The Leather Debate

OK, so here goes my issue for the day...well, it's actually been an off/on issue for the past few weeks but today I decided to post.

So, by now y'all know me-the single, Bais Yaakov-type girl, heimishe/Hungarian background, frum, with it, worldly, etc. I don't hide who I am, I wear jean skirts, I go skating, play ball, ride bikes, participate in sports, watch tv, use the internet, listen to the radio, goes to shiurim, goes to Shul, says the daily perek shira, the Shabbos Shir Hashirim, etc.

So, here's the deal-I saw this really nice jacket at a store I frequently shop at. The jacket was totally me, in every sense. It was funky, stylish, frilly but not-to-girly, short, but not-to-short, and a light beige/pink color. It had little 'cut outs' all along the bottom frill of the jacket, and the sleeves had the same. The only issue was that the jacket was.....leather.

So normally, I get it, leather is 'prust', it's like biker-type, or worse, think punker-leather collars with spikes, handcuffs, etc.

But this jacket looked 'aidel' in comparison. It looked cute, it didn't look like 'OMG-did you see what SOS was wearing......I can't believe SHE is wearing leather....I didn't think she was at THAT level.....I thought she was soo much more Frum than that....'

I felt guilty even THINKING about buying it. So I tried it on, of course, they didn't have it in my size (min hashamayim-right?) and I figured I would think about it and I can always go to another store to get it.

I spoke to my friend Ruchie about it and she had the reaction as per the above. Now, Ruchie is totally normal and openminded and knows me well. I tried to describe the jacket-but she couldn't get the 'black leather' look out of her mind. At the same time, since we both went to Bais Yaakov school, I asked her why we felt this way about it-it wasn't something particularly discussed in school. Yet, we were always taught not to judge a book by its cover, but when dating, or even as we get older, we tend to judge people by their looks, their attire, their style. So the way you dress sorta shows your personality. If you wear a skirt above your knee and short sleeves, it sorta tells people about your religious level. If you wear your tzitzis out for all to see, that shows people you are at a certain level as well.

So what does it mean if you wear leather?

To be honest, my mom wears a leather jacket (no, not the biker kind!) and no one ever said anything to me, nor have I thought anything wrong with it. I'm just wondering why I feel this way. What's the deal with leather?