Memories #2 - I...Think We Should Leave

Today, there is a story in The Detroit News about a shop in downtown Royal Oak called Noir Leather. For detail about the shop itself, its inception and its 25 years in downtown Royal Oak, click on over to the story in The Detroit News. For a better story about the store, stick right here.

When I was in seventh or eighth grade, I got it into my head that I really wanted a leather beret. I didn't exactly want a beret, but kind of a leather Kangol thing I could wear around on my head. It was the 90s, so I think I may have been inspired by Zach Morris in Saved By the Bell: The College Years. Anyway, I of course could not drive, so my dad was kind and obliging enough to hup me around town in search of the one clothing accessory that could truly make me cool. We went all over metro Detroit and were having absolutely no luck anywhere. It was surprising that we couldn't find anything even remotely close to the headwear I was seeking.

Dejected, I returned home and my parents did a little Yellow Pages research to try to find some sort of leather store in the area to appease my desire. They stumbled upon a shop called Noir Leather that, conveniently, was located only a few minutes from our home. Dad and I got back into the family minivan and headed over to the store with some anticipation. We just weren't exactly anticipating the right things.

Noir Leather is not a place for a seventh grade boy to be with his father, mother, grandmother, or siblings. They do have many exotic leather goods, but they tend to stray away from the 90s fashion-statement kind of hat. More like...leather collars, and human leashes, and strappy leather body suits with special holders for nipple rings. That kind of thing. At that age, I was pleasantly oblivious to some of the activities in which individuals participate in their free time, but I had an inkling that this store represented a universe with which I was completely unaware and unfamiliar. To not look completely ridiculous in front of the two employees in the store, dad and I did a quick sweep of the floor, verified that they did not have the product I wanted, and left the store, implicitly acknowledging that we had made a hilarous and uncomfortable error in our shopping effort. Now, we give each other gift certificates to Noir Leather for birthdays. No, not so much.

Also note - this is the second time AC Slater has been included in a picture on this blog. I should develop some material entirely devoted to Mario Lopez.