The Rowland S. Howard Buckle Back Skinny

Rowland S. Howard | Row·land S How·ard | \ˈrō-lənd əs ˈhau̇(-ə)rd\

1. Ultimate cult guitarist, writer, singer of songs, style icon, wit; enemy of the banal

See: The Birthday Party, These Immortal Souls, Lydia Lunch, Crime and the City Solution, The Boys Next Door, and solo LPs

As longtime fans of all things Rowland S. Howard, HOLMES is pleased to offer up a run of custom straps based on the style and specs of the last strap Rowland used on his Fender Jaguar. The strap is a classic skinny with a sliding shoulder, buckle back adjustment, and features stamped lyrics and artwork sourced from Rowland's notebooks of the 1980's.

+ The front of the strap is stamped with the Heart/Crown combo designed and drawn by Rowland and used as illustration art for These Immortal Souls records. The stamp is placed on the strap just about where your heart might be.

+ The shoulder piece is stamped with lyrics from These Immortal Souls 'Marry Me (Lie! Lie!)', sourced from Rowland's original writings. The lyric is on the shoulder top, but under the strap. Keeping it like a secret, there when you need it. 

+ The tail of the strap is stamped with Rowland's initials, sourced from his handwriting.

All original art courtesy of Harry Howard, Angela Howard, and Genevieve McGuckin. 

THE STRAP: Fully handmade from premium Hermann Oak leather. Each piece is hand cut, stamped and dyed individually. Shoulders are saddle stitched by hand with linen thread. Perfectly finished.

COLORS: Black or Red. Please specify choice in the 'Special Instructions' section at checkout.

MEASUREMENTS: 1" strap. The shoulder piece is 2.25" x 14".

SIZING: Three basic sizes (see below) with set adjustable lengths are available, or you may also have the strap custom made to your specific size. Whichever your preference, please be sure to make note of it in the 'Special Instructions' section at checkout.

If you want to use the custom option and are unsure of your size, lay out a current strap flat and measure front end button hole to back end button hole. HOLMES recommends taking advantage of custom sizing as it ensures perfect fit and a strap with a bit of adjustment leeway, but no extra leather to get in your way.

Set sizes are as follows:

Small - (41" to 48")
Standard - (45" to 52")
Large - (48" to 55")

BUTTON HOLES: A 1/4" standard hole + slit combo is used for all HOLMES straps. A small percentage of the time this isn't large enough, especially if you use certain types of strap locks. If you know what you need, let me know at checkout ('Special Instructions'). If in doubt, email or use Contact (via front page) and I can almost always get the correct size holes on your strap.

DELIVERY TIMES: Special project straps such as the Rowland strap usually require a bit longer to make and deliver than the standard 7-10 days. Please be prepared to wait up to 30 days for your strap to be shipped. HOLMES is basically a one-man band. If it happens that you get your strap inside 30 days, consider the rock gods to have smiled upon you.