, my everything, has been seriously ill for over a month now. On top of some sort of neurological problem which occurs at random and is severe when it happens, he has a really bad cold which has persisted for more than a week. Something is really wrong. He has never had something like a cold last more than a few days, and seldom even gets one.

My partner and I are worried, and are at a loss about what to do. He has seen so many specialists that if there were stock in "doctors" and we owned just one share, we would be rich. He has gone through so many tests that he is glowing in the dark. All the tests, so far, are "inconclusive."

Read more »

Removing Odors from Leather and Boots

A while back, someone wrote to me to ask my advice on how to remove a strong smell of fragrance from a pair of boots she bought via eBay. Another guy wrote recently with a similar question -- how to remove smoke odor from a leather jacket previously worn by a heavy smoker.

There are a lot of home remedies and folklore out there. In my opinion and based on experience, most of the home remedies do not work. Here is what works, and why....

Read more »

Leather Jackets

I was sent an email a while back stating, "I would like to find a good leather jacket. DO NOT want some every day model like you see every other middle-aged corn-fed golf dolt wearing. You know the type I mean. YAWN. I want something a bit more badass than that, but don't want something way out there. You know, too much. Too buckly, zippery. Something in the middle. Any suggestions of what to look for?"

My reply?

Read more »

Riding on New Years Day?

Seldom does the weather cooperate on 1 January, but this year it did. The temperatures did not get as warm as predicted, but warm enough -- 50F (10C). It brought out a lot of bikers for my club's annual "polar bear ride."

Read more »

Happy New Year!

I attended my usual New Year's party with my best friend and his large, raucous Italian family last night. (My partner does not go to this party with me due to the noise and confusion.) We cook a huge breakfast, served at 11:30pm, then ring in the new year with champagne (and ginger ale for me.) I return home by 12:30am, and usually find my partner asleep on the sofa. But he awakens, and we have our own small celebration, then hit the sack.

Read more »