Screwed? Suit Pants No Longer Match Jacket

Hi-
A long while ago I purchased a dark navy suit jacket and then (probably made a big, big mistake and) ordered the pants from the store as they didn't have any my size that day.

When the pants came they seemed to match. It was possible to tell that there was a slight difference in the fabrics, but telling so took a lot of effort and a lot of sunlight and scrutiny. Under non-direct sunlight or normal indoor lighting it was impossible to tell. I reconfirmed with the store that these pants were the "right" ones and they said they might be from different dye batches. They claimed that they couldn't really guarantee locating another pair that was from the identical dye batch so I (probably made another big mistake and) said the hell with it since it looked OK.

I'm pretty sure that after the suit has aged over 1.5 years the problem has grown worse. It is especially noticeable now since I have been trying to sport a solid navy tie with the (very dark navy, almost black) suit. As the pants reflect certain light, they appear lighter in color, matching the lighter navy tie but not the jacket, giving away the difference and messing up the entire look! In addition, the divergence in color is becoming more evident under other conditions (like in flash-photographs--which means the problem can be documented by friends and will potentially show up on line, thus having immortality!)

Is there anything I can do short of begging the store (which probably doesn't even make these pants anymore) for a better matching pair? Should I try to wash the jacket without the pants? (it is the darker of the two) (I've never even dry-cleaned it--could dry-cleaning the jacket make the colors diverge even worse?).

Help! This was an expensive (~$700, by my standards expensive) worsted wool suit and it fits really really nicely! I don't want to search and spend money endlessly to find a dark-almost-black navy suit that actually fits me a second time just because of this...

pics? this way members can better assess?

bump!
heh, I'm afraid to provide pics of this disaster.

I HAVE however taken pics, and I can tell you that the difference is completely indiscernible in some of them, while in others it appears that my pants and tie match while my jacket is darker, almost as if I were wearing lighter navy blue chinos with a darker blazer. It all depends on the angle at which the photo is taken, and the flash and other lighting. Generally, it is less visible/impossible to tell in indoor and night-time settings as opposed to outdoor and daylight settings.

Also, while still imperfect, it generally looks better with the jacket closed than open--I think that it tricks the eye into thinking the difference in color is just shadow or something, and the navy tie as a comparison aid is hidden. It looks more or less OK sans-tie as well. With the tie, it is the MOST alpha look from the belt up. It is just when the tie and the jacket meet the pants that it starts to look beta under some angles/light.

Has anyone else had this problem before? What do you do? Are stores sympathetic to this kind of thing? (This is a j crew suit...yes, I know, there are mixed opinions on their worthiness on these forums, but they happen to fit me OTR better than anything else I could find in my price range). Could I dry-clean the jacket and safely assume it will fade in a direction similar to the pants?

I've considered trying deep red/maroon ties to create more contrast with the pants. Could a navy knit or grenadine distract the eye from the jacket/pants difference? I have a lighter navy solid tie that makes the difference a _little_ harder to see. Has this strategy worked for anyone else?

Partly because I'm just building my wardrobe, and because I'm of the philosophy that subtlety and texture are important and can be emphasized by keeping things simple, I currently only have navy ties...like Sarkozy!...so I don't know how red will affect things.

Unfortunately, it looks like it was precisely this philosophy that backfired: simplicity has made subtle differences in shade TOO obvious to the extent that supposedly "identical" items that should appear seamless are distinguishable! Ah!



datrat said:

Hi-
A long while ago I purchased a dark navy suit jacket and then [COLOR=FF00AA](probably made a big, big mistake and) ordered the pants from the store as they didn't have any my size that day.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=FF00AA]Is there anything I can do short of begging the store (which probably doesn't even make these pants anymore) for a better matching pair? [/COLOR]Should I try to wash the jacket without the pants? (it is the darker of the two) (I've never even dry-cleaned it--could dry-cleaning the jacket make the colors diverge even worse?).

Click to expand...

datrat said:

bump!

Has anyone else had this problem before? [COLOR=FF00AA]What do you do?[/COLOR] Are stores sympathetic to this kind of thing?

Click to expand...

In order of highlighted portions:

-Yes you did. Lesson learned.
-No
-I would buy a new suit.

Post pics to see if the separate pieces can be salvaged....