Nearly four years ago, just after we had moved to Dubai, I was out shopping (I was, after all, still a lady of leisure back then)! Dubai only really has two seasons. Hot and hotter, but the clothing stores still stock winter woollies, scarves, hats, gloves, fuzzy tights and puffy jackets during the cooler seasons. Which is kind of silly really. But at least you can buy cold weather gear for traveling to cooler climes. So, I came upon this leather jacket. To me, a leather jacket is not just an item of clothing. It’s a statement about the wearer (which is why I’ve never really bought one before – I tend to make statements using words rather than clothes). But I was in a new land, living a new life and it suddenly seemed OK for me to buy a leather jacket for the first time. So I did. And promptly proceeded to stick it in my closet for the next four years. Never wore it once. It would seem that just because you are making a fresh start somewhere new, doesn’t change the fact that you are the same old person you were before. And that person didn’t wear leather jackets.

Packing for our trip to Germany and The Netherlands though, I looked at the jacket as a real sartorial contender for the first time. So I brought it along. And you know what? Berlin was the perfect place for it to make its debut. I don’t know if it’s like when you buy a car and suddenly you notice that model car everywhere, but it seemed like EVERYONE in Berlin was wearing a leather jacket. It was less of a statement and more of a staple. And then, I wore it nearly every day in Amsterdam. I think I’m going to miss wearing it when we get back to Dubai.

My leather jacket.