Faux leather that actually looks decent

I heard Joan Jett before I saw her. I was five years old when her voice came growling out of the jukebox at the Rabbit Inn, a smoky dive bar where my parents had the occasional burgers-and-fries date. “Put another dime in the jukebox, baby,” she sang, so I obeyed, probably driving the barflies nuts with a few songs on repeat. I thought that whoever that Joan Jett lady was, she must have been so cool — even though at that age, I didn’t even know the word cool. I knew how it felt, though: uninhibited, rebellious, proud.

I thought that whoever that Joan Jett lady was, she must have been so cool

Later, when I saw a Joan Jett video at a friend’s house, I remember being intimidated by her look. If I’m being honest, she scared me because she was so unlike anyone else on the scene. Cyndi Lauper was kooky and fun, Madonna was in her punky coquette stage, and Janet Jackson was just making the transition from adolescence into Control. Joan Jett looked and acted different — like she didn’t care what you thought of her. I remember her voice and her big hair, and I remember her leather pants: slicked-on, tight, slightly shiny. I am never going to be cool enough to wear pants like that, I thought while clad in my Catholic-school uniform.

Fast forward a couple of decades, and I was interviewing Joan for a story on punks and voting. It took a lot for me to keep it together, because, she’s Joan frickin’ JETT, and I really, really hoped she would live up to her aura of badassery. And, duh, she did. She was smart, well-informed, and unapologetically outspoken — and nice, too.

So, maybe nice girls can wear leather pants. That’s how I justified buying a pair of faux leather leggings, anyway. I looked at a lot of options, but most looked cheap and plastic-y. Just when I was ready to give up, I found Blank NYC’s vegan leggings. They look like actual leather, sweartogod, and the fit is fantastic. And, okay, maybe I’m not the badass that Joan Jett is, but we’re both vegetarians, so I feel like she’d approve of these anyway.

Eugenia Kim beret, Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Yu, Isabel Marant x H&M sweatshirt, Blank NYC leggings, Isabel Marant booties.