Leather

For years, people have taken notice of the clothes worn by Andrea Burkert, who owns Fletcher's Bar & Grill and the Sound Garden CD store in Fells Point with her husband. In 1986, as a senior at Howard High School in Ellicott City (when she was a big Esprit fan), she was voted best-dressed in not only her class, but in the entire school. The clothes may have changed a bit since then, but her fashion philosophy has stayed pretty much the same. "Never leave the house looking terrible," she says.

Otis Rolley is scrambling up porches in a quiet West Baltimore neighborhood, undaunted by a steady drizzle. He leaps over baby gates, dodges yapping poodles and asks voters to support him in the primary election. A few years ago, few outside City Hall and local urban-planning circles were familiar with Rolley. Today, his purple campaign signs dot neighborhoods throughout the city, and supporters include young professionals and technology leaders. In this neighborhood of tidy brick rowhomes just south of Mondawmin Mall, residents say they have gotten to know the 37-year-old candidate through his dogged campaigning.

Leather, which was once the armor of rebels and roustabouts, is being tamed for men about town. Not that leathers now coming into the marketplace dilute ruggedness. Leather still suggests toughness, but it is now handled like a fabric with more attention to construction rather than hardware.With a relaxation of dress codes in the workplace, leather is a versatile staple in any man's wardrobe because it can be treated as casually as jeanswear or dressed up to luxury status.Many retro menswear styles are being leatherized with great effect.

The street artist known as Gaia, whose image of a leather-clad rooster cradling the head of John the Baptist had me questioning my eyesight and sanity last winter, has been unmasked -- in a way that proves no good deed goes unpunished. Gaia is trying to help the Edgar Allan Poe House, which is in danger of closing because the city has cut off funding. He has donated 100 limited-edition prints of "The Raven (Forevermore), 2011," which will be sold for $400 apiece unframed, $600 framed.

I grew up as the youngest daughter in a large conservative family in Seoul. When I went to university in New York I immediately changed my style, although I've been careful to dress modestly when I went home on vacations.Now that I've graduated, have a job and intend to spend my life in Manhattan, I'm getting ready to go home for Christmas where my family is planning a party to celebrate my success.I don't want to upset them, but I think it's time they saw the real me. What do you suggest?

Q: It's time to redo our family room, which has sustained a lot of wear and tear from three super-active children. What sort of furnishings would you suggest? My own stylistic preference can best be described as relaxed and comfortable.A: While the size of your budget will be the determining factor, I hope your do-over can involve more than just the furnishings. Floor coverings, fabrics and various bits and pieces contribute just as much to a comfortable and relaxed look as do tables and chairs.

Following on the spiky heels of all those leather-clad models strutting down runways in Paris and Milan recently, the furniture industry, too, is dressing its new models in fashion's hottest material: leather. And today's leather home-furnishing offerings have more looks, colors, applications and price points than ever.For wild ones, there are big, brawny, take-it-easy chairs from Pottery Barn. The Calvin-Klein-inclined might fancy Baker Furniture's clean-lined sofas dressed in skin-tight hides.

NEW YORK -- It's with an almost blase air that Reed Krakoff mentions his latest dabblings as president and executive creative director of Coach. Grabbing a fistful of gloves splayed on a chair outside his office, he mutters, "We have mink-lined mittens, stripes, oranges." He casually gestures over at a nearby Game Boy pouch for Holiday 2003 that has fuchsia patent leather piping. And, during a quick tour of his floor, he stops briefly to inspect a new Coach shopping bag featuring a sharp pattern of pink and blue flowers.

If we are to take our cues from GQ magazine, men are no longer rushing for gold — no diamonds, no elaborate chains or any other flashy jewelry. May cover model Jake Gyllenhaal's sole hint of bling is an understated $15 silver tie bar. Looking inside the issue's 162 pages, we find exactly four editorial subjects wearing jewelry beyond wedding rings or watches: a thin chain link bracelet on Lou Dobbs, a David Yurman dog tag and wooden beads on San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum, studs on L.A. Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp and a class ring on Drums guitarist Jacob Graham.

It takes 3,000 cows to supply the National Football League with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs. Source: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Anybody besides me wondering about that giant rooster in West Baltimore? If you live in the area of West Franklin Street and North Franklintown Road, or drive through it, as many commuters do on their way to and from downtown, you know the one. A huge, sketchlike image of the bird appeared a few weeks ago on the side of a boarded-up rowhouse at 406 N. Franklintown, across from the Hess station. Unusual graffiti to say the least, even if the rooster hadn't been wearing a leather jacket and cradling what appeared to be the head of the crucified Jesus . Perhaps owing to the charcoal-drawing style, or the bumpy canvas provided by the weathered rowhouse, the picture had the appearance of something that had been there for years.

Toni Horne brings new meaning to the term "cool chic" at the Minus5 Igloo at Power Plant Live. The 24-year-old artist describes her style as "quirky. It can be whimsical one day, the next day collegiate. I don't like to stay in a box." We "glimpsed" the Columbia resident in a strapless cobalt floral-print sundress from Abercrombie & Fitch that featured a ruched bodice and sweetheart neckline and a pair of butterscotch leather almond toe slouch boots from Ross, carrying a ruched and distressed natural leather Guess mini-hobo handbag.

Mariah Walton owns a trendy Philadelphia clothing boutique, West London. And this 29-year-old Philadelphian knows how best to show off the merchandise — by wearing it herself. We "glimpsed" Walton at the Havana Club, where she was a guest at the annual fundraiser for Holding the Line Foundation, founded by NFL free agent Jason Murphy to help underprivileged youth in sports mentorship programs. Walton looked oh-so-chic in a dress of her own design. It had a turquoise, yellow and black crochet bodice, with a black lace back and a black cotton bubble skirt embroidered with flowers.

If we are to take our cues from GQ magazine, men are no longer rushing for gold — no diamonds, no elaborate chains or any other flashy jewelry. May cover model Jake Gyllenhaal's sole hint of bling is an understated $15 silver tie bar. Looking inside the issue's 162 pages, we find exactly four editorial subjects wearing jewelry beyond wedding rings or watches: a thin chain link bracelet on Lou Dobbs, a David Yurman dog tag and wooden beads on San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum, studs on L.A. Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp and a class ring on Drums guitarist Jacob Graham.

Tracy Raff's life has a lot to do with aesthetics. Her work - as a graphic designer for the North Charles Street Design Organization in Baltimore - is only the beginning for the 40-year-old Frederick resident. "I've just always liked the way things looked, whether it's art, or graphic design or the way my home looks." Her focus on aesthetics also extends to her eclectic style. The look : Orange, yellow, red and cream long-sleeve Thalia graphic T-shirt. Boot-cut Levi's jeans.

D on't underestimate the power of a coat. Jennifer Ward certainly doesn't. "In the wintertime, I feel like your coat is really your outfit. It's what people are going to see you in." We certainly noticed the 25-year-old BCBG Max Azria sales associate in her black-and-white houndstooth, only one of many "great dress coats" in the Perry Hall resident's closet. The look: Powder-blue acrylic knit 213 dress. Black perforated patent leather belt. Black and camel bugle bead multi-strand necklace.

Forget florals. Ditch the dots. Lose the leopard: Python is the pattern of the moment, and for good reason. Python looks feminine and strong. It's fun, flirty and modern, not to mention sexy, exotic and just a little dangerous. "You have to be brave to wear it," says Toni James, who has stocked her cozy, fashion-forward store, Katwalk, on East Read Street with python pants, skirts and jackets in tangerine, teal and fuchsia embossed leather by Oscar Leopold, Anja Flint and other designers.

POLICE* Hickory Ridge: 11300 block of Little Patuxent Parkway: Someone entered a vehicle between 6:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Monday, and stole a man's $200 brown leather jacket, a $200 black full-length ladies' leather coat and a $30 green silk scarf.10300 block of Owen Brown Road: Someone stole a $400 wooden sign from Metzler's Nursery Inc. between 8 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. Friday. It was the fourth sign stolen from Metzler's within the past six months.* Town Center: 10200 block of Wincopin Circle: Someone forced entry into a 1991 Oldsmobile Sierra between 11:45 p.m. Sunday and 7 a.m. Monday, and stole a $950 Audiovox car telephone and two $10 flashlights.

Chic Jill-e camera bag Name: : Jill-e small leather camera bag What it is: : A weatherproof leather bag with leather croc trim exterior. It holds one camera body, one flash and lenses. A little less than 4 pounds, it is 14 inches long, 7 inches wide and 8 inches tall. How it works: : The rectangular bag has movable dividers, four exterior pockets - three with flaps and magnetic catches, one zippered. The attached straps are long enough to sling over the shoulder, and the bag also has a detachable, padded strap.