Unintended Outcome

A few months ago I acquired an inexpensive jacket from Old Navy. I had been looking for a lightweight cotton jacket with some vaguely military detailing. I definitely didn't want an M65, but was thinking along the lines of something that would look like it had been influenced or inspired by one. And I wanted it to be cheap.

Over the past year or so I've seen numerous styles of this general design available. I was hoping to find one in gray, but black was close enough. I don't shop at Old Navy often, other than for things like T-shirts, socks, and underwear—stuff I consider essentially disposable. (A lot of people consider everything that ON sells disposable, but I try not to be judgmental in that way; sometimes I find useful things there.)

One advantage to shopping at Old Navy is that they tend to offer significant discounts, which is how I ended up with my jacket. But the fabric felt odd to the touch, as though it had too much dye on and in it. Worried that it might transfer to other clothing, I washed it. I followed the instructions carefully: cold water, gentle cycle, didn't put it in the dryer.

When it was done it had definitely lost its excess-dye look and feel, but it came out looking distressed, with slightly more dye missing from some areas than others. I was a bit upset and considered returning it, but then I thought about it for a bit. The distressing, though unintentional, gave the jacket a broken-in look that could be considered desirable, and given how little I had paid (around $25, I think), it didn't seem worth the effort to return it.

I decided to embrace the randomness of what had happened. A few days ago an acquaintance told me she liked the jacket, so I told her the story. She agreed with me that it looks better the way it turned out.

If anyone else is interested in trying this, the jacket is still available at Old Navy, though I can't guarantee that others will get the same results.