submit the worst vests you can find

Blog dedicated to gatekeeping the ""battlevest"" culture. You can call me Vez if needed. Minors or Weenies don't bother following. This is all for fun but feelings might still get hurt. Read the pinned post! Not the same as the instagram acct!

[baddlevests]

Submitting is open for anything atrocious:

Fast fashion "punk" clothes (includes prepatched pants and vests, prestudded jackets from high end brands etc)

Low effort "DIY" that costs like $100 on etsy

Tshirt patches, crayola scratches

Waste of a good leather jacket

Vests from old men that cant sew

Aliexpress/wish/amazon vests

Ugly nazi jackets

"Fashion punks" aka people who's co-opting the looks of punk but completely sanitized and sterile "For the aesthetic" (goes hand in hand with fast fashion)

Etc etc

Basically anything that makes you recoil, that you would target in the pit, that makes you feel second hand embarrassment. It's a free for all.

Doesn't have to be tiktok punk, doesn't even have to be punk at all, can be Goth vests and Metal shit too.

This is not a "how to/how not to battlevest" blog. Take everything with a pinch of salt. You can submit your own vest for community feedback/critique, but at your own risk. For anon submissions you can DM me. Don't send links on anon! Just DM the photos.

There's no tolerance for hatespeech on this blog, you can be as hard as you want on the items submitted but the moment you start dropping slurs in the tags or replies you're out. We're knocking on poseurs and gatekeeping a music based subculture, we're NOT creating a "safe space" for basement dwelling 4chan posters who unironically call trans people "troons".

TLDR: NO WEENIES ALLOWED, just for fun, no nazis 👍

[baddlevests]

still around?

Still around! I've been flooded with work right before the summer and there's been minimal submissions but I've been backlogging some vests I stumble across.

I'll try to get something out this weekend. (":

[baddlevests]

yo! i may have sent a separate ask, but i forgot if i did. very sorry if i did. itd be dope if i could get some critique on my vest.

So I'd work on my stitching a bit, not necessarily for the looks (it will make it look a bit cleaner) but for security. Hand sewing sucks and it takes a while to get good at, but I've had friends lose patches at gigs and festivals because they didn't stitch those fuckers down hard enough. Putting some extra effort into getting good stitches means that your patches sits snugly against your vest and probably wont fall off. Folding your patch edges also ensures that they wont fray or that the stitching wont come lose from the patch, but some people HATE edge-folding so it's a taste thing. I recommend edge-folding for really fragile, maybe vintage (once you get there!) patches, patches printed on thin materials, and patches that have already started fraying a bit too close to the print/doesn't have that much sewing margin - because not enough sewing margin means you might rip the print & fabric. I can't tell if you've used iron-on patches, but if you have I really recommend sewing those on in the future as well! They're a pain in the ass to remove, and even if you manage to peel the entire patch off (they tend to rip when you remove them) there's a 90% chance you'll have glue residue that's even harder to remove. I've included some drawn on stitching on your various patches just to demonstrate! It's actually a pretty good start in my opinion! There's smaller stuff like maybe changing out a few patches. Like trading Exploited for The Casualties or Chaos UK? Maybe switching them out for a few better bands as you go, since Ramones Sex Pistols Exploited etc are all pretty run of the mill. Otherwise there's not much to say that's not taste stuff, like filling it up with more studs and more patches, getting it worn and stained. The stuff that will happen with time.

If you need some music recs feel free to send me a dm and I'll send you some recs based off of your patches, or if you need a distro to get your hands on some real patches that aren't too expensive OR shit quality.

[baddlevests]

This jacket jumpscares me any time I try to look for punk shit on Mercari.

JESUS. Not the spraypainted subhumans logo. 😭 Atleast it's salvagable?! $299 for a vintage (?) Leather is not that bad I think? Those fuckers are hard to come by. New leather rips so fucking easy too. Just rip that sucky backpatch off and scrub that lower back and you have a solid base! Not the worst shit I've ever seen but a massive disgrace to such a heavy duty jacket..

[baddlevests]

fucking hell. 90 dollars on adidas pants. seen on etsy.

😟😟😟

[baddlevests]

Heyo, can you explain the last post you made? I didn't understand like any of it but you sounded so angry that i would like to know what it's about. cheers :)

Yes, sorry.

Someone followed (or, tried to, as I regularly go through the recent followers to make sure there's no 'phobes or fash, or minors etc) with an account explicitly made to promote and/or glorify their disordered eating and self harm behaviour. This is, to me, heinous. As both of those behaviours very often are taught to kids online especially in subculture circles. (Most notably way back in the MySpace days, I think with selfharm.)

A few years back there was a massive community on here glorifying and encouraging self harm, promoting it to vulnerable teens who might've otherwise never found out about the way you [disordered eating behavior that I refuse to talk about in detail for this exact reason] or self harm. The excuse always being that they just wanted "community" or needed to "vent". They'd target kids in the emo/scene community.

I'm really angry at the idea that it might be happening again. I do not think "pro-ana"/pro-selfharm/anti-recovery blogs are a healthy coping mechanism, especially not when you're getting involved with a community that is atleast 50% minors. You're directly exposing them to dangerous behaviours.

I fucking hate the glorification of disordered eating. I empathise with people who have EDs but you have no right to expose kids to it. I try not to get personal on here, but I have lost friends and almost lost lovers to ED and it's because of these godforsaken fuckers who continously promote it.

Keep it on a private side blog. It's literally in the bio, full of triggering keywords and essentially ED community dogwhistles. They could be following random people who's trying to recover.

Sorry, really trying not to boil over with anger, but it's really a pain. Stay safe out there.

[baddlevests]

Oh also, reminder that this is a Punk blog. Not a general diy blog. Not a gentle blog for softies. Not a blog for people who still put their harry potter house in their bio - your feefees WILL get hurt here. What are you even doing here?? I will continue to block people who doesn't pass a vibe check, if I accidentally blocked someone who "should" be here, send me an anon about it and I'll see what I can do. :) We are gatekeeping here. Go back to super weenie hut Jr's

[baddlevests]

I FEEL LIKE THIS SHOULD GO WITHOUT SAYING BUT DO NOT FOLLOW THIS BLOG WITH YOUR FUCKING PRO-ANOREXIA BLOG. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU. THERE ARE RECOVERING PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY. MAKE A SEPARATE ACCOUNT TO FOLLOW FROM. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE YOUR ACCOUNT GLORIFYING STARVATION AND SELF HARM. THERE ARE KIDS ON THIS APP. I DONT CARE THAT YOU'RE DEPRESSED. GET THERAPY AND STOP EXPOSING CHILDREN TO THIS SHIT.

[baddlevests]

My jacket fucks and is immune to criticism.

Unironically one of the sexiest jackets I've ever seen. Good amount of patches, perfect spacing (not cluttered but it doesn't look sterile) and it reeks of personality. I can IMMEDIATELY tell what type of music you like, and that you aren't a fascist without you having to put flashing lights on your jacket telling me so. Love the use of space on the sleeves and sides.

Studs on the collar gets an extra 10 points from me bc it's so underrated now adays lol. It looks great, love to see the mix of genres on there without you shitting all over the "culture". Machinegirl, ho99o9, zyanose, and dystopia is a top tier mix. Fuck. Yeah. Wish I could see more of this in my local scene!

I sound so pretentious but seriously this is an awesome jacket! What's the jacketbase? I can tell it's some army surplus, but can't really pinpoint which.

Also faggy dyke 🤝 dykey fag solidarity. Love to see it.

[baddlevests]

Okay, I gotta say your acrylic paint on t-shirt fabric before you start designing the patch advice is SO FUCKING GOOD. Before I was just using fabric straight from a old shirt and got good at just dealing with having to carefully paint on a design so it wasn't too messy. But, holy shit putting an acrylic base made it so much easier and gave the fabric so much more structure. I feel like a dumb ass for not doing it sooner lmao, but thanks so much for that advice!

Hey! That's awesome! If you're using tshirt fabric I can also give you the tip of trying to pin it down on some cardboard when you're painting the design, tshirt is so soft it likes to slip and slide. But I really recommend trying to get your hands on old denim instead, it's a bit more sturdy as it is! (If you have an old pair of jeans from when you were younger you can strip it for parts, you can drench blue denim in 1 part black acrylic+1 part water to turn it into an ashy black!)

So happy to be of help, feel free to send in photos in DMs if you want me to post them anonymously for you. :D

[baddlevests]

There's been a lot of 'help' submissions lately, which is great, but they take a bit longer to answer. Don't be afraid to send in some atrocious "pop punk" shit from reddit, or god awful temu ads, if you happen across it in your travels! Cheers.

[baddlevests]

@slasherpunk submitted: "roast my vest that's well overdue for an overhaul. started putting it together around 6 years ago in my last year of high school. gonna remove a bunch of stuff and tailor it lol

also any advice for decision paralysis when choosing a back patch? I can never decide on a band so I tend to cop out and do something else on the back like a weenie haha"

See this is, I think, a great example of DIY patches that aren't shit. You managed to get the London Calling cover onto a patch without either shitting the bed or having to use a stencil. You've put effort into it without breaking your back, and I really respect that!

Don't get me wrong here but I can kind of tell it was started a while back, like when you were a teen. As in I can tell that your taste and skills have improved, which is good obviously.

It's an odd base too though, is it a denim vest with a pattern and zipper? Or have you salvaged some weird hoodie-vest hybrid? Not my first pick but you take what you can get and all that. I think the patch tiling is just a little bit too tight, for readabilitys sake. I don't have much to roast you on that isn't personal taste. I'd leave some breathing room in the patches on the front (maybe just remove one patch on either side, and just rearrange the others maybe?) and streamline the bands on there. It might just be easier to start on a new vest at this point, after all the tlc you've put into this 6 year old vest.

As for finding a backpatch, it can be really hard lol. My way to pick back patches have always been to go for the bands that politically, emotionally, or musically mean most to me. I prefer to get my hands on as unique backpatches as possible, it's just more of a pride that way. It's easier said than done but try checking etsy and small diy distros for bootlegged backpatches, because they can have some really awesome designs that you can't get anywhere else. Or check the bands bandcamp! I picked my current backpatch because the band is niche and I want to be a walking billboard for their music & politics. Shoot me a DM if you want more specific help in deciding. :D

Sorry to be so boring lol. I think this vest is fine, atleast by.... internet standards. I really do think you should bite the bullet and get a backpatch though. Fuck it, buy several! You can use backpatches for other stuff, or start hoarding them like everyone else in the scene *cough cough*

[baddlevests]

hi, I was wondering if I could get some tips or constructive criticism on my vest? It's still not done quite yet, but I'd love to be pointed in a good direction. I'm looking to make a new one soon anyway...

Hi! Late reply, but here's what I'd do (hope this is readable lol) Idk how old you are either so I'm trying to be as nice as possible and won't be recommending stuff that might be way out of budget for a kid (investing in real patches, studs, and stuff like that.)

First of all, try to find a back patch! Building around the back patch is much easier than trying to fill that space in later, it also makes it easier to follow a common thread on the rest of the vest. If you've got a Möterhead back patch it's makes sense to add speed and thrash, if you've got a Circle Jerks backpatch more hardcore and punk makes sense. I'd try to stick to a theme here - not to say you can't mix styles or genres - but it quickly gets cluttered and hard to 'read' what's going you know? I'd try to go for a streamlined patch layout with a "semi-symmetrical" look, sort of what you've been doing on the back already! And try to stick to one or two genres, or if they're related (Like DK + Rancid makes sense, since they're similar genres. But Megadeth next to Misfits next to Guns n roses is a bit of a leap, imo.) It's a taste thing though, so take that with a pinch of salt. I'd move around the embroidered patches to areas that are harder to fill since they're smaller (sort of like filler tattoos, use your space effectively!) and try to group pins and accessories to a similar space, pockets or collars are the go-tos. I'd skip the safety pins as well, and no double-patching. If you've already got a The cure logo then consider moving the other oen to something else. Double-patching works best when it's stuff like different album arts or band "eras".

Also 100% might want to skip exploited, Wattie is known to be buddy-buddy with nazi punk bands and had a Swastika tattoo (that he only recently covered up) Am I calling Wattie a nazi? No. But he's either stupid, hangs with the wrong crowd, or isn't as up front with his politics as we think he is.

Pictured with posing with a nazi in a nazi shirt, his swastika, and posing nazi band.

Hope you're having fun with your DIY, and if you upgrade/start a new one feel free to show it off! :D Again, hope this is legible. I'm tired lol. Turning RBs off because I'm not dealing with Wattie stans, sorry mate.

[baddlevests]

Oh also, reminder that this is a Punk blog. Not a general diy blog. Not a gentle blog for softies. Not a blog for people who still put their harry potter house in their bio - your feefees WILL get hurt here. What are you even doing here?? I will continue to block people who doesn't pass a vibe check, if I accidentally blocked someone who "should" be here, send me an anon about it and I'll see what I can do. :) We are gatekeeping here. Go back to super weenie hut Jr's

[baddlevests]

This includes people who take "shipping" too seriously. If you can't even accept that some people don't like your "problematic ships" then don't bother following. Idc about the "shipwars" or whatever, but you will be an insufferable pain in the ass and I don't like you. Crawl back to AO3

[baddlevests]

Oh also, reminder that this is a Punk blog. Not a general diy blog. Not a gentle blog for softies. Not a blog for people who still put their harry potter house in their bio - your feefees WILL get hurt here. What are you even doing here?? I will continue to block people who doesn't pass a vibe check, if I accidentally blocked someone who "should" be here, send me an anon about it and I'll see what I can do. :) We are gatekeeping here. Go back to super weenie hut Jr's

[baddlevests]

Happy new year ghouls n comrades! I'm hoping to pick up activity again, after the shitshow that is the Holidays. I'll get to the backlog of submissions asap! :D

[baddlevests]

Some discourse over the past few weeks (and now finding this blog) has me paranoid about my vest? I’ve never really called myself a punk, but I am very much into darker alternative fashions. I bought a vest that was very obviously meant to be A Vest Onto Which You Attach Patches And Pins, but nothing I have on there is necessarily capital-p Punk. It’s just kind of a vest that I stick random stuff on. I have a lot of pride flags and pronouns on it, but it’s also got a few pop culture-y patches and pins (pokemon, cute cats, etc.). I can assure that everything came from indie artists, and I even made a few of the patches myself, although they’re all done by machine. I really like my vest but I don’t want to be Cringe™. Should I just find a better place for all of it?

Hi! I know what you mean, but at the end of the day it's your vest. You're gonna have to be proud of the stuff you're making. Like I've said previously punk's not a monolith, it's diverse - for good and for bad lol. I'd say, off the bat, that acknowledging that your non-punk vest isnt a Punk Vest™️makes a huge difference. There's a difference in being alternative, and claiming to be part of a specific subculture, youknow? It might even just be your "gateway" into finding what subculture you fit into best. It's not at all what social media makes it out to be. Pride and pop culture stuff is actually fairly standard even among capital P punks, if you know where to look. My local Pogos love to wear stuff with references to games and nostalgia bait. Old SNES games and TMNT are classics here. It's just about the balance and, for a lack of better wording, not being obnoxious with it. Which kids get a pass on, cause what kid isn't obnoxious? Even worse with baby punks, and I'm saying this with love. I was an obnoxious baby punk, hell I'm still really obnoxious if I'm gonna be real. Fuck it, be cringe, But own it! People will always have opinions, even if you try to fit the sterilized mold of what punk is. People always find something to complain about, especially other baby punks on instagram/tiktok/whatever. Superiority/inferiority complexes and shit. If you'd like more specific tips, like how to "declutter" the vest or something, feel free to DM me about it. :D This blog is, again, not made to put anyone off of doing DIY. The closest comparison I think all you kids will understand is that it's similar to when drag queens read eachother; I tell you your make up sucks out of love, lol.

[baddlevests]

punk has almost nothing to do with fashion. its mindset + politics over music over fashion

Literally not true. During the 70s in the UK, punks walked around in Swastikas + Nazi memorabilia and threw around a lot of slurs, "for edginess". During the 80s' Skinhead revival, Nazi Boneheads started co-opting the look, sound, and culture of working class (and, often immigrant) Skinheads. During the rise of hardcore, a huge portion of Nazi hardcore bands started showing up. Nazi black metal is still a thing. Sex Pistols were punk despite Johnny Rotten being a major political poser. Rock against communism was a thing. Fucking Skrewdriver is a thing.

Punk does not equal socialists, anarchists, communists, leftists, and most certainly not liberals - the people who's trying to rewrite punk history into something it's not. Punk DOES equal hardcore, grindcore, anarchopunk, straight edge, fascist punk, Christian punk, horror punk.. You're not combatting raciscm, nazism, or fascism - especially not in the scebe - by being a history revisionist. How are you going to explain to a black punker that the racism in the scene isn't real because "racists arent punk"? How are you gonna explain to a trans woman that the transphobia and misogyny she experiences in the scene isn't real because "transphobes aren't punk"? Grow a spine, admit that there's a HUGE lgbt-phobe and racists issue, and then DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Words have meanings, and it doesn't matter if it hurts your feelings to say, but Punk is and always will be a music based subgenre.

If even fucking Wikipedia has a clearer description of Punk than you, then you've already lost. Do not come @ me trying to tell me what is and isn't punk, as if I haven't spent all my life researching and archiving actual punk history. Suck my left nut.

[baddlevests]

"No true Scotsman arguments arise when someone is trying to defend their ingroup from criticism (ingroup bias) by excluding those members who don't agree with the ingroup. In other words, instead of accepting that some members may think or act in disagreeable ways, one dismisses those members as fakes."

This is what you're doing right now. Just so you know.