Darken the bright

January 12, 2006 8:57 PM

Fashionmasters: I bought a snowboard jacket for this winter that I like a lot, but after a few months, I'm feeling it's perhaps a bit too loud. It has black sleeves, and the rest is a bright yellow color. What can I do (short of spray painting the thing) to deemphasize this brightness?
posted by zardoz to clothing, beauty, & fashion (12 comments total)

Brightness is good from a safety perspective.

However, when you're looking at it, are you wearing your goggles and have it on a super-bright white background? If not, you're not really seeing what people will see when they look at you on the slopes.
posted by The Monkey at 9:00 PM on January 12, 2006

sorry, I should've been clearer: for boarding it's fine, great. But when I'm out on the town I want to be a bit more subtle.
posted by zardoz at 9:09 PM on January 12, 2006

Why would you wear a ski jacket around town?

/dense
posted by odinsdream at 10:43 PM on January 12, 2006

Wear a gigantic brightly-colored hat.
posted by nicwolff at 10:55 PM on January 12, 2006

dye it violet,the compliment of yellow,resulting in a neutral brown,the black will absorb the violet.
posted by hortense at 11:04 PM on January 12, 2006

i'd say you're probably out of luck in terms of making it look less bright. i'd think that you probably look pretty slick on the slopes with that jacket and pair of black powder pants.
posted by radioamy at 12:14 AM on January 13, 2006

Like hortense said, if it's washable you could try dying it. Synthetic materials generally don't accept dye very well, but it's possible the fabric will be stained by the dye and the yellow toned down.

Something to remember is that stuff like snaps and plastic zippers will not accept the dye. Also, the stitching will generally not accept any dye, so keep that in mind when you choose a color.
posted by defreckled at 5:06 AM on January 13, 2006

Most skiwear is waterproof, waterproof clothing will not, as a pretty hard and fast rule, take dye in any way where you're going to want to wear the results.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:55 AM on January 13, 2006

You could roll around in the dirt. That's what I do.
posted by trbrts at 8:41 AM on January 13, 2006

Can you get a big black scarf to wear over it? The ends could cover up the front a bit, at least.

And rather than dye, maybe soak it in tea? Depending on the fabric, it might mute the color a bit without seriously changing it.
posted by occhiblu at 10:21 AM on January 13, 2006

Scuff it up real good then dirty, dye, or tea it. Try gutting a few fish on it. Duct tape is always a good option.

How about this: scuff it up, then hang it over a real sooty fire for a few hours, then put it on and scuff some more, roll around in mud, dive down a dirt hill, etc. Put some random duct tape strips on it periodically during the process just in case.
posted by mumeishi at 12:03 PM on January 13, 2006

You might try to bleach it, but I have no idea how good the final result might be.

But, why risk doing any of the things that have been suggested at all? You could potentially ruin a (probably) fairly expensive jacket. I think your best bet is to go and find a nice jacket that is more suited to casual situations. You'll spend more money, sure, but in the end you'll be happier wearing a jacket that is good looking and proper for the environment, both on the slopes and in town. As a bonus having two jackets will keep the wear and tear down and make both last longer, making the initial investment less painful over the long run.
posted by oddman at 12:18 PM on January 13, 2006