Leather and lace are two of the most intimidating fabrics. Don’t bother to look it up…it’s a fact. Seriously, what is scarier than resembling a character from the Matrix or channeling your inner gothic teenager this late in the game? We’re shuddering just thinking about it.

What if we told you, these are not your only options when it comes to wearing leather and lace? Stop laughing! Allow us to ease your fears with outfit ideas that combine the chic powers of leather and the demure allure of lace. Trust us, when these two fabrics are paired together, all bets are off!

So, take a deep breath and prepare yourself for pops of color, mixed prints, and texture, texture, texture! Okay, proceed…

*Note: Faux leather is used in some many instances for those wondering or worried.

With all the big issues to talk about and deal with in the world, you would think people would rally behind bigger issues and causes than a shirt. Well, you thought wrong.

After a shirt that says, “I’m Too Pretty to Do Homework So My Brother Has to Do It For Me” popped up on JCPenney’s website recently, folks were NOT having it. The long-sleeved shirt, on sale by the way for $9.99, brought back a lot of bad memories for folks still reeling from the days of women being seen as only pretty faces and dull minds. I guess you have to be on the defensive after living in the age of Teen Talk Barbie.  You remember the doll from the early ’90s! She caught heat for preferring shopping to more educational activities, with controversial quotes like, “Math class is tough!” The big fuss with the shirt comes over the fact that it’s marketed to girls as young as seven years old, wooing them with marketing copy that says: “Who has time for homework when there’s a new Justin Bieber album out?” I guess you’ve got to mold their minds young huh? What’s next, a shirt that says “I’m Going to College to Get My MRS Degree?”

It is a tacky top no lie. However, I doubt making such a fuss as to call for it to be removed was all that necessary. Is it really that deep? For any parent to purchase a top like this for their child that basically picks beauty over brains any day says something about their own sense, or lack thereof. We know businesses like JCPenney are about the mulah, the guape, the dollars, so why be surprised by a shirt like this? They obviously weren’t thinking when they put it on shelves in the first place. That’s why parents have to have the sense to step in and tell their child that clothes like this one are in no way cute or a good representation of them. While it does perpetuate an idea that doing homework is for suckas and a woman’s looks are going to be what gets her furthest, I wouldn’t have spent the time writing a letter to JCPenney, nor would I have protested about it. Seems like more of a SMH (shaking my head) moment. As long as you, the parent, instill the opposite belief in your child, why waste the time protesting over a $10 shirt sure to shrink in the dryer? But hey, it worked.

What do you think? Do you feel like this top is harmless, or did it deserve to be pulled?