Pulling off the Look: Everything You Need to Know About Styling and Wearing Patches for Clothes

Did you know that patched clothing is in right now?

A lot of people assume that patches are for clothing repair purposes only.

But if you play your cards right, patches can be the ultimate fashion statement.

What’s more, patched clothing works for both women and men. You can even make homemade patches to jazz up existing garments, including denim.

Curious about how patches can transform your wardrobe?

Keep reading to learn more about styling and wearing patches for clothes!

What is Patched Clothing?

Patches are pieces of decorative fabric designed to repair and/or accessorize existing articles of clothing.

When you hear the word “patch,” your first thought may be of colorful squares of fabric sewn into jeans, bellbottoms, or overalls.

Certainly, this was a huge look in the 1970s. Patches gave most hippies the ultimate peace & love flair!

Yet patches go beyond mere squares of decorative fabric. Today, patches can be made of literally any material, including sequins, felt, nylon, and other synthetic fabric.

They can take any shape imaginable. In fact, plenty of modern patches take the shape of the image they display, such as a curling rose, for example, or a lion’s face.

You can purchase patched clothing online and offline at a variety of shops. Not every clothing shop will offer patched clothing, however.

This is because a lot of patched clothing makes use of denim, especially jean jackets. This type of style may be unique to only select brands.

You can make your own patched clothing easily! There are plenty of tutorials online for embroidering your own patches onto just about any article of clothing.

How to Wear Patches For Clothes

Is your wardrobe in need of more patches?

You may be eager to jump aboard the patched clothing train, but you may be wondering how to do so in just the right way.

After all, it can be difficult to pull off patched clothing! Here are some easy tips for wearing patches for clothes.

1. Patch Your Denim Vest

Denim and patches go hand in hand. If you have a denim vest in your closet, jazz it up with some patches.

If you want to strike a punk vibe, opt for a denim vest that has frayed edges. You can even create these edges yourself by taking a pair of scissors to an existing collared vest!

To maintain a punk theme, sew on patches with darker colors, ideally to blend in with the dark denim.

If you want a more classy patched vest look, be more minimal with your patches. Choose simpler designs and consider attaching these primarily to the back of the vest itself.

Don’t forget to jazz up pockets your vest may have. Pockets are a great location for patches of any kind, especially if you plan on adding just one or two.

2. Apply a Simple T-Shirt Patch

If you’re not quite ready to go all out with patches for clothes, you can’t go wrong with the simple t-shirt patch.

Rummage through your closet in search of old, plain t-shirts. Or drop by a clothing store and pick up a few simple or plain patterned tanks or t’s.

Choose one simple patch to apply to these shirts, ideally placed in the upper left or upper right-hand corner. In this way, patches function a lot like t-shirt logos or graphics.

The simpler the better here. T-shirts are made of light fabric, and too many embroidered patches may give a “heavy” or weighed down appearance.

3. Get Some Hippie Vibes

Let’s not forget where patches truly found their glory. Clothing patches earned their original status in the 60s and 70s, primarily in protest against U.S. war efforts.

Give a shoutout to this era by sewing “hippie” patches onto an old pair of jeans or cutoffs. We’re not just talking about any old patches, though.

Bring on the rainbows, smiling suns, and peace symbols. Colorful flowers can also easily achieve this vibe.

Wondering where to place your hippie patches? You can’t go wrong by sewing them vertically on individual pantlegs. You can even sew them across the back pockets for a true 70s look.

Hippie patches look best on lighter denim, and denim in general. If you don’t have a pair of light wash jeans, snag a cheap pair from Target to do the trick.

4. Strut Your Patched Denim Jacket

Looking for a way to breathe more life into your jean jacket? Sew on some patches.

In fact, if you’re looking for the easiest way to wear patched clothing, denim jackets are your answer. The thick fabric makes it easy to adhere heavy or large patches.

It also can enable a more “busy” look, giving decorators plenty of room to apply multiple fabric swatches, embroidered patches, and buttons. In fact, the busier, the better when it comes to patched denim jackets.

Don’t have a denim jacket? Not to worry. You can always pick out a military jacket to achieve a similar effect.

Learn more about which patches for jackets work best here.

5. Blazer Patches

Yes, you can look elegant and wear patched clothing at the same time. If you’ve got a blazer on hand, all is well.

Take a navy or black blazer and add a few well-chosen patches to the side of one collar. This look is particularly striking when you wear a blazer over very plain clothing, such as a black shirt and slacks.

If you don’t want to add patches to a blazer, consider adding patches to an existing pair of classy jeans. Then wear these patched jeans with a blazer and heels for an elegant look.