hi! Found your blog in the bloodsisters 1995 tag, a post about how to get into the leather scene. In the post you had some selfies wearing cute leather outfits! Do you have plus size leather brand recommendations?
hiiiii! yeah, sort of! plus size options for real leather are extremely limited and frequently custom, especially if you are looking for leather garments. everything I post except the jackets and boots is custom work from rly cool people! unfortunately that can be expensive and my recommendations for folks who can do that for you are specific to the pnw.
there are not any dedicated plus size leather brands that I am aware of. most of what I see available off the rack is fake leather or bonded/recycled leather (awful, avoid - its literally half plastic and will fall apart within a couple years) orrrrrr designers that stop at an XL/XXL and we all know how size charts go. read the labels/materials descriptions and measure against non-stretch things that you know fit!!
that being said, these are the cool people who have made things for me!
violet leather co - I have a gorgeous belt made by val! also makes restraints, collars, floggers, and zines.
riverqueer leather - collars, restraints, impact toys, harnesses, flagging clips, and custom work. we are currently working on a custom garment project!
freakmutt leather - more collars, restraints, harnesses available in extended sizes.
doghouse leather - carries some larger size/plus size leather garments from other makers, plus size leather bar vests made in-house, also does custom work.
boundaries leather - custom garment work!!! truly a godsend. this is where a lot of my leather clothing is from.
ralph’s leather - shoutout to my leather tailor! he has altered several of my pieces to fit me better, including adding extra material, and also does custom garment work.
emma alamo - gorgeous geometric harnesses, available in ready-to-wear plus sizes and offers custom sizing.
wickedcity - leather bikinis, offers up to XXL (not a true XXL imo) and custom sizing, which is what all of mine are.
cjcray - more leather bikinis, bra tops, and harnesses! a lot of things are pretty adjustable fit-wise and custom sizing is available.
agate leather - as far as I know, they closed and no long producing pieces :( but if you see things floating around for resale, they did make plus size bra tops, vest, belts, and harnesses.
if you see something from a leatherworker you like today, buy it before they disappear!!
it’s a tough industry, in addition be being physically taxing, and I’ve seen a number of makers that I wanted to buy pieces from disappear from the scene over the years.
there are a couple of other etsy shops outside the US that seem to do custom sizing on leather garments, but I haven’t bought from them and can’t vouch for them.
vintage/secondhand leather:
some of my vintage doesn’t have tags and sizing is all over the place. a lot of things when you search for plus size leather is PU/pleather/faux leather/“plant based”/recycled/bonded leather garbage :(( check ebay/ur local thrift and measure pieces against things you own.
these two are gems though!
goldie’s vintage - plus size focused vintage, sometimes has leather pieces available.
indian summer - native-owned size inclusive vintage in seattle, often has leather.
milwaukee leather - their size chart is a jokeeeee. it says it goes up to 5X but I’ve bought both new (clearance) and thrifted items & their 5X fits like a 1X. the quality of the leather is also very meh. they have chaps, pants, vests, jackets and a handful of other things though.
wilson’s leather - I have a couple vintage jackets and I know other people have found skirts (small end of mid/plus size). I like em, wear them often, but similar to milwaukee the quality is incredibly mid.
as by df - oof read carefully! I have bought one thing secondhand from this brand and I don’t rly rec but it does exist rippppp. they go up to a US 18 and they have upcycled leather (is actual leather, but not great quality) and recycled leather (can barely be called leather, it’s ~50% bonded scraps of leather fiber held together with plastic). it’s overpriced, will not last, and only fits a small percentage of plus size folks. it will be less expensive, better quality, and fit better to get a skirt made by a leatherworker than to pay $850 for a mediocre one from them.
frye boots - depends on calf size, I have seen these for resale and they do offer wide calf new but not all of them are comparable in quality based on the leather used.
vince camuto - their wide calf boots are my most worn pair, they are so fucking comfortable. the quality of the actual leather is so-so but for a high heel wide calf leather boot I like them well enough.
