#Punk Style

[frannonfire]

[alternativerunway]

Nicholas K Fall 2015

[iridescentanamika]

I hear people talk about how punk clothing is expensive, how you don’t have enough money to buy docs so obv you aren’t a real punk, how you can’t buy pins anywhere, how punk jewelry is sooo expensive BULLSHIT

The backbone of punk is diy. Punk is messy, punk is making the best of what you have. Nothing is more punk than making your own beauty with the shit you find scattered about

Wanna have docs? Buy some knock offs for 20 bucks and add some spikes no one will care

Want patches? Embroider on some old fabric. Use paint, bleach, markers, whatever you have. If that’s not good enough, buy from small businesses when you can

Want pins? Make em. Use safety pins and a bottle cap and you got a pin. Just paint something on, if you don’t have paint, I’ve used white out and pens just do whatever. Also fr just um borrow from any big shitty chain store, not from small businesses tho

Want jewelry? Pliers are your best friend. Fix broken jewelry with em, use chains u found to make something. I’ve used a hanging plant wire to make a barbed wire bracelet with nothing but pliers. Just fuck around. Buy from small businesses and again, big shitty chains are fair game

Want spikes and cool metal shit? Literally just take any metal like literally anything and stick it to your clothes. Safety pins, can tabs (esp monster ones bc fun colors) lighter caps, make spikes out of cans, take chains outta the recycle bin

Punk is the most accessible subculture. Punk was made by people with no money, and anyone who tells you you need fancy shit to be punk ain’t a real punk. Punk is about fucking around with the idea of what you should be, so just have fun! There are literally no rules!

[our-trans-punk-experience]

THE BATTLE JACKET MASTERPOST

FINALLY PUNKS IT'S HERE

a battle jacket (also called battle vest, cut-off, punk jacket, patch jacket, and probably other stuff) is a jacket (duh) usually made from denim or leather with DIY additions of patches, studs, flags, painted panels, chains, and other bonuses, used to signify subculture. Punk, metal, and biker scenes all use patch jackets, but I'll only go into specifics about how they're used in the punk scene. Metalheads, I think, almost solely personalise with music/band shit. Bikers use them to signifying which club you're riding with. Punks started using them in the 70s and they've remained a staple of the subculture's style since. They're good for signalling your politics, bands you like, and other information you might want to get across. They also look cool.

HOW TO START

If you're here I assume you wanna learn how to make your own so I'll cut the history lesson short and get on to the practicals.

1: first you're going to want to get a plain jacket, probably denim or leather, but you could get a canvas jacket if you're nervous and new to the scene because it's way easier to stitch canvas, so you could experiment with that as you're building confidence. The jacket should be at least a bit oversized because with all the stitching and painting or whatever you'll be doing, you could run into fit issues with a very form fitting jacket. also, this jacket might frequently be worn over other jackets or layers so that will help with that too

2: start making choices. namely whether you want to keep the sleeves. obviously you can remove or reattatch the sleeves later but I think making that big mod first is a good starting point to help you feel like it's a work in progress. so if you're going to chop the sleeves I say do it now

3: brainstorm. I know, I know, coming up with your own ideas is hard, but this is your own totally literally unique piece, so think about what sorta look you want

4: you don't have to brainstorm alone though. search tumblr or pinterest for punk jackets, punk patches, punk clothes ect for inspiration. you might get a good idea for an individual patch, or for a broader layout

PATCHES

1: the big deal. this is what will make your jacket into a battle jacket. there are some unofficial rules/sayings in the scene about what sort of patches you should put on your jacket. some people get dickish sometimes about if you put a non-punk band on your jacket? however i think that is bollocks and you should do whatever you want forever. one saying i do personally mostly stick to is "politics up front, bands on the back" with the idea you stick your politics on your front so you can see the punches coming

2: where do you get the patches? you make them yourself. You can buy ofc but don't get shit off amazon or shein or whatever the fuck. If your fav band or small artist is selling patches go for it though. You will have the most choice if you make your own patches. Do you have scrap fabric (maybe the sleeves of the jacket, which is where i got a lot of my patch material)? Do you have paint and paintbrush? good. you can make a patch

3: how do you do that? well depends on whether you stencil or freehand. stencil means you cut out an outline, of say a band logo, out of card, and use that as a stencil. freehand means you paint whatever tf you like

4: paint?? yes paint. messy as you like. start maybe with simple slogans or symbols often found in the punk scene like "ACAB" or "eat the rich". maybe an anarchy symbol. i also like to paint a layer of mod podge over my designs to waterproof them.

5: great, you've got a patch, what are you going to do with it? sew it onto the jacket. unless ofc you bought an iron-on in step 2, in which case iron that shit on and be careful punks. most likely though, you're sewing it on. a lot of punks use tooth floss to sew on because its cheaper, easier to find, readily waxed and waterproof, and does a better job sewing shit down onto heavy duty material like leather or denim. I use a combined running stitch and whip stitch personally

STUDS n SPIKES

1: all those punks you've seen have metal sticking out their jacket eh? yeah, theres a whole lot of options here. spikes of many different sizes and shapes, which within that can be stitch on, screwback, or have fold down prongs on the back of them

2: where do you put them? probably the front or top of the jacket. you can put them on the back but that might be uncomfortable, or rip up someone's upholstery

3: where do you get them? you can still DIY these by cutting up a metal drinks can [whole other post] but BE CAREFUL. i suggest checking out the internet for these, same buying rules as patches though. no shein. no amazon.

OTHER SHIT??

1: go wild

2: other common additions would be chains, lighter caps, badges, and can tabs

HAVE FUN PLS ASK ME QUESTIONS AND SHARE IF YOU START A BATTLE JACKET

[coveredinredpaint]

punk rat

you could say he's wearing a rattlevest

i made him for my bf, were making rats that look like ourselves to swap them.

i am so proud of how this little guy turned out, his jacket is looking better than mine, and its fully from scraps and other stuff i still had laying around

added a "misfits" patch, a rat skull patch and a trans anarchy patch, drew some gay stuff one the inside

i gave him piercings to match mine too, and gave his jacket buttons so you can close it! altho it is but tight but it looks better this way.

plus some closeups of the details:

gave him an arm cuff and a tail cuff, i avoided using shark spikes so he's still somewhat huggable

he is my son and im glad my bf is getting custody of him cause i wouldnt be able to give him away to anyone else.

[amatesura]

Helsinki, 1984 ph. Merja Wesander

[nancy-xx]

Nancy Spungen

Nancy at the roxy, london, summer 1977.

[solderalchemy]

Here's a closer look at most-loved Solder Alchemy creations -- raw, bold, and different.

🔥 Which one’s your favorite?

[nixxsmokeweed]

I made a new backpatch for my wheelchair. The first picture is the new one and the second is the old.

I made this new one with velcro which attaches much cleaner to the chair. That way, you can actually see all the patches.

I find these backpatches are much better than a traditional battle jacket for me. As Battle jackets get really heavy, which makes it harder to push myself. This way I can still participate.

If you make one I would love to see!

[vendetta06]

I don’t want to heal my inner child anymore I think I want a big sword now

✞

[alternativerunway]

Dreaming Eli Fall 2025

[sabretoothleather]

Handmade real leather punk stuff // Spike collars/spike bracelets and such

[nyc-looks]

Lance, 22

“I've got some fishnets I cut into sleeves, an old shirt I flipped inside out and painted on, and a jacket my grandpa got me ages ago that I decked out and took the sleeves off of. My pants are from my friend. Originally they were plain black with significantly less holes but when I learnt about patch and crust pants I was like ’I want to do something very Lance with these’ so any old clothes that didn't fit I cut up and made it to patches or I bought some patches. What inspires my style is the punk subculture! Regardless of what's happened to it over the years, at its core it's very individualistic in terms of self expression. With each person that falls in love with punk mindset/ideologies you get a new perspective on what punk can look like. It's a look that's very familiar because you can spot it from a mile away but it's also very eccentric because there's no one specific way to do it. The lot of it is just do it yourself and do it you!”

Sep 23, 2023 ∙ East Village

[coveredinredpaint]

simple tutorial on how to make those bottlecap buttons you see everywhere

you'll need:

bottlecap•soda tab•safety pin•pliers•sandpaper/file•paint/paint markers/smth to decorate with•clear nail polish

remove the print on the buttons using a file or the sandpaper

(if you wanna keep the print skip this step, use a cloth to protect the print from scratches when folding down the sides of the cap)

fold down opposing sides of the cap, to help add in the safety pin

bend the tab at a slight angle, insert it into the cap. make sure the side of the safety pin that can not open is the one stuck under the tab

fold down one side of the cap to lock the tab in place, then try and press the tab as flat as you can, to lock the safety pin in place (prevents the buttons from moving on the safety pin, if you like rattling buttons, skip this step)

fold down all other sides of the cap

cover the button in one or more base layers of paint

add ur design (i use paint or paint markers for good coverage and vibrant colors)

cover that in one or two layers of nail polish, it will protect the button from rain and the paint from cracking

thats it, lemme know if you want tutorials on anything else, i like making em.

[everythingemo888]

Alt People With Their Kids <3

I never knew I needed to see this, but... It's so freaking adorable!

(I found all of these on Pinterest)

[stargore]

girlboy girlmodding at the punk show? it’s more likely than you think