4 Ways to Upgrade Your Denim Jacket for Fall
Obsessed with all the new enamel pins and patches? Me too. It started innocently enough. I bought a thrifted denim jacket and decided I'd finally buy this big "Whatever Hand" chenille patch that I'd been lusting over. But then the September issues came out and I saw pictures of jackets COVERED in patches and pins. Clearly, one lone patch wouldn't do. So I went kind of Etsy crazy and bought all the things. Let my manic online shopping spree be your guide.
First, you're going to want a denim jacket, preferably thrifted. Don't spend $70 on a jacket you're going to put a Gremlins patch on. Some tips for finding denim jackets in thrift stores:
- Look in the women's blazers section
- Look in the men's section
- Look in the men's athletic/hoodie/sweatshirt section
- If you're a lil' person, look in the children's section.
Pro tip: shop on the first Saturday of the month when all Goodwill stores are 50% off.
You have your thrifted denim jacket, now you need some patches. First of all, if any of you buy my hand patch, I will cut you. You guys, there are so many awesome patches! And they're like $6, so go crazy.
Here are my favorite places to buy patches and pins:
Etsy, duh
Patch Pro Tips:
- If you see a patch you like, buy it. They tend to sell out, and a lot of times, once they're gone, they don't restock.
- Note who the original artist is and do a Google search for their name. A lot of them have their own retail site.
- Search "#patch" and "#patchgame" on Instagram. And while you're there, search "#patchadams" because there are 41,936 posts, and why not?
I don't know that you need help finding enamel pins because like Hugh Grant tells us in the greatest Christmas movie of our time, "If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that [enamel pins] actually [are] all around." I will say this, enamel pins cost more, so I've bought a lot of buttons on Etsy to keep my flair game on point without breaking the bank.
Here are some neat pins that you may not have seen:
Strange Women Society Initiation Pin
Etsy is a treasure-trove of must-have buttons. Simply type in a search for "feminist buttons" and you will be rewarded with hours of fun. So many uterus buttons.
Also, fo sho search Etsy for patches and enamel pins. They have a lot of awesome stuff I haven't seen anywhere else.
Okay, so you bought a thrifted denim jacket, covered it in patches, pins and buttons, and now you're all set, right? Wrong. Don't even think about wearing that jacket into Mas Tacos unless you've had it embroidered. Decide on a word and/or an image and let Rangerstitch complete your jacket's transformation. The good news is, he's usually outside of Mas Tacos, so you can kill two birds with one stone.
Follow him on Instagram to find out where he is, and bring cash.
P.S. I found my denim jacket in my fall thrifting extravaganza.
P.P.S. Need some fall fashion inspiration? Check out my September Issues post.
