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Why all the hatred towards black leather jackets?

Sloan1874

I'll Lock Up
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8,425
Location
Glasgow
Pushing the troll to one side, as far as black leather jacket goes, I think there's an age thing involved. Back in the 50s/60s, there was still a connotation of fascism about black leather jackets - the Wild One etc - so teens could piss off their parents and 'the man' easily by wearing one. Decades on, this transgressive association abides among teenagers and I suspect as people get older, people unconsciously steer clear of it for this reason and prefer brown or other colours in general - which handily happen to be more flexible with That said, once you've got a range of colours/hides, you'll probably want a black to finish off the collection...
 

kronos77

One of the Regulars
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257
Location
Pennsylvania
I simply like the way I look in black leather jackets. I don't wear much black clothing other than jackets and shoes. i feel some of it, t-shirts especially, give a moody, depressed teenager look.

The only jackets I like in brown are big jackets: Top coats, barnstormers, trenches, leather pea coats, the Cheyenne maybe. I have seen some beautiful examples in movies. Hastings trench coat in Poirot, some fighter pilot in the horrible Black Adder series, and more. But short brown jackets don't do it for me. That is, for me wearing them. I can appreciate them on other people.

We are all our own unique bundle of past impressions and associations. Some people make a negative association with black leather, I don't nor do i care.
 

Seb Lucas

I'll Lock Up
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7,562
Location
Australia
I tend to wear mainly black clothing. I've got around 40 black shirts for instance. I've never been a fan of colours. I have two brown leathers the others are black. I wear black and brown together; I like the combination.
 
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technovox

One Too Many
Messages
1,241
Location
San Francisco
I started with black leather in my impressionable punk rock days. Migrated to brown for the last decade, and now I’m circling back to black. I find black goes with everything. Walking out the door- grab the black leather café racer. Easy choice. For me, black is just timeless, gets better with age, and has that understated swagger and attitude. And I willingly pay extra for the “scarred and wrinkled” motorcycle jackets. All those rough edges are the kind of character and story I look for. One man’s “ugly as sin” is another’s “undeniably beautiful.” Hell, I’m even half tempted to mount my vintage café racers on plexi and display them on the wall like rare Japanese Samurai suits of armor or any other "work of art."
 
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Messages
12,941
Location
Germany
Black leather jackets/blousons?

In Germany absolutely a timeless basic and available overall, year by year. Black leather-blouson with blue-jeans = just a normal thing. Wearing it, no one will look on you. It's not interesting. Combining with a flatcap, you will surely look kind of older, like Erwin, Paul or Otto :D , but more relaxed, smart, I think. So, why not? No one thinks of Gestapo, today. ;)

I abandoned my half-long greyish soft-leather-coat from 2000, some years ago, BUT I still got my nice black leather-blouson from circa 2003, when I was 18 to 19. It's a no-named, standard-pork-nappa one (well made, with a heavy, solid zipper!).
But I m wearing it rarely, because of the weight, and especially the feeling of wearing it, driving in the car.
 

Bunyip

Call Me a Cab
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2,069
Location
Australia
I don't hate black leather jackets at all. I just don't wear them. I,like most people drool over the gorgeous black jackets on Thurston bros thread, the Lewis Leathers, Diamond Dave etc. I just don't wear much black at all. I don't own black jeans or black boots, or even a black belt....one day maybe...just not yet.
 
Messages
12,941
Location
Germany
I decided, to take my leather-blouson out of cupboard and weared it only just driving to another city and coming back now.

Ok, the nice thing about is, when you walk along and the sun warms up the jacket, it feels really good and cosy. But badly, I am feeling again, like wearing a tank on my shoulders.
Sorry. ;)

But it's still a good jacket, well made.
 

wdw

One Too Many
Messages
1,260
Location
Edinburgh
I certainly don't hate black. I have three black Aeros I love to bits and wear most of all, and some cordovans that I also love.

On the other hand, I have no browns as I just don't like that as a colour for some reason and can't see me ever getting one. I know most people rave about it, but not me.

I do have a brown Irvin, but that's obligatory, and a brown Shackleton, but that's different again.

Each to his own, basically.
 

tropicalbob

My Mail is Forwarded Here
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3,954
Location
miami, fl
I started with black leather in my impressionable punk rock days. Migrated to brown for the last decade, and now I’m circling back to black. I find black goes with everything. Walking out the door- grab the black leather café racer. Easy choice. For me, black is just timeless, gets better with age, and has that understated swagger and attitude. And I willingly pay extra for the “scarred and wrinkled” motorcycle jackets. All those rough edges are the kind of character and story I look for. One man’s “ugly as sin” is another’s “undeniably beautiful.” Hell, I’m even half tempted to mount my vintage café racers on plexi and display them on the wall like rare Japanese Samurai suits of armor or any other "work of art."

I couldn't have said this better myself, but then again I love, love, love my brown Aero LHB. As was said above, the whole thing is associative and deeply personal: the brown leather HB's make me think of '40's and '50's working-class heroes, but, as the song says, "Black is Black." Personally, I'm saving up for a black Mariner, as I worked many years ago with an old guy in Rotterdam who wore one, and I've always remembered it as the coolest jacket in the world.
 
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11,147
Location
SoCal
Nothing wrong with black.
9zsA61n.jpg
 
Messages
10,181
Location
Pasadena, CA
Prolly the reason I don't have one is that I'd have to supplement my wardrobe quite a bit with other black bits - shoes, boots, belts, etc. I'm also in a place where everyone wears it, so I kinda like not being one of the many - although, I should have one I guess.
One day - when I get out of the rut that is life now...
 

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