Origin of Biker Vests

Why a vest?

We can understand the need of patches to represent an identity. But why put them on the leather waistcoats?

It could have been another piece of clothing, but why the reason for this kind of uniform. The biker vest has gained this relevance because there is a  history behind it. Today I will tell you why.

The first bikers

The biker movement was born in the United States early 1920's, when the first motorcycles were popularized and in exactly 1929, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) was created. The AMA organized meetings and championships of all types. Among them, they placed a lot of importance on the best dressed motor club. And at that time the biker was considered a true gentleman that should be respected by that period’s elegance canons. They used to dress with sweaters over the shirt with their respective ties and some even wore their university jackets.

Some motor clubs started showing their club’s name on the back part of their jackets. And the elegance championships encouraged sign customizations as identity.

After World War II

At the end of the World War II, the country filled with young veterans who were excited with the new freedom they enjoyed. They embarked on a new adventure with owning and riding motorcycles.

They also brought two habits back from the war,

• The useful pilot uniform jackets
• The habit to the decorate them with pop culture icons.

They did it during the war on their planes and vehicles and continued doing it with their jackets.

Then, in 1947 the Hollister Riot took place and the AMA stated that 1% of American bikers were outlaw bikers, the ones that didn’t respect the law. And that's when those outlaw bikers discovered that it was much easier to show their rebel patches on leather vests.

The outlaw bikers not only chose the 1% patch as identification of their rebel position they also decided to divide the back patch in three and to complement their attire with front patches that show owner’s rank. The problem is that they did not always want to show their colors because of the presence of either police or rival gangs. However, wearing a waistcoat is much easier to hide  when necessary. So biker vests were born.

British influence

Leather vests quickly popularized, expanding to other cultural movements. In the music world, like the heavy metal or punk rockers also adopted them. But there is still one question. Where did the habit of filling the vest with patches come from? The MCC's (Motorcycle Clubs) placed on their biker vests, only the corresponding patches, no more no less. However, the trend of filling up other spaces on leather vests with all kind of souvenirs, has spread and become very popular.

This trend comes from United Kingdom’s 60’s, the rocker and mods era. There, the habit of decorating their clothing was popularized, and even the motorcycle, with all kind of signs, patches, stickers and souvenirs. Over time, many bikers displayed a diverse array of souvenirs or simply customized their vests according to their taste.

An example of a modern day vest patched accordingly. This pic is the Motorcycle Ministry I am a member of in Gold Coast Australia.

And that my friends, is the history of the Biker Vest.