Oh, Emerson Fry. Why must you be so very, very good at reinventing classics? At making them everything I was looking for but couldn’t find, and maybe even just a little bit better than I’d hoped?

As usual, EF’s spring collection is full of pieces I’m already mentally adding to my closet, but really, it’s this Biker Jacket that has me in a sad state of pining. I’ve been dreaming of the perfect perfecto, the best leather jacket my credit card could buy, for ages. Years, in fact. And I think, perhaps, it’s finally here.

Note, if you will, the traditional vertical zipper, instead of that asymmetrical nonsense that’s on every single leather jacket in existence these days, and which is highly unflattering for women with, you know, curves. Then take a look at the strategic pockets, the pieced seams and flashes of detail that give this moto just the right vintage edge (anything too clean-cut starts to veer into “mature” quite quickly), without going full-fledged into biker chick territory (because, after all, I’m fooling no one when it comes to my status as a straight-laced preppy girl). And that boxy silhouette and soft, supple lambskin means this one will layer like a dream. Oh, I just can’t stop thinking of the ways I’d style it.

At $695, it’s a splurge to be sure, but the thing about leather jackets is that the good ones always are. And if you bide your time, and wait for the right one (how’s that for an allegory about life?), it’s a piece you’ll only have to buy once – the more weathered, loved and broken-in your perfecto gets, the better.

What do you think, friends? Is a leather jacket splurge-worthy in your book?

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