The military look is pretty popular right now, and can be seen in varying degrees of detailing and embellishment from designer to designer. Obviously in most cases, the more detail, the higher the price tag. Ralph Lauren’s Denim and Supply line is one of my favorites right now. Intricate gold trim and velvety textures adorn many beautiful jackets and outerwear options. But for those of you on a budget or who just like to do-it-yourself, there is a simple and affordable alternative.

First you’ll need your canvas. Here are a few options for jackets from Forever 21:

Forever 21 – Cotton Utility Jacket

Forever 21 – Buttoned Pocket Utility Jacket

Forever 21 – Cotton Twill Jacket

Once you’ve decided on a jacket, you’ll need to figure out what you want to decorate it with. Common things seen in many military style jackets are epaulettes, patchwork, gold and red trim, stars, eagles, flags, embroidery, etc.  The first thing I started with was the epaulettes (these will go on the shoulders of your jacket). There a several types, but for my jacket I went with red braided epaulettes (seen above). I bought mine off of eBay for approximately $4-$5. You can scroll through several types simply by searching “epaulettes” or clicking the link above.

Next you’ll need some patches. Again, I went to eBay for these as well. I searched “military patches,” again you will have several pages to scroll through. I bought mine with the intention to place them on the arms of the jacket.

Last (although I chose to skip it for my jacket) you may want to buy some gold star-shaped buttons for the front breast-pocket area of the jacket. These can be found at Jo-Ann’s, eBay, Michael’s or any other craft or sewing store you prefer.

Once you have all your supplies you can begin the creative process. All the patches I bought were iron-on, so attaching them was super easy. The epaulettes were sewed by hand (also very easy) because they were slightly too thick for my sewing machine to handle. Or if you want the super-duper easy method, just buy some fabric glue and start gluing away until your little heart’s desire. *If using glue, just be aware of how your glue washes… dry-cleaning may be necessary to keep your jacket looking great.