This Modern leather shirt is loosely based on a 1940’s men’s shirt that the client brought in.
The original shirt was in tatters, antique rayon does not have great longevity. But this new shirt will.
The only element of the vintage 1940’s shirt that survived the translation and made it into this leather shirt is the zipper closure.
And that’s all good since many vintage garments don’t lend themselves to modern life or style. The client (and I) wanted a sleek, stylish & wearable piece that could be worn many ways, with jeans, more formally, or simply to work. (Self-employment has it perks).
So we happily lost all other vintage reference, like the original, oddly proportioned collar and very short, boxy shape of the original.
The vintage shirt was one of those odd rusty shades that were popular at the time so we left that aside completely… I located several different colors, and most of them happened to be almost jewel shades.
But this deep, almost bottle green leather won out over them all. Besides the color, the feel of these skins were amazing. They are French tanned and almost paperweight.
So the client’s choice of leather was basically a no brainer works and brilliantly here. Lined in a silk crepe de chine, that is a slightly brighter version of the leather. This gives a little pop when the leather shirt is worn at all open.
Because of its lightweight this leather shirt, like others that I’ve made, can be worn on its own, or as a lightweight jacket over a thin layer.