Photo by Amos Mac.
My darlings I have a current style obsession. It all started at the beginning of the summer when one of the style blogs I cruise on Tumblr, Miss Amelia Butter (dear lord she’s a babe) started posting about 80s rock vests. She just kept talking rock vest and I was listening.
Favorite outfit of Summer 2011, this sun dress and my rock vest. Pictured with Leslie!
What is a rock vest? Well, it’s a vest that goes over any outfit and makes it more bad ass. The basic rock vest is denim and endlessly customizable. I like to wear them about 2-3 sizes too small to give my cleavage its rightful center stage.
Luckily one popped into Re/Dress and my obsession only grew. I wore it immediately and my co-workers were there in accidental solidarity–three of us wore rock vests and sun dresses on the same day.
Chavon has many rock vests. Here she pairs it with tight skirt and vintage undergarments and rock gloves.
Denim rock vests are amazing. However, I love when a rock vest comes in leather or fur. Re/Dress had this incredible White Snake video stylin’ blue tie dye leather studded situation I lamented was a bit too small for me. Whoever bought that rock vest I salute you.
Glenn Marla has been wearing rock vests for about the entire 8 years I have known him. I love this one he scored during the early years of Re/Dress. Photo by Amos Mac for Original Plumbing Magazine.
Giving the crazy eye, wearing the grey rock vest, paired with feather earrings and pussy necklace. Together with Mr. Transman 2010 Kit Yan and Miss Heather.
Rock vests are a punk staple. I know a million people who never stopped wearing them. I think Chicago probably has about 68 layers of bling on his rock vests.
Chicago (a/k/a Princess Tiny and the Meats) to the left in the light denim rock vest. AR Punk as lead singer in the amazing black rock vest. I didn’t get a shot but his rock vest says on the back, over a rainbow flag “These Colors Don’t Run.”
I never thought I was bad ass enough to actually dress bad ass. Is that weird? I mean, objectively I am a bad ass, but I was really interested in appearing to be a “good girl” on the outside growing up and sometimes, even though I can dress pretty slutty, I still forget and think of myself as not bad ass enough to pull something off. So, here I am, wearing rock vests and making pretty much anything I have on (including darling purple maxi dresses) look that much more bad ass.
Or if not bad ass at least a little bit edgier and dressed down for a jaunt through Central Park.
Next stop is the design element. I’m going to add the Rebel Cupcake logo to one of mine, and I think Gumdrop the Fat Unicorn is going to make an appearance to my grey denim rock vest. Rock vests are a crafter’s dream layer. I wonder if there was ever a Quacker Factory rock vest?
Currently I am rocking various pins based on my mood. “Cause dyke drama,” “Cancer sucks,” “I heart Fat Femmes.” I still have a bunch of old pins with my picture on them from when I was 24. I haven’t felt vain enough to rock my own photo or especially one from 8 years (and many hairstyles) ago but maybe one day it’ll make sense.
Victoria models Gumdrop the Fat Unicorn bandannas.
On my rock vest wish list: a red rock vest, a black rock vest, and the perfect rock vest fur collar trim to add to one of them. Some sort of not ridiculously awful air brush artist who will actually service my rock vest enhancement needs unlike the jerk at South Beach Fashion in Rehoboth Beach who said, after making me wait 15 minutes, that he wasn’t going to do any custom work.
Oh well, whatever. I am super into rock vests now and thank Amelia for invigorating this addition to my wardrobe!
P.S. The BABE CITY, BC, CANADA team from Glitterpolitic. To the right is Majestic rocking a leather rock vest from all ends of the gender spectrum and into the stars. I am using this photo as a vague segue to encourage all of you to go read (on the left) Ashley Aron’s amazing post about people assuming she’s pregnant. They are both incredibly bad ass.
ugh this satin rock vest is adorbs. if only it were available in more sizes!
http://www.torrid.com/torrid/Clearance/JacketsOuterwear//Black+Satin+Ruffle+Bolero+Jacket-504380.jsp
Gumdrop the fat unicorn is awwwweesome!
argh. that last line was supposed to be: but not so much me these days.
hmm- i have a rock vest fashion question perhaps you could advise on. i recently acquired a rock vest (by cutting the sleeves off an awkward jean jacket my grandma bought me at goodwill), but i am having a hard time figuring out how to wear it- cause mostly i wear dark jeans for pants, and jean jacket/jean vest seems like too much. once it is cold, i could put it over a black hoodie and pretend to be more bad-ass than i am, but now? thoughts? it has a red plaid lining. and i love the over-the-dress look, but so much for me these days.
Rock vests are really born from awkward jean jackets.
Hmmm… I remember when I was first wearing denim jackets I thought denim on denim was a fashion no. I have since come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a fashion rule–they are all made to be broken. My suggestion is to try it on as many different ways as you can. I was wearing rock vests with my summer looks and now I’ll transition it to Fall with lightweight long sleeve drape neck tops and skirts and over polyester vintage dresses.
I also think you need to play up the awesome red plaid lining by wearing some red with it, maybe red sneakers or flats? A red bandanna in a bow on your head?