If you read this blog enough, you will recognize that I am steeped in American pop culture.  There aren’t many situations that don’t remind me of some movie line or song lyric or book I’ve read.  And that’s particularly true with fashion.  We get so many of our looks from what we see in media that it’s hard not make connections.  When I wear an off-the-shoulder sweatshirt, I tell people I’m doing a Flashdance, and most of them know exactly what I mean even though that movie came out 33 years ago.  I have this white blouse with long cuffs and puffy sleeves, and whenever I wear it, I reference either Prince or a Jerry Seinfeld episode, and generally people get it.  I think it’s great that we have these collective images in our minds that are tied so much to what we wear.

So what do I think of when I wear leather?  Working Girl with Melanie Griffith.  There’s this great scene where  Melanie Griffith and Joan Cusack are going through Sigourney Weaver’s wardrobe and they find a dress that costs $6,000 and Joan Cusack says, “Six thousand dollars?!?!  It’s not even leather!”

And THAT captures my views on leather.  It makes me feel cool and edgy and sexy and is something I will ALWAYS be willing to splurge on.  You can blame it on my Texas roots, but it probably has more to do with the fact that I would secretly give anything to be a rock star, and even though I can’t carry a tune, I can certainly try to dress the part … even when I’m going to my day job.

Here, I’m wearing a Jonathan Simkhai crop top and skirt combo in white and black leather with grey and white fabric accents that I got off of The Outnet (http://www.theoutnet.com).  I love having the white and black leather paired side-by-side — it’s like Whitesnake meets Guns ‘n Roses — and I paired the outfit with these super-cool cage booties from Miu Miu.

Look, I get that I’m no rock star, but I went through today kind of feeling like one.  And that, at least for me, is why leather will always command a premium … just like it did in Working Girl.