We realize that whatever we do is a statement. Whatever conscious decision we make is a statement because it tells other people something. You see a woman walking wearing bright red lipstick; she’s making a statement. She saying she is bold and isn’t ashamed of hiding her good looks.
You see someone wearing a lot of earrings and other such items and you know that the person does not care too much about how society judged them. Thus everything is a statement in itself. This raises the question; what does something classic like leather jackets for men state? What statement does a man who wears such a jacket wants to make?
The answer of this is simple. In order to understand the statement made by wearing a leather jacket you have to understand the inherent nature of the item itself. Leather jackets are highly fashionable items but they are also very utilitarian. Leather jackets are extremely sturdy. Few items of clothing can take as much abuse as a leather jacket and still look good. Leather jackets for men make a statement about how you are not one of those people who buy disposable things. They show that you make smart and mature purchases. It shows that you’re one of those men who focus on the future and about investing in things which will actually result in you getting your money’s worth. You can buy 3 normal jackets for the price of one leather jacket but you chose the leather jacket because you know you’re going to get more out of it than you will get out of 5 other jackets.
You know that you can wear it year after year and that it will never go out of style and that you’ll never look back at a photo of you wearing a leather jacket and have to wonder why you were wearing something strange. You just know that your sense of fashion isn’t something which changes year after year; it says that you’ve reached a point where you’re comfortable with how you want to look and you’re comfortable looking like that for a long time.
Utilitarianism is something which has always been with us and has never been considered bad. There are many such items; a workman’s boots, a plain white t shirt, a blue pair of jeans, a watch that will last years and years and many other similar things. People will always keep buying these things because aside from looking good these things are also just plain useful. You can buy cheap watches with lots of different designs or you can buy 1 watch and have it run for 15 years without any issues. This is a conscious choice, you’re choosing to forego the flavor of the month for something which will last much longer. The same quality can be seen in men’s leather jackets.
Jeans are another item which look good even after they have been worn for years. Jeans, just like leather jackets for men, never go out of style. The reason for this are the same as well. Jeans are also something which were born not out of a desire to look good but rather a desire to have something which can withstand rough conditions.
This is also why these jackets are such a symbol of masculinity. Since they were associated with people who did work which required such clothing they became clothing which showed you were a tough guy. Since being tough has always been a huge part of masculinity these symbols ended up being desireable for guys all over the world.
