It sounded like a good idea at the time

Not long after Christmas, taking advantage of a J Peterman sale, I acquired 2 double breasted cotton twill jackets. One screaming yellow, the other Georgia Bulldog red. At the time they didn't fit well, but they didn't have to in January, besides my investment was minimal.

So now it is June, they do fit, but what was I to do with screaming yellow? It's a tad loud, and not in a good way. There is nothing subtle about this coat.

Double breasted jackets come with rules. Since they are more formal than singles, the shirt is expected to be more formal, hence no button downs, and look better with a tie. DB's must also be kept buttoned. An unbuttoned DB looks sloppy. When in doubt about how to wear DB take a gander at almost any photo of Prince Charles, he usually does it right, except when... I blame the wife.

So I have this formal jacket in an particularly unformal shade, in which I fully intend to break most of the rules while wearing. It's a summer jacket after all! For starters I had to turn the flavor down a few notches. Two days soaking in the pool worked like magic, and provided another opportunity for Mrs. T to counsel about how I took a perfectly good coat and now it looks 10 years old. That's how I knew the color was perfect.

Now the coat needs a bath to get the chlorine out, a good pressing, someone to stand straight while wearing it, and it's ready to go.

I've tried the same pool treatment on the red, it just won't fade. Currently it's hanging outside in the sun. I've no call for a Bulldog red coat, but I can visualize the faded hunting coat red it could be.

I've got time.

Toad