Breeches and Leather Uniform Fanclub (BLUF) [Edit]

The Breeches and Leather Uniform Fanclub (BLUF) is a free online community for men who have an interested in leather uniforms and breeches. Founded in 1997, its membership reaches around the world and organizes dozens of events every year. The site is now owned by a not-for-profit company, and run by a team of volunteers, including site administrators, updaters, and event organizers. It is free to use, and relies upon donations and merchandise sales to cover the running costs.

History

BLUF started in October 1997 as a simple HTML-based website for men interested in full leather uniforms. At the time, Leather Navigator was the only internet platform for leathermenan did not enforce a dress code. From this, BLUF was started. The original site consisted of a picture gallery, a list of members, a list of admirers (for those that couldn’t meet the dresscode requirements), an online magazine, and a forum. Access was free.

In September 1998 the first BLUF party was held during Folsom Weekend at the Loading Dock in SF. Although the club had only about 150 members then, the party was a success. In November 1998, the first in a series of BLUF@TheHoist parties was held in London.

In 1999, the site was taken down due to financial problems. However, a fundraising and donation push allowed the site to relaunch.

Present Day

BLUF’s membership passed 2,500 by the summer of 2008, and in the same year won the ‘Large club of the year’ award at Pantheon of Leather XVIII. A new, redesigned site was unveiled at a party hosted by RoB during Amsterdam Leather Pride, on October 30th 2009.

At the end of 2010, BLUF asked for submissions for a new logo, and the winning choice was added to the site at the start of 2011, which is the same logo used today.

In early 2016, the club made the decision to set up a proper legal structure, registering BLUF Ltd as a Company Limited By Guarantee, which is similar to a non-profit.