A jacket for the "Misa de Gallo"

CEBU, Philippines — Completing the Christmas dawn novena masses is a religious tradition that defines – in a significant way – the Filipino Yuletide season. It has, through centuries, come to be a distinct Filipino cultural trait, as well. The nine-morning ritual is also good bonding opportunity for family and friends.

But the cold December mornings may be a challenge. People tend to oversleep in cold weather, making it doubly difficult to get up early. And more, the cold winds outside can intimidate even the boldest soul.

To the faithful, nothing is reason enough to forgo with the annual religious tradition. It’s only nine mornings after all. And so they find a way to beat the cold – the jacket!

The jacket has even become a fashion show-off during the “Misa de Gallo.” Some people really look nice in their jackets that they, at times, unduly grab attention at church. The others are left wondering which is the better jacket – leather or denim?

Antonio Centeno, of the website www.realmenrealstyle, offers tips to aid one in choosing his jacket:

1. Versatility. This is all about range – and look. Both leather and denim can be smartened up with a button-down shirt, dress boots and a stylish watch, or dressed down with sneakers and a t-shirt (make sure it’s a plain, well-fitted t-shirt though).

Leather jackets look great with any kind of jeans – but a blue denim jacket with matching blue jeans look good with black jeans. It looks good with off-white jeans, too. In fact, any color of denim jacket looks fine with any contrasting color of jeans – charcoal, brown, dark green – just as long as they’re very different from each other.

2. Price and Durability. Denim is much cheaper than leather.  But denim is much less durable. Leather might cost more, but if it’s good leather you’ll be passing it on to your son on your deathbed. The men’s style equation is: value = price/number of wears.

3. Maintenance. Leather is durable on its own but needs to be oiled and protected from heat to really last. You can’t wash a leather jacket – you have to spot clean it by hand. But denim jacket you can throw in the washing machine and hang up to dry. Your biggest worry is shrinkage – but you can keep that to a minimum if you wash it on a cool cycle and avoid tumble drying, or just dry it on the coolest setting.

4. Protection. Leather is an excellent windbreaker and can be very warm in cold weather, especially with a sheepskin lining, or a fluffy polyester ‘Sherpa’ lining. But hot weather, it gets sweaty and uncomfortable.

Denim by itself is breathable and comfortable in warm weather, though it isn’t cool enough for hot weather like linen. However, you can also find denim Sherpa jackets with that fluffy lining that will keep you warm in extreme cold. So denim scores a surprise win on temperature – you can wear it for more of the year.

When it comes to rain, though, denim gets heavily waterlogged and takes a long time to dry. Leather is naturally water-resistant; most jackets these days add waterproofing compounds during the treatment of the hide as well. 

5. Tailoring. Denim may be a little hard to alter yourself because of the thick fabric, but it’s no problem for your tailor for sure. Leather is extremely difficult to alter – your leather jacket needs to fit you well right off the bat. Never buy online unless the store offers returns.

6: Sex Appeal. Leather is famously attractive to women – it’s the combination of primal ruggedness and a tactile, touchable surface. But a denim jacket with a well-fitted white t-shirt underneath gives that iconic James Dean look. And denim is easier to pull off – a man in a leather jacket that doesn’t fit his body (or his personality) looks like a douche.

Leather has ‘bad boy’ appeal, but that doesn’t suit every man – denim has more of a ‘good boy’ appeal while still looking cool and masculine, which some men – and women – prefer.

So, there, these expert tips from Antonio Centeno are sure to be a big help for those in a quandary as to which type of jacket to have for the remaining Christmas dawn masses. A jacket may not only be practical – but fashionable as well, of course! And it does for both men and women. (FREEMAN)