Why I Wear a Flat-Top
and Want a Patch Jacket

Several years ago I found myself looking though some old photos of divers. These were the rough and tumble guys of diving's early days in the '50s and '60s. I sure admire those guys. They all had crew cuts and flat-tops, even well into the era that saw long hair as all the rage. Sick of my dated disco hair style, I had my hair cut the same way. I soon discovered the old-timer's hair style was not just a statement of the times, it actually had a practical application. My hair no longer got caught in my mask seal. I didn't have to worry much about post-dive grooming &emdash; just push back the salt-watered hair and it would stick right up like a flat-top is suppose to. And with less hair between my head and hood, my head stayed warmer! The old-timers sure were smart!

And a few weeks ago, I found myself again looking over pictures of these same pioneering divers. They had another thing in common. They all wore "patch jackets." These were usually windbreakers with a variety of embroidered patches from various underwater accomplishments, certifications, destinations, and clubs or organizations. As a newly certified teenage boy in the early '70s, I remember admiring some of the more ornately decorated jackets. They were things of beauty and great honor (although some admittedly wore them with ego). I was sorry to see this diving fashion statement fall from favor in the '80s and '90s.

Fortunate for me short hair came back shortly after I started sporting a flat-top. (My kids thought I was crazy at first. "Hey", I tell them now, "I was just ahead of my time".) Its time for another dive fashion revival &emdash; the patch jacket. I want a patch jacket. Care to join me in a fashion revival?