How to DIY a vintage bootleg field jacket

Since we’re all stuck inside, it felt like a perfect time to share a little DIY project I did recently. As with most things, it starts with a backstory—and mine tend to be longwinded. Since we have nothing but time, I’ll start at the beginning!

It started with some style inspo. I seek my inspiration in many different ways:

  1. I scroll through the endless list of glossy Instagram photos posted by influencers with a capital I. A few of my favorite accounts to follow are Olivia Jeanette, Mamaseeman, and Brooklyn Blonde.

  2. I’m lucky to live in a city that has the absolute best street style. I pass immaculate outfits every morning on my commute to work.

  3. I constantly browse my own closet using the Stylebook app. I have a digital photo of every item in my closet where I can easily mix and match new combos while I’m on the train—I’m very productive during my commute.

  4. I can’t help but take inspo from the stars. I’ve been listening to Billie Eilish consistently for the past year. I’m casually obsessed with her individuality, unique sound, and rejection of pop culture norms. While I could never pull off her bolder than bold, baggy look, her style has shifted my stance on branding in that she’s really pushed the envelope on obvious bootleg use of luxury brands. These brands are embracing it and, in turn, sending her genuine, custom pieces in similar logo collages. The distinction is obvious use of a luxury logo to create custom pieces.

Number 1 and 4 on my inspo list combined when I saw a post by Mamaseeman rocking a vintage army field coat with an added Gucci patch. Old me wouldn’t have agreed with the use of Gucci branding on a piece that wasn’t Gucci, but I was influenced! I did a bit of searching to see where I could purchase and came up empty-handed. However the combo kept haunting me, which is my tell that I won’t rest until it’s mine!

I changed tactics and found myself on Etsy browsing vintage army jackets and eBay researching Gucci-style patches. I don’t consider myself a crafty person, but ironing a patch that I obsessed over choosing seemed easy enough—I made my husband do the actual ironing. And that’s it! Iron the patch on the coat in your desired position and you have your very own vintage bootleg! All in, I spent about $50 on my custom jacket.

Get creative with patches. What can you find out there that really speaks to you? Also consider a bolder patch for the back or sleeve—this is your shot to let the creative juices flow, to create a one-of-a-kind piece just for you!

I’m really happy with how mine turned out! I’ve worn it a number of times and pairings, dressing it up and down. Camo is one of those prints that has unlimited pairing options. I’m drawn to a gold and green pairing, not to mention a good pattern mix. In this case I used the coat to bring down the fancy level of the metallic gold striped skirt. With two loud pieces, I kept the rest of the outfit toned down: black blouse, belt (authentic Gucci!), socks and booties.

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For a more casual look, I layered the jacket on top of a graphic tee. While the yellow tones are in the same color family as the camo, it contrasted the red well. The other colors ensure the red + green didn’t look Christmasy. Graphic tees are something we all have—which of yours would look great with camo?

I will continue to sponge inspo from the world around me and share my favorites with you! With our current quarantine status, my focus has shifted to searching for new loungewear. More to come on that!

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