It looks like patched jeans are set to be a hot trend for 2014. I suppose these garments are the inevitable successors to ripped jeans which you can now patch up and look right on the money for another season without the need for a new purchase. Most of the styles making their journeys down the runways feature patches of the embroidered variety but I can see great potential for more random fabric embellishments.
Unique and Individual
Patched jeans are a phenomenon I can really identify with. I am always attracted to styles which are unique and if you patch your own jeans they are sure to be one offs. Jeans are now ripe for customisation and you can let your imagination run riot as you make additions with just about anything you have to hand. All you need is a pair of scissors, a needle and some thread and limitless possibilities await.
The World’s Favourite Fashion
Jeans are the universal wardrobe of the world with their durability, practicality and comfort but I have started to grow tired of the sea of blue denim which forms the backdrop to any foray into the great outdoors. It will be a welcome relief to see an injection of colour, pattern and design and the whole concept conjures up fond memories of the 1980’s. That was a time when experimentation, self-expression and customising garments was all the rage and people were altogether more daring with their fashion choices. Then the urge was to be different now it is to be the same.
The Usual Suspects
Despite the obvious opportunities here for individuality I am guessing that most fashion slaves will default to the usual brands deemed cool by the masses and there will a lot of “different” jeans which are actually identical. It will no doubt be deemed essential to wear the right patches in the right places on the jeans with the right label. What a shame!
Saving Lives
Customising an existing pair of jeans could even save a great deal of heartache. There is nothing worse than the demise of a favourite pair. Naturally the recent trend for ripped and distressed jeans has rather extended the potential lifetime of the garments but still more can be done. A rip can soon become a fissure and there hasn’t yet been a trend for jeans with a leg missing and so they do reach the point of no return. This year jeans’ lives can be saved by patching them up and delaying their inevitable destiny in the recycling centre or in landfill. Millions of poor souls could be saved from that onerous search for a new favourite pair.
Missed Opportunities
Haberdashery departments should prepare themselves. If the customising bug does strike there could be a rush on patches and fabrics this year but I fear that this is not going to happen. The children of the 60’s and 70’s will no doubt relish the prospect of a return to more bohemian times but the masses will probably confine themselves to whatever the likes of Hollister and Superdry put out and have done with it. How boring!
Sally Stacey is a keen writer and business owner who divides her time between writing and running her bridal shop.
Be First to Comment