Leather jackets are popularly known as the winter’s most worn outerwear. But there’s another thing that has made it an essential apparel for both men and women, and that is its style. Although leather speaks volumes about luxury and elegance, it becomes more classy when shaped with detail to be outerwear. To unleash the dapper in you, we suggest you check out men’s biker jackets, as they’re designed in a way that boost your panache.
Leather jackets and their styling can come in handy, but is that styling doing justice to your real leather biker jacket? What if it isn’t? Following trend is one thing and keeping up with your personal style is another. If you want to be a trendsetter, you need to be well aware of both. Having a better insight into what makes good fashion means having a keen sense of what goes well with what.
So, we’ll be sorting out styles that not only will get you noticed, but will also help you develop your sense of fashion. This foolproof style guide can do the trick.
Try Leather On Leather
Although it comes in the category of warmth-giving material, leather is an exquisite textile material, including cotton and wool. But the place leather has managed to score in people’s wardrobe cannot be compared with that of other materials. Leather is all about class and refinement, and if it is a part of your wardrobe, you must wear it with the same style.
Moreover, leather on leather is the most pragmatic approach towards styling. If you are au courant with the trend, you must have seen bloggers and influencers donning this attire. This outfit approach can be seen in two ways: to style it with a leather button-down shirt or to style it with finely shaped leather pants. Either way, it will look exquisite.
Denim With Leather Is A Beguiling Combination
Everyone loves denim. Be it men or women, denim has been used and enjoyed by all ages. To style the two of the most sought-after textiles, you’ll need a perfect-fit denim shirt because obviously, denim jeans are usual.
You’ll need men’s leather motorcycle jackets and a blue denim shirt with brown textured buttons and black khakis to complete the whole vibe. Finalize this look with a flair of grace by adding black shoes to the mix.
Get Your Favorite Hoodie
Layering is one of the most common ways to make the most out of winter clothes. Men’s designer leather jackets are the most sought-after category to pull off this look. To give this look an upgrade, you just need to grab your favorite hoodie, but make sure it is plain.
Pair your go-to hoodie with a blingy leather jacket to bring the most out of this attire. Add a dash of swag to your overall jaunty look with black denim and you’re all set.
We’re Back On Sweaters
If you love old school fashion, then this attire can become your go-to outfit for years to come. To style this look, get your hands on some finely knitted sweaters; also, make sure you choose your sweater’s color wisely. If you’re pairing this sweater with a classic black leather jacket, you must go for dark tones, preferably bottle green and navy blue.
Pair this sweater with your trendy black hooded jacket while your bottom sports some knee ripped black jeans. Wrap this look with flair by adding a pair of black sneakers.
A Vest Is A Never-Ending Style
Have you ever thought about styling a vest with a leather jacket? If you haven’t, then it is high time to do it now because you’re missing out on many trendy styles. Although vests and jackets have been both used and displayed by many people in a single attire, it doesn’t work at all times. That’s why it’s important to keep in mind that you need to be open to changes when upgrading your style. It’ll always bring out the best in your personal style.
Complete this look by wearing a plaid sweater vest over a plain white shirt and dark brown chinos. Don’t forget to include the main highlight of the whole thing – a leather jacket. Although it might not be easy to get your hands on the best affordable leather jackets, once you find the one that fits your needs and preference, there’s no going back.
Be A True Dapper With High Neck
Pairing a high neck and leather jacket is one of the most elegant combinations that you can wear. If you are the kind of person who prefers to be unique in terms of style, then this look is exclusively for you. Despite the inner class it exudes, this look hasn’t been exhibited by a lot of people. You can also choose to pair a dark grey high neck with a classic black leather jacket. Talk about dressing to impress!
No matter what your preference is, you can pull off any look as long as you remember to wear your confidence as well. Leather already gives off a vibe of masculinity, so it won’t be hard to pair it with other items of clothing that’ll make you a sight for sore eyes.
Easy to make, unusually moist chocolate cupcakes and no mixer required! No eggs either, the recipe uses a combo of baking soda and vinegar for leavening.
Beef short ribs, braised in red wine and veal stock with onion, celery, and carrots. These braised beef short ribs are easy to make, so do not be intimidated by the overall time!
Craving Hot and Sour Soup just like your favorite Chinese restaurant? This recipe will hit the spot! It’s made with Chinese mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tofu, and a beaten egg.
Traditional chai tea recipe, prepared with full-bodied black tea, star anise, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, white peppercorns, cardamom, whole milk and sugar.
Savory mushrooms, a hearty wild rice blend and a bit of herbes de Provence make this Chicken and Rice Soup special. Grab your slow cooker to have it waiting for you at dinnertime—it’s ready in 3 hours.
The season of the slow cooker has arrived, and this slow cooker Balsamic Honey Pork Loin is a must-make recipe! Eat it sliced with cooking liquid spooned over the top or reduce the liquid to make a scrumptious pan sauce. It’s a bit of a flavor twist, but you will love it and keep coming back for more!
It’s not a party without 7 Layer Dip! We make it with hot refried beans and topped with cheddar cheese, chilies, tomatoes, avocados, sour cream, and sliced black olives. It’s an essential Game Day appetizer.
Prime rib recipe, how to cook to perfection a standing rib beef roast, step-by-step instructions and photos. Perfect for Christmas and the holiday season.
These classic stuffed mushrooms are loaded with shallots, garlic, walnuts, breadcrumbs, and chopped mushroom stems. Sprinkle with Parmesan, pop them in the oven, and you’ve got a great appetizer for the holidays.
This easy fruitcake is perfect for the holidays. It’s light, tender, and full of dried fruits and nuts. Sprinkle the loaf with brandy, or leave it out! Either way, this fruit cake is a welcome addition to the holiday table.
This easy breakfast casserole is adaptable to whatever ingredients you have on hand—cheese, veggies, meats—and can be assembled the night before and baked in the morning. Or eaten for dinner—your choice!
Homemade hot chocolate is a dreamy treat on a cold day. Make it with real chocolate, whole milk, and vanilla, and top it with a dollop of whipped cream.
When is the last time you had Twice Baked Potatoes?! Here are two variations on a classic recipe: one with a cheddar cheese and bacon, the other with a blue cheese and chives. These are such a good side dish to a holiday meal or Sunday supper.
These Christmas Cookies are buttery, tender, and ready for icing. A tried-and-true family favorite, this is THE cookie that Santa wants on his cookie plate!
These light and sweet meringue cookies are made with just three ingredients: egg whites, sugar, and pecans. Great for Christmas or for a Passover or Easter treat! Start them the night before and let them cool slowly in the oven until morning.
Hearty Ham and Bean Soup, perfect for cold winter days! White beans, ham shanks, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, Tabasco, and herbs make this delicious ham and bean soup a cool weather classic.
This easy Turkey Chili is a great way to use up turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving and Christmas! Make it with shredded turkey (dark or white meat), kidney beans, onion, garlic, and tomatoes.
This slow-cooked pork shoulder is just the ticket on a cold winter day. It marinates overnight, then roasts all day. Dinner is ready when it’s fall-apart tender. Serve with an easy apple gravy and some roast vegetables on the side.
This classic, savory Southern cornbread is just begging for a bowl of chili or a plate of ribs. Made with all cornmeal, straight buttermilk, and no added sugar (like it should be!) in a cast iron skillet, this cornbread is an easy dinner side dish.
Make the most of sweet corn season by serving up this creamed corn at your next backyard BBQ. This dish also freezes beautiful and can be made with frozen corn (hello, Thanksgiving side dish!).
Donald Trump falsely claimed on Twitter that the election is being stolen from him and that votes can’t be counted after polls are closed.
While Twitter didn’t remove the message posted early Wednesday, it did hide the tweet and slap a warning label on it. You can still view the message if you click through. It’s consistent with the social media platform’s previously announced plan to stop politicians from making “premature claims of victory.”
To be clear, nothing is being stolen from Trump. Several states allow for mail-in ballots to be counted if they’re received after Nov. 3. And some count the votes of people waiting in line when polls close. Read more…
This fudge recipe is adapted from the original Kraft back-of-the-can recipe—but with extra chocolate. It’s easy to make with marshmallow fluff, chocolate, evaporated milk, and walnuts. It makes a huge batch so you can share with friends!
Welcome fall with this easy applesauce cake! It’s rich, moist, and fragrant with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Top with cream cheese frosting or leave plain.
These easy apple turnovers are made with store-bought puff pastry or homemade pie crust. They’re filled with tart apples, currants, walnuts, sugar and cinnamon. All the best fall flavors in a hand-held pie!
Free unlimited delivery and everyday low prices on groceries, gadgets, and more! Too good to be true? Thanks to Walmart+, it’s not: dinner is on the table fast this fall with less stress and more ease.
These oven baked sweet potato fries are so addictive! Wedges of sweet potatoes, tossed with oil, sprinkled with spices, and baked at high heat until browned and crispy at the edges.
BBQ Chicken cooked slowly on the grill, slathered with your favorite barbecue sauce — does it get any better? This is the best recipe for making perfect BBQ chicken for all your summer gatherings and cook outs.
This easy Greek Salad is made with plum tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, bell pepper, kalamata olives, and crumbled feta cheese. Tossed with a lemon and red wine vinegar vinaigrette dressing, it’s ready for a summer picnic!
What’s Beer Can Chicken, you ask?! A whole chicken cooked upright with a can of beer as its base. The reward? Tender, falling-off-the-bone chicken that’s moist on the inside, crispy on the outside.
Corn chowder made with fresh sweet corn is one of summer’s greatest pleasures. This easy recipe uses the corn cobs to infuse even more corn flavor into the milky broth.
Gabriela Cámara is an international restaurateur and author of My Mexico City Kitchen: Recipes and Convictions. We interviewed her to discuss the popularity of the modern Mexican table, her position on sustainable food, and her commitment to creating equitable work environments.
These classic pickled jalapeños, or jalapeños escabeche, are made with fresh jalapeño chili peppers, white onions, garlic, carrots, cider vinegar and herbs. Serve them alongside Mexican dishes, or slice them up for burgers, tacos, or salsas.
Zucchini bread is a perennial favorite and what to make when the gardens are overflowing with this summer veggie. This easy bread is tender and gently spiced.
Cherry pie filled with ripe sweet cherries is a summer favorite. This easy pie can be made with fresh or frozen sweet cherries. A touch of almond extract in the filling and a light hand with the sugar helps the cherries shine.
Classic Baba Ganoush is made by roasting eggplants until soft, scooping out the insides, and mashing with tahini, garlic, and spices. Served with pita or cracker, this eggplant dip is a great snack or party appetizer.
This homemade vanilla ice cream is made with a custard base, sugar, cream, and real vanilla beans. So classic and so good! Serve it topped with caramel sauce or alongside a slice of apple pie.
Homemade pico de gallo is the best! Chopped fresh tomatoes, chile peppers, red onion, cilantro, and lime are meant to be consumed fresh—it’s called salsa fresca, for a reason.
No need to soak your corn on the cob, or give it any special treatment before grilling. The secret to the easiest grilled corn? Grill it as is, husks on. Read more on why this works.
The head of a Philippine news website known for its tough scrutiny of President Rodrigo Duterte was convicted of libel on Monday and faces a lengthy jail term in what is being seen as a blow to media freedom in the country.
Everything you want to know about canned tomatoes! We’ll tell you about the different kinds, what swaps you can make, and how to make the most of whatever kind of canned tomato you have!
When it’s hot, cooking has to be at a bare minimum, right? This quick and easy macaroni salad with hard boiled egg, roasted red bell pepper, onion, mayonnaise, and paprika gives new life to your standard issue picnic macaroni salad!
The 1845 depiction of a galaxy that inspired Van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night,’ from Michael Benson’s Cosmigraphics: Picturing Space Through Time.
One November night in the 1870s, legendary Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky (November 11, 1821–February 9, 1881) discovered the meaning of life in a dream — or, at least, the protagonist in his final short story did. The piece, which first appeared in the altogether revelatory A Writer’s Diary (public library) under the title “The Dream of a Queer Fellow” and was later published separately as The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, explores themes similar to those in Dostoyevsky’s 1864 novel Notes from the Underground, considered the first true existential novel. True to Stephen King’s assertion that “good fiction is the truth inside the lie,” the story sheds light on Dostoyevsky’s personal spiritual and philosophical bents with extraordinary clarity — perhaps more so than any of his other published works. The contemplation at its heart falls somewhere between Tolstoy’s tussle with the meaning of life and Philip K. Dick’s hallucinatory exegesis.
Portrait of Fyodor Dostoyevsky by Vasily Perov, 1871
The story begins with the narrator wandering the streets of St. Petersburg on “a gloomy night, the gloomiest night you can conceive,” dwelling on how others have ridiculed him all his life and slipping into nihilism with the “terrible anguish” of believing that nothing matters. He peers into the glum sky, gazes at a lone little star, and contemplates suicide; two months earlier, despite his destitution, he had bought an “excellent revolver” with the same intention, but the gun had remained in his drawer since. Suddenly, as he is staring at the star, a little girl of about eight, wearing ragged clothes and clearly in distress, grabs him by the arm and inarticulately begs his help. But the protagonist, disenchanted with life, shoos her away and returns to the squalid room he shares with a drunken old captain, furnished with “a sofa covered in American cloth, a table with some books, two chairs and an easy-chair, old, incredibly old, but still an easy-chair.”
As he sinks into the easy-chair to think about ending his life, he finds himself haunted by the image of the little girl, leading him to question his nihilistic disposition. Dostoyevsky writes:
I knew for certain that I would shoot myself that night, but how long I would sit by the table — that I did not know. I should certainly have shot myself, but for that little girl.
You see: though it was all the same to me, I felt pain, for instance. If any one were to strike me, I should feel pain. Exactly the same in the moral sense: if anything very pitiful happened, I would feel pity, just as I did before everything in life became all the same to me. I had felt pity just before: surely, I would have helped a child without fail. Why did I not help the little girl, then? It was because of an idea that came into my mind then. When she was pulling at me and calling to me, suddenly a question arose before me, which I could not answer. The question was an idle one; but it made me angry. I was angry because of my conclusion, that if I had already made up my mind that I would put an end to myself to-night, then now more than ever before everything in the world should be all the same to me. Why was it that I felt it was not all the same to me, and pitied the little girl? I remember I pitied her very much: so much that I felt a pain that was even strange and incredible in my situation…
It seemed clear that if I was a man and not a cipher yet, and until I was changed into a cipher, then I was alive and therefore could suffer, be angry and feel shame for my actions. Very well. But if I were to kill myself, for instance, in two hours from now, what is the girl to me, and what have I to do with shame or with anything on earth? I am going to be a cipher, an absolute zero. Could my consciousness that I would soon absolutely cease to exist, and that therefore nothing would exist, have not the least influence on my feeling of pity for the girl or on my sense of shame for the vileness I had committed?
From the moral, he veers into the existential:
It became clear to me that life and the world, as it were, depended upon me. I might even say that the world had existed for me alone. I should shoot myself, and then there would be no world at all, for me at least. Not to mention that perhaps there will really be nothing for any one after me, and the whole world, as soon as my consciousness is extinguished, will also be extinguished like a phantom, as part of my consciousness only, and be utterly abolished, since perhaps all this world and all these men are myself alone.
Beholding “these new, thronging questions,” he plunges into a contemplation of what free will really means. In a passage that calls to mind John Cage’s famous aphorism on the meaning of life — “No why. Just here.” — and George Lucas’s assertion that “life is beyond reason,” Dostoyevsky suggests through his protagonist that what gives meaning to life is life itself:
One strange consideration suddenly presented itself to me. If I had previously lived on the moon or in Mars, and I had there been dishonored and disgraced so utterly that one can only imagine it sometimes in a dream or a nightmare, and if I afterwards found myself on earth and still preserved a consciousness of what I had done on the other planet, and if I knew besides that I would never by any chance return, then, if I were to look at the moon from the earth — would it be all the same to me or not? Would I feel any shame for my action or not? The questions were idle and useless, for the revolver was already lying before me, and I knew with all my being that this thing would happen for certain: but the questions excited me to rage. I could not die now, without having solved this first. In a word, that little girl saved me, for my questions made me postpone pulling the trigger.
Just as he ponders this, the protagonist slips into sleep in the easy-chair, but it’s a sleep that has the quality of wakeful dreaming. In one of many wonderful semi-asides, Dostoyevsky peers at the eternal question of why we have dreams:
Dreams are extraordinarily strange. One thing appears with terrifying clarity, with the details finely set like jewels, while you leap over another, as though you did not notice it at all — space and time, for instance. It seems that dreams are the work not of mind but of desire, not of the head but of the heart… In a dream things quite incomprehensible come to pass. For instance, my brother died five years ago. Sometimes I see him in a dream: he takes part in my affairs, and we are very excited, while I, all the time my dream goes on, know and remember perfectly that my brother is dead and buried. Why am I not surprised that he, though dead, is still near me and busied about me? Why does my mind allow all that?
In this strange state, the protagonist dreams that he takes his revolver and points it at his heart — not his head, where he had originally intended to shoot himself. After waiting a second or two, his dream-self pulls the trigger quickly. Then something remarkable happens:
I felt no pain, but it seemed to me that with the report, everything in me was convulsed, and everything suddenly extinguished. It was terribly black all about me. I became as though blind and numb, and I lay on my back on something hard. I could see nothing, neither could I make any sound. People were walking and making a noise about me: the captain’s bass voice, the landlady’s screams… Suddenly there was a break. I am being carried in a closed coffin. I feel the coffin swinging and I think about that, and suddenly for the first time the idea strikes me that I am dead, quite dead. I know it and do not doubt it; I cannot see nor move, yet at the same time I feel and think. But I am soon reconciled to that, and as usual in a dream I accept the reality without a question.
Now I am being buried in the earth. Every one leaves me and I am alone, quite alone. I do not stir… I lay there and — strange to say — I expected nothing, accepting without question that a dead man has nothing to expect. But it was damp. I do not know how long passed — an hour, a few days, or many days. Suddenly, on my left eye which was closed, a drop of water fell, which had leaked through the top of the grave. In a minute fell another, then a third, and so on, every minute. Suddenly, deep indignation kindled in my heart and suddenly in my heart I felt physical pain. ‘It’s my wound,’ I thought. ‘It’s where I shot myself. The bullet is there.’ And all the while the water dripped straight on to my closed eye. Suddenly, I cried out, not with a voice, for I was motionless, but with all my being, to the arbiter of all that was being done to me.
“Whosoever thou art, if thou art, and if there exists a purpose more intelligent than the things which are now taking place, let it be present here also. But if thou dost take vengeance upon me for my foolish suicide, then know, by the indecency and absurdity of further existence, that no torture whatever that may befall me, can ever be compared to the contempt which I will silently feel, even through millions of years of martyrdom.”
I cried out and was silent. Deep silence lasted a whole minute. One more drop even fell. But I knew and believed, infinitely and steadfastly, that in a moment everything would infallibly change. Suddenly, my grave opened. I do not know whether it had been uncovered and opened, but I was taken by some dark being unknown to me, and we found ourselves in space. Suddenly, I saw. It was deep night; never, never had such darkness been! We were borne through space and were already far from the earth. I asked nothing of him who led me. I was proud and waited. I assured myself that I was not afraid, and my heart melted with rapture at the thought that I was not afraid. I do not remember how long we rushed through space, and I cannot imagine it. It happened as always in a dream when you leap over space and time and the laws of life and mind, and you stop only there where your heart delights.
Through the thick darkness, he sees a star — the same little star he had seen before shooing the girl away. As the dream continues, the protagonist describes a sort of transcendence akin to what is experienced during psychedelic drug trips or in deep meditation states:
Suddenly a familiar yet most overwhelming emotion shook me through. I saw our sun. I knew that it could not be our sun, which had begotten our earth, and that we were an infinite distance away, but somehow all through me I recognized that it was exactly the same sun as ours, its copy and double. A sweet and moving delight echoed rapturously through my soul. The dear power of light, of that same light which had given me birth, touched my heart and revived it, and I felt life, the old life, for the first time since my death.
He finds himself in another world, Earthlike in every respect, except “everything seemed to be bright with holiday, with a great and sacred triumph, finally achieved” — a world populated by “children of the sun,” happy people whose eyes “shone with a bright radiance” and whose faces “gleamed with wisdom, and with a certain consciousness, consummated in tranquility.” The protagonist exclaims:
Oh, instantly, at the first glimpse of their faces I understood everything, everything!
Conceding that “it was only a dream,” he nonetheless asserts that “the sensation of the love of those beautiful and innocent people” was very much real and something he carried into wakeful life on Earth. Awaking in his easy-chair at dawn, he exclaims anew with rekindled gratitude for life:
Oh, now — life, life! I lifted my hands and called upon the eternal truth, not called, but wept. Rapture, ineffable rapture exalted all my being. Yes, to live…
Dostoyevsky concludes with his protagonist’s reflection on the shared essence of life, our common conquest of happiness and kindness:
All are tending to one and the same goal, at least all aspire to the same goal, from the wise man to the lowest murderer, but only by different ways. It is an old truth, but there is this new in it: I cannot go far astray. I saw the truth. I saw and know that men could be beautiful and happy, without losing the capacity to live upon the earth. I will not, I cannot believe that evil is the normal condition of men… I saw the truth, I did not invent it with my mind. I saw, saw, and her living image filled my soul for ever. I saw her in such consummate perfection that I cannot possibly believe that she was not among men. How can I then go astray? … The living image of what I saw will be with me always, and will correct and guide me always. Oh, I am strong and fresh, I can go on, go on, even for a thousand years.
[…]
And it is so simple… The one thing is — love thy neighbor as thyself — that is the one thing. That is all, nothing else is needed. You will instantly find how to live.
Making Eggs Benedict is easier than you think — especially if you make Hollandaise in a blender! It just takes a little planning and know-how. Perfect for a special meal for a special someone.
