That's What You Think: The Turquoise Jacket

Published 03.27.01 in The Heights, Boston College


By Annie Barrett

Oh, you’ve seen the Turquoise Jacket (TJ).

You know, the jacket from the Gap: The one that a quarter of the student body owns, in their attempts to appear fun-loving, original and zany and subsequently combat, through brightly-hued felt, their more black/gray/tan-hued inner feelings throughout the most depressing of seasons.

What’s cool about the TJ is the wide array of self-amusement opportunities that comes with the possession of such a superlative garment.

When I say “self-amusement,” I refer mostly to different ways of approaching fellow TJ owners in hopes of sharing in the collective TJ experience. Isn’t this how you amuse yourself?

Quite often, we see outfit twins roaming the campus. Did you know the largest concentration of J. Crew catalogs is dispersed throughout Boston College? That isn’t even an exaggeration; rather, it has to be true because my roommate told me it was.

So, since the twin trend is inevitable, then why not have fun with it?

I mean, sometimes you just want to make it clear to someone that you’re wearing the same thing. It’s usually obvious; especially in the case of the TJ, which can be spotted across the Reservoir. But wouldn’t a simple, friendly acknowledgement from a complete stranger that you’re both tops in the clothing arena make anyone happy?

Well, apparently not. After a series of experiments conducted according to the Scientific Method, fellow TJ owners, as a group, have proven to have been “not happy” about such encounters. The following attempts were made.


Tan-Compare/Drawn-Out “Eh?”

Upon seeing a TJO (Turquoise Jacket Owner), some sort of gesture was made to acknowledge the twin phenomenon. TWYT found the sudden placement of jacketed arm to jacketed arm, creating an image similar to people comparing their tans, to work best. If the outfit twin doesn’t notice you, she’s probably only pretending, so you’ll need to utter something evoking your intense feelings towards the miraculous realization of identical clothing.

“Hey” works well, but also popular and a bit more musical is the “Eh,” emitted in the form of a question. Both outbursts must be drawn out at least three seconds, but whereas the “Hey” must start high, then falter, the “Eh” is meant to cover an entire octave of speech pitch, starting low and reaching a melodic climax before panning out somewhere in the middle range.

But try this, and you’ll get nothing but a weird, “bad touch” glare. Believe me.


Simple, Shared Satisfaction

This is probably your best bet. When Simple, Shared Satisfaction is achieved, the feeling is sublime. More likely, though, your episode will go more like mine did.

Me: Hey, great jacket.

TJO: (stares, confusedly) Uh. Thanks? Like, duh. It’s embarrassing enough to be dressed alike. What does she want?


Negativity Rules

This method is for the brave of heart wishing to up the ante of sarcasm in their twin-outfit approaches. I guess not everyone “gets” the joke, though.

Me: “Ew! Your coat is so nasty! How can you leave the house like this?”

TJO: “Oh … I’m sorry.” Does she go here? How did she get in? I’m pretty sure she’s wearing the same jacket.

This marked the low point of the TJ Episodes.


If you think about it, this whole ordeal would have made sense for any article of clothing and not necessarily the TJ. But a TJ tribute had to be made just because it’s so great. Could I be any more promotional? Fall into the Gap, everyone. Apparently.

TWYT encourages its audience to create their own twin outfit approaches, since none of the above approaches really work.

Next TWYT: The Condemnable Condiment