#lots of leather

[toughpaperround]

"What I like about you" The Romantics

Video here for those like me who had no clue about this song. Apparently it missed a lot of us in the UK, perhaps we were more into the New Romantics 😉

Released in 1980, the song was a decent hit in the US and a big hit in Australia. It became even more well-known after its use in Budweiser ads.

The singer on this track is the drummer of the band. It also has a great harmonica section.

Lyrics - a sampling here for you:

What I like about you, you hold me tight

Tell me I'm the only one

Wanna come over tonight, yeah

[johnnyspells]

[Ally]: The aggro exposition is so funny.

[fudgecake-charlie]

"rebelle painter has an in depth brush engine to simulate traditional painting techniques" is all well and good until you only use your digital painting method. at least the impasto is really pretty

[questwithambition]

Sir that’s my emotional support New York Public Library bag and the 8 books she’s carrying

[sen-thebootmutt]

What basic things should people know about caring for leather?

Oh, how I love all the questions /genuine 💞💞

Okay!!!

So, leather is a skin, right?? It’s a hide. How do we care for our own skin?? Your basic steps:

Rinse

Clean

Rinse

Moisturize

A light spray of water, clean with a gentle soap (non-scented glycerin soap or saddle soap and a small horsehair/badgerhair brush), rinse and wipe off all the soap residue, and moisturize!

“Sen,” you say, “how do I moisturize leather?” Good question!! It’s going to depend on the type of leather.

There’s two big categories of leather; oil tan, and high shine. Oil tan leather is matte, soft, and more flexible (think of old leather dress shoes or casual boots). High shine leather is, well, self explanatory lol (shiny, less flexible, more glossy).

With oil tan leather, you’ll use a leather conditioner! Most bootblacks recommend Hubberd’s Shoe Grease (a heavier, denser conditioner), Obenauf’s Heavy Leather Preservative (more waxy), or Aussie Saddle conditioner (like Obenauf’s, but has a higher beeswax content). These are all pretty easily available online, and can even be bought in bulk and put into other containers!

For high shine leather, you use polish! There’s lots of different brands, but most folks get their start with Kiwi shoe polish (not super high quality, but readily available at big box stores like Walmart and Target). Most experienced bootblacks will use Lincoln or Angelus polish (your choice will depend on things like local humidity, altitude, experience, and technique). Apply a thin layer of polish to the boot, mist with a light spray of water, buff with a horsehair boot brush, and finish with a fine cotton buffing cloth!

I love bootblacking, and I love teaching. If anyone wants, I might record myself the next time I do my boots, so y’all can see these techniques in action!

[atlantis-area]

MINHO Ending Fairy - Came and Left Me (Music Core, 241109)

[eddie-redcliffe]

[wisteriagoesvroom]

WE USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THESE (footage from the reiss x mclaren fashion campaign)

Source

[llitchilitchi]

I realised that I haven't posted in over a month so here is a quick watercolour warmup I did to get acquianted with some new paints feat. my Oblivion character

[finch1pinch]

started rewatching trollhunters out of a need of familiarity when everything in my life is new and bad and hard (college.) and now ive redesigned Claire to make her more of a alternative theater kid with the anger issues that they only hint at in the show

ive given her more of a personality than the #Feminist Only Female character in the group ur welcome lol

[moeblob]

Reverse!Gavin

[capn-twitchery]

we temporarily interrupt this hiatus to bring you: thought about greaser twitch for a second and blacked out for 2 hours

[arc-tu-rus]

We're going on a hard mission soon, and for a while I had this outfit in mind to try and make tactical wear... interesting. A bit retro, a bit of her own personality, and there is the standard "field outfit" for my darling Alastor.

(don't mind future me, I saved the "base" of the pose to draw outfits whenever I have ideas-)

[devdas5z]

Oboot

[spitfaggot]

another fun thing about bootblacking — it's as much of a kink as it isn't.

and by this, i mean: it's labor!

we have to look beyond kink into the vanilla/non-kink world to see the only remaining examples of shoe care as a job. the only examples i can think of are shoe-cleaning mall kiosks and, maybe, a chair or two in an airport terminal or fancy hotel. but these places are dwindling, if they even still remain at all. consumerism and planned obsolescence has invaded fashion so much that most people aren't concerned with the upkeep of their actual leather shoes, let alone sneakers or pleather boots.

(edit: cobblers and shoe repair most certainly count, but in this instance i'm referring to chairs or kiosks that maintain the footwear without disassembling it, although there are many bootblacks that can provide services like these.)

this, compounded with the cost barrier to leather gear and a much smaller community post-AIDS of the 1980's i believe has made bootblacking much more scarce in kink circles. i mentored under a bootblack that primarily works bars and club events, and have gone on to do the same myself, and... not many people even know what a bootblack is anymore. i've met people in full cow at the local Eagle who have never even heard of our existence. i was in the right place at the right time and met the right people in order to be able to sub/apprentice under one, and that in itself is a privelege nowadays. instructional videos are lovely, but there's nothing like working with the real thing to practice.

getting booked at events is a headache in and of itself, which is where the talk of labor comes in. if you are bootblacking, you are doing physical labor. it doesn't matter if you're working a pup social at a leather bar, or a private residence party, it is labor. on average, i scrub and polish a shift at a bar event for 5 hours (8pm to 1am) with very few breaks. on a good night, i can polish usually 6 or 7 customers in that 5 hour shift, and that's if nobody comes to me with a Langlitz project or a full set of chaps. tipping your bootblack is crucial, because 90% of the time, that's how we make any money at all.

bootblacking is how i have kept my boyfriend, my cats and i fed many times. and it is very hard to find an event nowadays that will pay a bootblack up front to be there for the night — most just "allow you to keep tips" and maybe comp you a drink or two. at this point i just have a menu of my services that i provide, and i turn away folks who cannot pay or barter. (i, personally, will take coffee as payment for boots and harnesses.) this often means i make less than minimum wage for 5 hours of physical labor.

my point being: bootblacking is a kink, but it will likely be found today more often as a job leatherfolk will take up at an event, much like a vendor. the more public adult spaces where we can actually express it as a kink the better, and those are growing incredibly scarce. and the people willing to pay us even more so, despite how much upkeep leather gear like boots and jackets should be getting.

[puppppppppy]

The garment, worn by those in good standing with Hyrule royalty, has been reworked with the latest improvements, such as a new shoulder guard.