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S in San Francisco and Northbound in Canada. "It all depends if youre looking for fashion, motorcycle wear or erotic wear," says Cady, 35, who has had pants and shirts made at Image Leather and Mr. Philadelphia Leather 2000, about traveling far and wide for non-retail-rack leather. Ask Mark Cady, City Paper classifieds manager and Mr. This has made getting tight-fitting leather locally a problem. Previously they could only be fitted on paper in Philly (at Fetishes) and made elsewhere like Northbound Leather in Canada or the Leather Rack in Manhattan. Rocco is one of the few who makes items like unlined restraints, vests, shirts, harnesses, chaps, wristbands, collars and, soon, pants right here in Philly. "I wont let anyone walk away whose leather doesnt fit exactly." Fitting is all about re-adjusting." He mentions patterns made of cloth and vinyl and constant re-fitting.
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"Before someone gets chaps from me, Ill do four separate fittings. "Its supposed to be form-fitting," says Rocco. But how snug a fit can you get via e-mail? Im a leather man whether Im in or out of leather," says Rocco, adding that his brothers in the leather community think likewise.įor all the brotherhood, its not easy to get the damn clothes. "When I was a kid I used to chew on leather. For Rocco, leather is life: Its as much about the feel, taste, touch and smell as it is the clothing. "But I didnt like what I was seeing in terms of quality in the store." So without any training or sewing experience he began to design his own leather goods what would eventually become Leatherworks.īefore Washington, Rocco was fully part of the Philly gay leather club scene, acting at one time, as president of The Philadelphians MC, the now 25-year-old leather club that meets regularly at the Bike Stop, a gay levi/leather bar. "I got transferred from the kitchen to the sales floor after I got mono," jokes Rocco. The 45-year-old South Philly native started doing leather menswear 16 years ago out of Washington, D.C.s DC Eagle, a leather bar with a shop inside.
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Duck into the basement of Fetishes, Roccos dungeon workshop/lair, and youll get a full history lesson of Leather Philadelphia. Move past the Psydde Delicious corsets and spiked paddles at Kali Morgans Fetishes Boutique on South Fifth Street, and theres John Rocco, leather designer, a bald gentleman with a graying goatee, stocky and friendly. In Philly, finding that fit isnt so easy. The correct fit for most (not all) be it catsuits, pants, chaps is tight, tight-fitting, custom-made to suit each body bump and contour.
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But to be that skin, supple but taut to the touch, it must wrap the body as flesh. When worn correctly, leather be it hip-riding leather pants or tapered shirts is the ultimate material, a second skin. It shapes the wearers personality, their culture, the way a snug-fitting pair of pants would. To dedicated fetishists and gay leather enthusiasts, leather is lifestyle, beyond mere kitsch obsession. The image of the leather-clad conjures to hetero audiences the sinewy sonics of Jim Morrison and The Doors, Kitten-With-A-Whip-era Ann-Margret or the rough boys n girls of the ∥0s.
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Say the word and people react with sexual fervor. Gay or straight, the culture of leather fits like a glove. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.įits so good: Custom-fit leather by Stormy Leather, XTC and John Rocco available at Fetishes Boutique. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper.
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Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper.