An Elegant Edge: Crazy for Camo!

I am obsessed with Camouflage right now! Currently my boyfriend is deployed and serving our country in Afghanistan, when he left I knew that I wanted to make MILITARY an influence in my wardrobe while he was way, as a very small way to show my support. It just so happens that the "military look " also hit the fashion world with a huge statement last fall, and continues today! And what is more military then CAMO, it is everywhere and I LOVE IT!

I bet most of you didn't know that the different types of camouflage patterns all have names, I just learned this myself. Now, there are tons of different types of camo, within the US Military itself each branch uses different kinds of patterns for different reasons and at different times. Each countries military uses their own kind of patterns, and camo is not only used in the military but also in hunting, so you can image the possibilities of patterns out there.

With this post I am going to focus in on Military Camouflage, that is used by the US Army (this is the branch that my boyfriend is in) and is what you are mainly seeing in fashion right now. Keep in mind that this just skims the surface of camo. So lets start with the breakdown:

Multicam/OCP

Multicam is my favorite one right now, and I am on the look out for more clothing in this pattern. It is also referred to as OCP (Operation Enduring Freedom Camo Pattern) and is what our US troops are wearing in Afghanistan right now.

US Woodlands/BDU

Woodlands is one that is very popular right now in fashion and what you will see a lot of out in the market currently but is no longer used in the Military. It is also referred to as BDU (Battle Dress Uniform).

Universal/ACUPAT/UCP

Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) is the pattern that is currently being used state side, and is digital print. It is also referred to as ACUPAT or ACU (Army Combat Uniform PATtern).

6 Color Desert

This 6 Color Desert pattern is no longer used by the Army but back in the 80's its nickname was Chocolate Chip Camo! It did not achieve the desired effect so was replaced with 3 Color Desert.

3 Color Desert/DCU

This pattern was also referred to as DCU (Desert Camouflage Uniform) and is no longer used.

Here are some of the items that I currently own in Camo!! You really can find Camo everywhere right now just a few places I have seen it are at ZARA, Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, and even Target! And just Google "camo fashion trends" and see how many celebs are wearing it.

Finally here is my Camouflage Look of the Day!

You can see that I have on a Woodlands pattern, I bought this jacket from an Army Surplus store here in San Antonio, and what I did to give the otherwise boxy jacket a little more shape was move in the tab buttons on the back of the jacket. Also I paired it with some ultra feminine pieces to really give it that contrast. I love pairing items together that would not normally go. Below is the picture that I used as my inspiration for building my outfit. Wish I had the Chanel broach!!