The Patagonia vest endures in San Francisco tech circles, despite ridicule

https://www.npr.org/2022/03/31/ [login to see] /patagonia-vest-tech-workers-san-francisco
Long associated with Wall Street and Silicon Valley, the Patagonia vest has endured as a tribal symbol of finance and tech. But those who've dared in recent weeks to put on their vests in San Francisco have been the target of a resistance of sorts.

"Urgent: Stop wearing vests," implore flyers plastered around the city. "You live in San Francisco now. It's time to start acting like it."

It's the latest show of frustration from city residents against the tech workers that many blame for making the city one of the nation's most expensive. NPR tried but was unable to track down the creator of the flyers.

Not everyone who sports a Patagonia vest is a "tech bro," says proud Patagonia vest-wearer Sam Runkle.

"The kind of people who wear Patagonia are maybe raising rents and maybe are the kind of people that these other groups are trying to push back on," he said on a recent afternoon, as he played fetch with his golden retriever with a lacrosse stick and ball in a grassy field overlooking the San Francisco Bay. "But there's another cohort of people who do wear Patagonia who are not at all part of that."