This week, Realm Boutique in Soho ushered in a year of business and the newest Jitrois collection. Luscious furs and sumptuous leathers that stretch.  Ah, the miracle of stretch leather! It allows for leather skinny pants, tight pull on boots, and draped yet fitted leather dresses. Designers have been privy to this fabric for just over a decade, and we found out that it's all thanks to Jean Claude Jitrois, who invented the fabric in 1995. Curious to know how he did it? So were we...

It all began over breakfast at his Grandmother's house. Jean Claude Jitrois was at disturbed by the horrifically ugly tablecloth that lay before him. Unable to finish his petit dejeuner with such a view underneath his plate, he took the tablecloth and turned it upside down. It was one of those kinds that is plastic/vinyl on one side, but a stretch cotton fused to the back side.... AH HAH! He thought as he examined the cloth's origins. He figured out he could make his own variety out of leather by taking a very thin slice of the softest part of the leather, and fusing it to an equally thin layer of stretch cotton. Et voila! Stretch leather. Brilliant!!

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The owner, Randi Jacobson has a deep history with Jitrois he designed her wedding dress back in the 80's.  This fierce woman got married in white leather! She didn't even have to tell him what she wanted; she entrusted him to create the dress of her dreams of his own devise. That dream turned out to be skin tight white leather embroidered with gold.

Jacobson told us this horror story: The wedding was set for New Years Eve. Christmas rolls around, and still no dress. She called Jitrois, only to find out that he had shipped it at the beginning of the December. FedEx effing lost her wedding dress somewhere in Atlanta!! Could you imagine? Dying. Dead. Jitrois is so fantastical, he whipped up another white leather, gold embroidered wedding dress and got it to her just in time before the big day on NYE. Whew!

Jitrois certainly holds the most real estate within Realm  an entire room is dedicated to his brilliant stretch leather and fur. Throughout the rest of the store you can find designers like Rosa Clandestino, Ema Savahl (and her 3D painted fabric), Ermanno Cervino, Jenny Packham and more. You'll have to go to see, but get a sneak at some of the Jitrois pieces in store:

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Realm Boutique on 98 Greene St, NY.