Oops! … I Patched it Again

Before I start this post, let me add two disclaimers: 1. I hope you read that in a Britney Spears voice. 2. If you didn’t, patches are too young for you bro…

The countdown had begun on our blog launch and Nicole and I were trying to come up with an ideal and trendy way to show off our name TheDistrictDarlings.  We were drawn to the 90s trend and were all about oversized patched denim jackets.  Creating our own would be the perfect way to show our unique personalities, our new blog, and envelope this up-and-coming 90s trend in our one-of-a-kind jackets. Since we both have different styles, starting with similar denim jackets that we got from vintage shops and then customizing  them separately with patches was a testament to just how opposite our styles are.

 

I went with a medium-indigo colored boyfriend-fit denim jacket from a local vintage store. We ordered custom embroidered top rocker patches from a biker shop with “TheDistrictDarlings.com” in our blogs’ font, that we ironed-on to the back. To display our Instagram handles, we got simple black letters to iron-on the bottom. I went with a range of patches (all on the back except 3) from: RunDMC logo, a New York Giants helmet, a 9/11 memorial patch, “Sorry Not Sorry” patch, and my personal favorite, a “My Biggie Pony” patch with Biggie Smalls face on a My Little Pony. I aimed for the focus to be in the back of my jacket, but also included the Comme Des Garçons logo on my front collar, with a “Yeezy Taught Me” and the TuneSquad logo on the front as well.

WHERE TO FIND: I searched Etsy (my go-to) and Amazon for these styled patches along with the online Strange-Ways shop for more!

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Nicole found her vintage treasure in a similar color, oversized denim jacket as well, but styled hers with almost all of the patches (except for our blog name, her Insta handle, and a “Support Your Local Girl Gang” patch) in the front. Her patches were all chic and witty quotes like “The Power of Pizza”, “Too Bad So Sad”, “Being Bad Ain’t Easy”, “Nope”,”Bad Luck Babe”, “In Your Dreams”, a chill pill, her college’s logo, and “Whatever Forever”.  She even had a graphic styled cloth that says “Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death” pinned onto the side sleeve.

WHERE TO FIND: Nicole got all of her patches from Strange-Ways and Sick Girls Official except for her college patch from the College of William and Mary Alumni Shop.

A Couple Tips:

1. After finding your jacket and gathering your patches, make sure you lay out all the patches on the jacket to play around and scatter them before picking the final spots, in order to see what patches mesh well with others before it’s set in stone.
2. When you think you’ve got them all in the perfect spots, I recommend pinning them down with a thread and needle (just to hold the spot) while you try on the jacket. This saves you from finding out too late that some of your patches could be covered when your arms are down.
3. Most importantly, DON’T FORGET ABOUT YOUR HAIR! The length of your hair is something you should definitely factor in when designing your jacket. If your hair is long like mine and you like to drape it over your shoulders or leave it all hanging in the back, measure the length it falls down to, and plan to place your patches below that! I kept all of mine below the jackets seam in order to ensure they’d all be visible no matter the way I wore my hair

So yes, all my fellow 90’s babies, continue to rejoice because the patch denim is BACK. Now get started on possibly one of the easiest DIY’s (and most badass) there is, and let us know how it goes!

with love, xoxo

Chelsea