{"id":16503,"date":"2019-05-17T22:56:56","date_gmt":"2019-05-17T17:26:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/golocalclassified.com\/article\/?p=16503"},"modified":"2019-05-17T22:57:06","modified_gmt":"2019-05-17T17:27:06","slug":"a-history-of-embroidered-patches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/golocalclassified.com\/article\/a-history-of-embroidered-patches\/","title":{"rendered":"A History of Embroidered Patches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You\u2019ve probably seen them on all sorts\nof clothing items<\/a> before including uniforms, faded jeans, novelty clothing,\netc. However, you may or may not know that embroidered patches served a\nlegitimate purpose before they were used for added bling on clothing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How it all Began<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The new and fast fashion boom in the world that is producing\nso many garments is also producing new trends including the one that promotes\nembroidered patches. Patches are having a bit of a moment in fashion right now\nand if you\u2019d care to see more<\/a> of\nthem, here are some options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the lowest forms of novelty clothing, to the highest\nfashion from Alessandro Michele and Gucci,everyone has embraced the embroidered\npatch. Clothes have donned them in recent seasons in their standout collections,\nand they have also been put on by people like A$AP Rocky, 2 Chainz, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it all began with the US military. In the 19th<\/sup>\ncentury, the military began to mass produce official division patches. After\nthat, the rest of the country followed suit and the embroidered patch started\nbeing found on all sorts of uniforms like worker\u2019s uniforms, delivery men\nuniforms, police uniforms etc. The patch had become an everyday item of\nclothing accessories and it had permeated American culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the beginning, it was considered an icon of working\nculture, but the embroidered patch found a new home with counter culture\nmovements in the 1950s and 1960s. The rise of biker culture (beatniks) as well\nas the hippies and the birth of punk rock in the 1980s all took advantage of\nthe embroidered patch to claim an identity. It symbolized their individual\nidentity as well as the fact that they were part of a group that was their own.\nThey had forged their own label going forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only was the embroidered patch a symbol for the\nrebellious youth, but it was also a symbol of pride in oneself and identity.\nYou could say that it was a sign that you wore your heart on your sleeve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The patch would be steadily present on all sorts of clothing\nthat connected with the underground culture for decades, and then make its way\nin to mainstream fashion as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you may not know however, is that the embroidered patch\ngoes back even further than this. In fact, it goes back to a time when there\nwas no America, no Europe, and no concept of the western world at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ancient Origins <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first mention of the embroidered patch seems to have\nbeen in ancient China in the 3rd<\/sup> Century BC. The patch was only used\nas a functional tool in order to mend clothing. This was necessary since most\npeople aside from the royal families and nobles were peasants who didn\u2019t have\nthe money to afford new clothes when they were ripped or torn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, as time went on, seamstresses stepped up their game\nand made the patch in to a means for expression. From then on, the patch began\nto circle the globe and reach far corners where it evolved and differentiated\nitself from the original designs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The designs would eventually become more and more intricate\nand become what we recognize as the modern embroidered patch that is so common\non clothing. People would even use patches to hang on their walls and be\ndisplayed as symbols of wealth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All patches were made by hand back then of course, and it\nwas a very slow and painstaking process in order to make them. The first main fabric\nwould be cut in to shape and sealed with heat to prevent any fraying. The\ndesign was then stitched on to the cloth with thread. While this seems simple\ntoday, it\u2019s very, very complicated and intricate in practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modernization<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The modernization of the embroidery practice came with the\nindustrial revolution. Isaac Grobli, an inventor from Sweden, invented\nsomething called a Schiffi embroidery machine and vastly improved the\nefficiency of the process. The process remains virtually the same till today.\nYes, the materials and technology have improved, but the main steps involved\nhave barely changed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The patch is embraced today as a symbol of personal\nexpression more than even collective expression. Patches can include a flaming\nskull, a rose, a black seal of doom, a cross, and words from the Bible, or even\na slogan that is popular during the times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have become even more widespread than before as they\nare being worn on jeans, jackets, purses, belts, caps, as well as shirts and\npants. There is no place that you can\u2019t wear them and feel great. They\u2019ve\nsuccessfully infiltrated mainstream culture and there is no going back\u2014 at\nleast for now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mainstream<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The mainstream\nattention<\/a>, as is in its nature, will never last for the embroidered patch\nas it doesn\u2019t for any other sort of fashion choice, However, since patches have\nbecome incredibly widespread, they will always maintain a sort of nostalgia and\nfunction-fashion aesthetic in people\u2019s minds. Whether it\u2019s something that they\nremember from their childhood or saw someone famous wear, patches are and will\nalways remain part of the zeitgeist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They reflect a way to play off current cultural themes, say\nwhat the wearer is thinking, feeling, and wanting to say to society. It can be\na pledge of allegiance to a society or an idea. It may also be a way to bring\nback nostalgia for a time like many are today. The nostalgia for the 80s and\n90s is strong in today\u2019s youth, and so the embroidered patch culture is also\ncoming back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the patches have lost a little bit of their sheen\nand edge due to the mainstreaming of their culture. Now if you\u2019re wearing\npatches, it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you\u2019re a rebel, just a simple conformer.\nHowever, that doesn\u2019t mean that the patch can\u2019t make a comeback or stand for\nwhat it did before. It\u2019s the intent as well as the presentation that matters on\nthe whole when it comes to fashion. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve probably seen them on all sorts of clothing items before including uniforms, faded jeans, novelty clothing, etc. However, you may or may not know that embroidered patches served a legitimate purpose before they were used for added bling on clothing. How it all Began The new and fast fashion boom in the world that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/golocalclassified.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/golocalclassified.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/golocalclassified.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/golocalclassified.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/golocalclassified.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/golocalclassified.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16503\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/golocalclassified.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/golocalclassified.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/golocalclassified.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}