Continuing with my regular interest in wearing functional, comfortable clothing, I picked out my side-laced leather jeans, Dress Instep Dehner Boots, and my dress leather shirt to wear on Christmas.

Then I began to re-think this outfit.

Not that wearing all leather on Christmas Day as we went about visiting family and friends would be unusual for me. In fact, if I didn’t wear something made of leather, it would be likely that someone would notice and ask.

However, I got to thinking about wearing all black on Christmas. That isn’t too cheery, is it? Hmmm… perhaps spice it up with a red leather tie? Nope… my twin brother promised me that he would not wear a tie, so I was not about to wear one, either. Plus, with the bending and reaching that I do in the kitchen whilst cooking, a tie would be too restrictive. (That’s why I dislike ties).

I put the dress leather shirt away, and pulled out a solid red flannel shirt. It looked more “holiday-ish.” It went well with the black leather pants and boots.

I wore my leather cop jacket to keep warm, and it served well, in addition to the leather jeans, from my getting too wet in the snowball battle that my brother got going with the kiddos at my niece’s house.

So that is what I wore throughout Christmas Day — to visit family, friends, and around our house as I prepared our meal of turkey, corn, green beans, pani (dinner rolls), salad, and a lemon meringue pie for dessert.

Life is short: wear your leather — not just for an “event” or occasional outing, but for warmth, style, and comfort.

Again, I have observed a recent high number of internet searches ending up on this blog or my website from people entering questions like, “can I wear a uniform in public?” or “how to wear a CHP uniform” or just plain “CHP uniform rules”. This is the third (and last, for the moment) in my series on the “rules” regarding fetish wear.

Rules for Wearing a Uniform

This applies to wearing a uniform by someone who is not an authorized representative (such as by being employed by a law enforcement agency) to wear such a uniform. Some people choose to wear a uniform to fetish events and parties. There remain many questions about impersonation and the legality of wearing a uniform. I cover those questions in much more detail in this blog post about assembling a uniform. Here is a summary of the main points:

1. It is possible, and legal, to put together a replica uniform yourself, as long as you do not wear it anywhere within the jurisdiction it represents. For example, you should not wear a California Highway Patrol uniform anywhere with in the State of California, USA. That’s illegal. Even if the uniform is completely fake, such as one made of all leather. But you can wear it outside of California.

2. By all means, make sure the uniform is clean and pressed, and if worn with boots, the boots are shined. Think about the fine details, such as if the name plate is on the correct side, pins and buttons are in the right places, etc. Try not to overdo the bells and whistles, especially on a duty belt.

3. Do NOT wear a weapon (gun, billy club, police baton.) In many jurisdictions in the United States, it is illegal to wear a weapon like this in public or at a public place like a leather bar. I know some guys who have been arrested for doing that. Do not take this risk!

4. Do not assume behavior while wearing a uniform that implies you are a cop. Impersonation is evaluated on two factors: how you look and what you do. If you try to act like a cop in public, such as by pulling someone over, frisking or handcuffing a “suspect,” interrogating someone, etc., then a real cop may think you are trying to impersonate an officer and take you in for questioning and possibly place you under arrest on criminal charges. Keep the cop-acting behavior behind closed doors.

5. Wear a plain jacket or coat over the uniform shirt so insignia is not visible while seated in a car, using public transit, or walking on the street.

6. Do not wear a full uniform while riding a motorcycle — even if the uniform you are wearing is not from the jurisdiction where you may choose to ride. Think about it: most car drivers only catch a glimpse of other vehicles and their drivers sharing the road with them. If they see something that appears to be a uniformed motor officer on a motorcycle, they will not look more closely to ask themselves, “is he a uniform fetish guy or a real cop?” Instead, they may think you are the real deal because (think about it) most straight people have no clue about the relatively small number of guys who have a uniform fetish. That’s where the line of impersonation gets very fuzzy. Real cops take an extremely dim view of guys who wear uniforms who are not real cops and there are examples of uniform fetish dudes being brought in for questioning, delayed, and even held in jail until things get sorted out. Don’t take that risk. It’s not worth it.

7. It takes some courage to wear a fetish uniform. Stand tall, walk confidently, and remember — nothing is more sexy than a guy in a uniform with a smile. The old sinister sneer drives people away (who would want to talk to someone who looks like he has indigestion?)

These are the “rules” in my opinion, from my experience, and from my perspective. Hope this is helpful to readers!

This is the second of a series on “The Rules.” Recently, people have been using internet search engines by entering questions like, “how to do I wear leather?” or “should I wear leather in public” or “what leather do men wear in public” or just “leather in public.” I sense that there remain a number of people who want to, but may not have the courage, to wear something more than a leather jacket in public. Leather jeans, boots, shirt, and vest all look great, but cause some people to ask questions.

Here is my “take” on the “rules” for weather leather in public. These are my personal opinions, but based on experience. I wear leather a lot and not just at home.

Rules for wearing leather in public

1. Wear leather gear (jeans, shirt, jacket, boots) that fit you well. If the leather is baggy, saggy, or too tight (showing that it is being stretched or is being pulled), then it looks bad — just as bad as a poorly-fitting suit, shirt, or cloth pants.

2. Probably for your first forays into wearing leather in public, temper your choices and avoid going out as the compleat “Old Guard Leatherman.” For example, choose a pair of black leather jeans with a t-shirt or denim shirt, and a nice but subdued pair of black boots. Or, wear a leather shirt with a pair of bluejeans and boots. You may choose to wear a leather jacket if the weather requires it. While there are times that I have worn complete leather (shirt, vest, pants, boots, jacket, and Muir Cap) in public, I do not do that as often as this blog’s history may imply. Sure, I wear leather a lot, but I mix it up with complementary denim clothing (or often a dark flannel shirt.)

3. The “stop obsessing” rule applies here as well. If you are very worried about what someone else may say, then you need to work on building self-confidence.

Be ready if someone may say something when they observe you in leather gear:

Your primary response should be non-verbal.

• Smile!
• Stand up straight
• Give a clear indication that you are pleased to be wearing leather.

Yesterday, the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, is known as “Black Friday.” The date when stores have many sales to kick off the Christmas buying season. Thank goodness I have already completed all of my Christmas shopping for this year. However, we did have to venture out to take a trip to the dump to dispose of garbage and recyclables that remained after our Thanksgiving holiday pot-luck event. We passed by many shopping centers that were packed. Going into stores on days like this are definitely NOT my preference.

I decided in honour of Black Friday to dress completely in black leather. Black leather jacket, shirt, red-striped black leather breeches, tall Dehner bal-laced patrol boots, and even my Muir Cap and Damascus gloves. A couple of yuppies in jeans and sneakers at the dump emptying their SUVs parked on either side of me looked at me with either incredulity or awe.

After the trip to the dump, my partner and I did our weekly grocery shopping. Several people in the grocery store noticed my black leather, and one young guy asked me a lot of questions about where I got the gear and boots. I was happy to explain. He seemed intrigued.

At least I thought so. As we were ending our conversation, he asked me, “what kind of bike do you have?” I guess he assumed that the gear means that I’m a biker. Yes, that’s true. But I don’t only wear my leather gear when I ride my Harley. I wear it regularly, as often as I can. After all, I have made quite an investment in it, so I like to wear it. Hey guys, it’s time to get over worries about what others may think and leather up!

Life is short: wear your leather!

This is a little story about a response to something I have had posted on my website for years: my Guide to Assembling a CHP uniform.

In that Guide, I recommend not to get a full leather CHP uniform. That’s because most guys wear it at leather fetish events which are most often held in very dark places, like a bar. Wearing a light colored leather uniform makes the wearer stand out in a crowd, which isn’t so bad unless one wants to appear like a neon sign. That’s my opinion, anyway. Also, light colors tend to make heavier guys appear even bigger. Thus, the rare times I go to such functions, I choose to wear my LAPD leather uniform which is midnight blue. It’s more flattering to my ‘figure’ and less obvious, especially under black lights.

Anyway, someone who makes CHP uniform breeches and shirts in leather sent me a pair of breeches to try out. He suggested that I wear them for a while and let him know what I thought. He did not request that I change my opinion, but wanted me to have a chance to see what the breeches were like.

The breeches are comfortable. The leather is rather thin: I estimate 4 – 5oz leather. That’s not bad — these breeches will be good to use when riding my Harley in warmer weather, and preferably with a dark shirt or jacket and a pair of Patrol Boots. However, I absolutely must have a zipper installed in the fly. The cheap snaps that came on these breeches tend to open all by themselves. I really don’t want that to happen out in public (evil grin).

Some photos of these breeches now appear on my website.

My opinion about light-colored leatherwear remains the same. These are bright and definitely would stand out in a dark bar. I still will choose to wear black or midnight blue to fetish events… my partner’s opinion is the same as my own: I look better that way.

Life is short: wear your leather, and stand by your opinions!

On Thursday I learned that the usual company dress code would be suspended on Friday so we could (and were encouraged to) come to work “in costume” for Halloween.

What a dilemma. What to wear? At first, I thought of wearing a business suit. That would scare most of my colleagues to death, since I do not dress up unless I absolutely must. Then I thought, “why should I make myself so uncomfortable? I am much more comfortable in leather than in a suit!”

Over lunch on Thursday, I overheard some of my colleagues talking about what they were going to wear. The usual stuff — witches, goblins, and even some who said they would dress up to be a lookalike for some prominent Members of Congress and the current Presidential administration.

When I got home on Thursday night, I discussed the matter with my partner. I suggested various ideas — motorcycle cop, cowboy, punk rocker — all of which I could easily create from my gear and boot closets. He suggested that I be careful about what I select, as I shouldn’t go “too far” when it comes to displaying fetish interests. Even though it is Halloween, wearing a cop uniform in the office would cause some people to ask the obvious questions: “you own that outfit? Why?” I really didn’t want to “go there”….

I settled on “biker.” Just regular-old “biker.” People in the office know I ride a Harley. There are some photos on my desk of me on my bike, and I have shown up on the bike at occasional office gatherings like the annual summer picnic.

I donned a pair of black denim jeans, regular “biker chaps,” a Harley T-shirt, a leather vest, and wore a pair of light-on-my-feet Chippewa engineer boots. I was comfortable in this attire all day, and other people smiled and said, “Happy Halloween,” without saying much more. I went along with the spirit of the holiday at work, and got to wear my leather, but didn’t overdo it.

Man, what a dilemma for a leatherman….

Life is short: wear your boots and leather!

P.S.: I won “honorable mention” for “most creative.” Go figure.