Worn in the USA

When I first inherited this jacket in junior high from my brother it had a small explanation point on the back made of...metal studs (!). It slowly accumulated the detritus of personal and cultural references, not least of which would be the cap to a bottle of burbon - great reliever of junior high math class boredom - in the pocket (yup, still there). I paid Susan Yandell about $20 for the backpiece in my first year of high school.....

Somehow The Who became my buffer to the world. Who knew that just a few years later I'd be in love with LL Cool J (still am), dance to Big Daddy Kane, see Run DMC at the Roxy and LOVE Salt n Pepa (still do)?

My jacket had the above patch. My mom belonged to "Another Mother for Peace" and we had these patches, pendants (I think I still have mine) and, if I recall, a jigsaw puzzle. Of course that was the Viet Nam war era, but both the patch and the org are still relevant. Here are a few other jacket attachment faves:

• Home-made "no nukes" button


• Button that reads, "We have not come a long way, and don't call us babies"


• Button that reads, "How dare you presume that I'm heterosexual?"


• Handcuff keys attached by a safety pin (what? where did I get those?)

On the inside a bunch of my friends wrote their names and myserious messages in ballpoint pen. The thing weighs about 10 pounds and I never wanted to leave home without it. As I recall, I wore it to a job interview. Never underestimate the need for armor!