Vintage patches on vintage denim a nod to nostalgia

A denim jacket is my in-between season go-to. I have three of them, that's right, three. They can be worn with pants, a skirt or dress. ...

A denim jacket is my in-between season go-to. I have three of them, that's right, three. They can be worn with pants, a skirt or dress.
Roll the sleeves up, or leave them down. Go buttoned or open. Layer, or not.

katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com.au || denim jacket with vintage Scout patches

I was a teenager through the 1980s and your denim was either acid-washed or trimmed with lace - Madonna-style - or pretty florals.

I'd cover my back jean pockets with Liberty-like floral prints, or put in fake linings around the ankle so I could roll the hems up and have the patched lining showing.

Denim tops too were embellished with lace, floral patches or embroidery, and by the look of it, these floral embellishments are on their way back around. Here, here, here and for the prices I could never pay, here.

katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com.au || stonewash denim jacket with vintage Scout patches

My own embellished denim makeover isn't quite as pretty, but it is nostalgic.;

I found these old Scout badges in junk shop while road-tripping the NSW Northern Rivers region last year. They were sitting among a sad collection of faded haberdashery. Scout and Girl Guide badges don't look like this anymore and a good deal more effort went into earning them than is required today. (That said, the content is now better suited to the times and more relevant to modern members.)

When I spied these at the bottom of a basket of odds and ends, I think I may have made a little audible gasp of disbelief. If you believe that objects hold some sense of their former life, you will know I felt some sense of the young, scrawny, hat-too-big-on-his-head lad that had earned these. I felt instantly sad for this lost moment from his youth. Here, among his mementos, I could read that he liked sports and that his preference for solo sports (swimming and running) to team sports (hockey) meant he was probably an introvert. That campfire badge there tells me too that he liked Scouts. The campfire badge was one that kids who liked outdoor craftsmanship tended to earn first.

I didn't know the person who owned these badges but I felt their worth, his worth, and they've made their way to one of my favourite jackets - a stonewash denim I bought at the Brooklyn Flea, on a trip to New York, a few years back. 

I have a few more to stitch on, but I suspect this is a jacket that may, over time, be covered with these small nods to nostalgia.

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