Leather jackets are very much in style
Dear Answer Angel Ellen: I have a 10-year-old leather jacket in brown that’s in like-new condition. It’s about hip length, made of a “heavier” textured leather in a style that’s formfitting but not tight like some of the new styles. Kind of a “modified” bomber jacket is how I’d describe it. I hate to get rid of it, but I don’t see many women wearing leather jackets any longer. Any advice?
— Cynthia M.
Dear Cynthia: I’m a big believer (especially after cleaning out my closets like a mad woman during the stayat-home pandemic) of donating or selling clothing you haven’t worn in a long time. However, if you like your jacket, start wearing it and see if it still suits you. If not, let it go to a new home. As for leather clothing being in or out of style — it is very much in. That said, faux (vegan) leather now looks so much like the real thing it is hard to tell them apart and the synthetics are lots cheaper. They also appeal to those who want to stay away from animal products.
Dear Answer Angel Ellen: This is a question about repairing what used to be my favorite vest — until my parrot ate the zipper! Actually, she removed the zipper pull. I’ve searched and searched for a replacement zipper or for a replacement vest — online and in stores — without success. The vest is reversible, smooth on one side and plush on the other. It also zipped either from the top down or from the bottom up, so it had two zipper pulls, one reversible and one ordinary. Do you have any idea where I might purchase a replacement zipper? If I can’t buy another zipper, do you know where I can find a reversible vest that zips both from the top down and from the bottom up? Unzipping from the
bottom is really handy for getting into pockets, or for freedom of movement on a bike, etc.
— Paula M.
Dear Paula: If there were a competition for the most unexpected fashion accident — the naughty parrot! — you win. I’ve searched around a lot for you for a reversible vest with a two-way zipper (which is what you need to type into your search engine) and found plenty of reversible ones, but none with two-way zippers. However, I’ve
got the answer to your problem. I’ve located a couple resources for the kind of zipper you need: reversible (also known as dual) two-way. Etsy has a shop called zipperstop (zipperstop.etsy.com) that has a breathtaking array of colors, materials and sizes of zippers (for a few dollars) that fit your needs. Also try zippershipper.com. And, if your sewing skills aren’t up to the job, order the zipper and have a seamstress/tailor install it. Finally, if the vest you love gets threadbare, you can always buy a reversible vest online (of which there are thousands) and a two-way reversible zipper to replace the one in the new vest. Sounds like a fair amount of trouble, but it is a good solution if you’re intent on getting precisely what you want. Let me know how it goes.
Now it’s your turn
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