I am with you on this. A long time ago I was friendly with a couple of guys who were members of a motorbike club. This subject came up in conversation once; the gist of it being you don't wear your colours on someone else's turf. If you feel you have to, then you very politely request permission to do so. Those patches have the potential to land you right in it.
They are whatever you want them to be. It's a fictional artwork. I mean many brands including Brooklyn Circus, Dehen and RRL all sell varsity jackets with patches. If you like the design don't make it more complicated than it needs to be. In the end it's just clothes.
That being said I just wrote Simon a message about offering the jackets without patches. If you are keen you should do so to.'
This is more like 50s or 60s but you get the idea.
Hear! hear!
