The timeless classic that time forgot, and now I won’t either!

Anyone who has read my response to the dreaded question, “who is your style icon?” would know that I usually respond with my mom. When I was much younger I knew that she was an incredible dresser, and with time my respect and admiration has only deepened! She has a complex love for clothing and is not afraid to delve into the realm of “interesting” versus “appealing” (although what is or is not appealing is truly in the eye of the beholder). Her and I are always checking out what each other is wearing and when I have the chance to visit her in San Francisco you can more often than not find me snooping around in her closet!

A few days ago, I asked my mom about her leather Ann Demeulemeester jacket, which I had
seen her wear before but never knew the brand (you can tell that her clothing is nice, but she is never flashy about the labels that she wears). It turns out that the jacket is from the fall 2000 collection, and has a sweet story to go along with it.

My mom told me that she had spotted the jacket in an issue of Vogue styled with a skirt and tall boots and immediately fell in love with the entire look. In an out-of-character move she called up every Barneys to see if they had it, only to find out that Barneys had not ordered any of that style. Slightly heartbroken, she accepted the defeat that the jacket was just not meant to be. Fast forward a few months later, and my mom is on a business trip in London. While snooping around Browns, she bumped into…you got it, THE JACKET!

Copying the style

I loved it so much that I enquired with a fashion manufacturing company in London about reproducing the jacket for me. The company Wiseman Clothing were able to copy it to the tee and made me a fantastic reproduction of a timeless classic. A jacket I would likely be unable to buy today.

The production time for the jacket wasn’t too bad either, from going in and seeing them to the patterns and jacket being made was within 4-weeks. All in all I was VERY HAPPY!

Vogue style never dies

Fashion is a fickle thing and timeless pieces fly in the face of the current trends on the high street that are very much here today and gone tomorrow. They simply do not make ‘timeless’ pieces anymore so the chance to own a timeless leather jacket should never be passed up.

Needless to say, the decision was practically made for her. And 10 years later, she has a piece that is timeless in style, great condition, and incredibly relevant to fashion right now. You can see below how she wears it, and per her request – how I would wear it too.