Outfit Of The Week 9/29/24 – 10/5/24

This week’s edition of “OOTW” features an outfit I threw on to take my youngest son to school.

The weather has been beautiful here. Around mid-60s and sunny during the day, but upper-40s to low-50s in the morning. Usually, I’ll wear my Harrington jacket, but that particular morning decided on something a little more fun: my black Schott Perfecto motorcycle jacket.

A lot of men feel that they can’t “pull off” a leather jacket like this. I get it. It has a very recognizable style which has been associated with tough guys ever since Marlon Brando wore one in The Wild One. But that movie came out 70 years ago. I think the association is a little diluted at this point.

So, yes, you CAN “pull off” a leather jacket like this. You don’t need to own a motorcycle to wear one just like you don’t need to own a P-51 to wear a flight jacket. I always say that I’d rather be the bold dad in the leather jacket than the timid dad in the hoodie.

This jacket does sometimes elicit comments, but they’re mostly people going, “Wow, cool jacket!”

Black leather jackets are up there with wide-brimmed hats in “Cool Stuff That Men Don’t Think They Have The Authenticity To Wear”. But seriously, just put one on and you’ll feel fine.

I get such a kick out of wearing this jacket! The leather creaks and groans and the hardware jingles as I move. I also love how it smells.

One of the things I love about menswear is the sensory experience and this jacket is a perfect example of that.

The shirt I wore was a simple black t-shirt from Lands’s End.

I know a lot of menswear enthusiasts advocate “elevating the ordinary” when it comes to your basic staples like t-shirts, undies, and socks but I don’t subscribe to that. A cotton t-shirt is a cotton t-shirt and, as long as it fits, a $10 t-shirt will look just as good as a $50 t-shirt. I’d rather put that extra money towards things that will last the rest of my life… like a leather jacket.

My pants were my ripped-up old jeans from Eddie Bauer. These jeans are at least 10 years old and, as you can see, are only worn in ultra-casual situations.

My belt was the brown leather belt I wear most days (when I’m wearing casual pants). The belt (as well as the boots) shows that you don’t have to match your leathers, especially when you’re dressed casually.

NOT matching your leathers actually helps the outfit from looking too studied, as in: “Oh, I’m wearing my black leather jacket so I NEED to wear my black leather belt and black boots!”

You don’t need to do that.

To top things off, I wore my six-panel, wool/cashmere, grey plaid cap. Because it’s six-panel and not 8-panel, it’s a little sleeker than my wider and slouchier, brown herringbone newsboy, which I feel looks better with softer, tweedier looks.

I wore this outfit for about 30 minutes. I popped it on, drove my son to school, and then came home and changed so I could work out.

Despite its short life, I felt it was interesting enough to feature!

Have a wonderful weekend!