nicolás

Very cool antique tophat case my mother gave me. Interior is cardboard covered in satin, with an exterior leather shell. Fastening strap with other half of lock hardware sadly missing, but the interior clasp is intact!

Spent a little time with a few leather balms to get some oils back to the hatbox. You can already see more nuance & richness in the color, plus the start of some shine. Also neat to see the previous owner's name -- J. O. Swinford.

Working with dry rotted leather can be tricky, because it has the texture of dry cardboard, and over-oiling it can make it feel like soggy cardboard.

Dry rot means the piece is doomed to being a display piece, but you can still get it looking nicer while retaining a neat patina.

saying that people, and this includes trans people whether you like it or not, should not celebrate or be proud of their gender/masculinity/femininity is inherently problematic and transphobic.

“there’s no reason to celebrate masculinity. all masculinity is toxic masculinity under the patriarchy.” WRONG! not all masculinity is toxic under the patriarchy, and people who have been emasculated for one reason or another (trans men, gay men, asian men, disabled men, intersex men, and more) deserve to celebrate their masculinity. shaming men for being proud of their gender reinforces toxic masculinity among those who practice it, and forces men who have been emasculated deeper into self hatred.

they were contemporarily hated for just being these giant grey monoliths