Get Your Motor Running…

This autumn, designers have gone hell for leather so it’s time to start saving those pennies and investing in one of the new season’s hotter than hot bikers’ jackets. Indeed, come September biker chic is going to be everywhere so rev up your engines and channel your inner biker chic… with a little help from Elegancia of course!

Biker jackets have something of a split personality. On the one hand, they belong very much to the Harley Davidson biker gangs, as much a part of their uniform as the bikes they sit on. The jackets are also a painful reminder of the 80s days of Bros, big buckled ‘BOY’ belts and bulging crotches aka the Hoff.
Somehow though, today’s designers have brought the biker jacket back into the height of coolness again. Gone are the dodgy associations to all things hot rod or high voiced. Instead, designers such as Balmain’s uber-trendy Christophe Decarnin, currently the poster boy for all things biker chic, Alexander Wang and Gucci, to name a few, are rocking the biker leather jacket making it the most desirable must-have item of autumn 2009.
It was Balmain who originally started the trend a whole year ago, creating a jacket that was cropped to perfection with a sleek cut and soft edges. After the fashion house revealed the look at a catwalk show, other designers followed suit, turning to leather for inspiration. As well as jackets, tight leather pencil skirts started appearing alongside dresses, shorts and boots so long they were almost hip length.
But back to the biker jacket, which is where your outfit will essentially stem from. Wear it slung casually over a whiter than white tight t-shirt and acid washed jeans for effortless daytime chic or dress it up with tailored trousers or harem pants and Rodarte-inspired studded high shoes for an edgy evening outfit.
Leather skirts like one worn perfectly by Kate Hudson look amazing teamed up with a simple top, though make sure to get the hem length correct, showing just enough knee but not too much thigh.
Admittedly, in a hot climate such as Tenerife where the winters are comparable with your average summer’s day in the UK (sorry to rub it in guys!), a leather jacket might be too much even on the coldest of evenings, but you can always rock the look by wearing a biker’s hat such as one by Giorgio Armani or something like these amazing boots by Balmain which are sexy enough to eat!
Equally, the look doesn’t have to be hard edged as the Victorian-inspired cropped jacket from All Saints shows and the elegant jacket by Rag&Bone shows how far biker chic has gone from its grungy 80s days. Barbara Bui takes the look one step further by destructuring the jacket to give it a softer, more moveable feel but teams it up with hard-nosed tight leather trousers.
However you wear your jacket, this trend is all about making the right purchasing choice. It is a huge mistake to opt for the cheap alternative with leather – unfortunately this one’s going to cost you. But the upside is that you will have a jacket that will last you for years and only improve with age –like yourself! Now get on your bike and ride!