Going along to the second Leather Social: Cardiff, Phil S’Berg “finds where you get a mix, you get a buzz” and the afternoon makes him recall a classic 1970’s Leatherman’s Handbook.

The streets of Cardiff were thronged with cyclists, spectators and with quite a lot of lycra on display as the city played host to the Velothon Wales. However, look a bit closer on a street tucked away right in the heart of the Welsh capital and you’d find a definite mix of leather amongst all that tight fitting lycra on display.

The previous month (April) saw a new chapter in story of Leather Wales and the Rise of the Leather Dragons with the launch of The Leather Social: Cardiff.

So, as word spreads about this new “no dresscode, no cover” event, more and more local leathermen are gathering for a Sunday afternoon chill and catch-up, from South Wales, and also being joined from leathermen ‘across the water’ from Bristol and further afield in England. And it turned about to be quite a crowd.

The clue of the Leather Social is in the title: Social. New faces came along eager to meet up with other local leathermen. For the first timers there was a great welcome, people were happy to welcome “newbies” as well as a few guys who had come along, responding to the invite to meet the leathermen.

For the curious, the Leather Social provided a perfect way to find out more. All afternoon experienced leather guys in engaged in chats and discussions, checking out stuff on their phones, giving pointers, answering questions and in general making those connections as a first step in the excitement of the leather world. This is where it starts: we are made our first steps and having a few helpful men around only serves to build a solid leather community for the future.

Looking further into the Summer, there was quite a bit of talk about the upcoming prides in Cardiff and Bristol, as well as further afield. It does look like leathermen will be well represented this year on the streets of cities in the West this year.

This leather event had a feel about it I haven’t felt for a while. A little taste of a throwback to a classic leather age back in the 70’s and 80’s - which isn’t a bad thing after all. I suppose it reminded me more of reading chapters in Larry Townsend’s seminal ‘leather bible’, the Leatherman’s Handbook (first published way back in 1972).

In talking about how the ‘newbie’ gets into the leather community he talks about first steps into a leather bar and what, essentially, you’d need to wear to get through the door. His advice and recommendation was simple for the time, grab a leather jacket and where a pair of tight Levi’s (or Wrangler’s).

And that ‘Leather & Denim’ combination was really on display. There’s nothing like seeing a leatherman in broad daylight walking down the road, with a pair of tight denim jeans, cladding the thighs, hugging the butt, tucked into a pair of knee high tall, shiny, boots and a leather jacket, with a bit of a swagger causing the dog chain to dangle about from the hip: classic! I’ll admit it, it gets just a bit horny (I smile).

Of course, leathermen like their pics. And not just the portrait shots, the attention to detail helps too. As several men donned the “Black & Blue” (leather and denim), there was some intermingling for a few pics, which basically screamed “man filth”. The mixing of the two doesn’t materials doesn’t happen that much these day - falling out of fashion a bit, can we say? - but there’s definitely scope for the classic ‘Leather and Levi’ look to make a comeback and mash-up the feel of a leather event/bar/club in a good way. If you want to get more an idea, checkout this ‘Leather & Denim’ gallery.

In Townsend’s Leatherman’s Handbook, there is reference to the hanky code system. And again, this is a part of the our culture that hasn’t, I would say, fallen out of fashion, more it’s fallen out of use compared to it’s origins in the days before the internet and mobile phones.

However, that said, a couple of men were displaying (or advertising) their ‘hobbies’ from their back pockets. Black, blue and grey. On the left and on the right. Now, for those not sure which side signifies ‘Top’ or ‘Bottom’, or what each colour represents, checkout the pinterest gallery by LeatherWest dedicated to all things “Hanky Code”.

Wouldn’t it be great if the hanky code made a bigger presence at events? A little added touch that adds to the spice of an event when out in our leathers? One thing for certain is that hankies on display were a cause for some chat and questions. “What’s Orange then?”, “F**k off, really?!”, “Oh, that’s what pale blue means on your left side?”. See what I mean. Hankies create a talking point.

Of course, there was a story from one local leather guy, who you would have thought better (being a bright, articulate man) from a night out in Amsterdam. Upon buying what he thought was a dark blue hanky, wore it out of his right pocket. That night spotted by a couple of men, went downstairs. To cut a funny story short, this guy actually had a black hanky on display by accident - and with some unintended and surprising consequences. To better understand the code, best check out the Pinterest gallery where you’ll find out what a mistake wearing black hanky instead of a dark blue can do, especially when ‘it ain’t your bag’!

So in all, a successful and positive afternoon was had by all. A definite sense of a community slowly, solidly building in South Wales, looking forward to the future whilst elements of a previous time in the leather community showing signs of emerging back into view: slap on the denim! Get yourselves some hankies reflecting your tastes. Just make sure you get the correct colour!

Notes:

The Leather Social: Cardiff is hosted by Eagle Bar Cardiff-Caerdydd and Dave, Mr LeatherWest 2016.

The event is organised by LeatherWest in association with The Leather Social, who are the recognised copyright holder of the name and graphics of the event and used under agreement by LeatherWest.

The Leather Social was first launched in London in 2013, meeting monthly on a Sunday afternoon in Compton’s Bar in London’s Soho district. In 2015, the Leather Social extended to regular meets in Berlin.

Links:

Larry Townsend’s Leatherman’s Handbook and Leatherman’s Handbook II: The Sequel are available at Amazon. For a full list of books and guides by Larry Townsend, take a look at his profile page on Amazon.

For more on Dave, Mr LeatherWest 2016, have a look at his webpage, on Facebook and over on Twitter.