Your Definitive Guide to Personalizing, Customizing, and Monogramming Your Clothes
Hilary George-Parkin
Monograms used to be the kind of thing you’d see on the towels in your rich friend’s parents’ bathroom—but nowadays, they’re just as likely to pop up on the back of your favorite street-style star’s leather jacket or the pocket of your coolest coworker’s chambray shirt. Jean jackets seem a little plain Jane without personalized patches or pins, and a sneaker purchase can almost always be improved with a little customization.
The age of all about me is upon us, and right now, you can find a way to add a touch of individuality to just about anything: jeans, jewelry, swimsuits, silk collared shirts, shampoo, workout leggings—even a bottle of Sriracha. (Because in 2016, if you’re going to carry hot sauce in your bag, the “swag” is kind of expected.)
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Just as logo-centric designs have gone from gauche to ubiquitous in the past few seasons (see: Calvin Klein, Gucci, Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY), the trend of branding yourself with something a little more personal—say, your initials or your favorite Drake lyric—has become an Instagram mainstay, with Gigi Hadid ’Gramming her custom “Hadidas” jacket by the Mighty Company, Karlie Kloss racking up the “likes” in her monogrammed PJs, and Fashion Week attendees guaranteeing themselves a moment of street-style fame with some loud ’n’ proud denim.
Fortunately, it’s becoming more and more affordable to buy something with your name on it—especially rather than, say, Chanel’s—and if you know where to look, you can find options for almost any price point. Of course, for something like a hand-painted leather jacket, DIYing will still save you a ton—but, um, sometimes we just want to leave it to the professionals (and other times, we’re just lazy! That’s fine, too.)
Ahead, shop the best personalized, customized, and monogrammed pieces you can buy right now.
