How would you lighten/break in cotton khaki to get the "field" look?

B

BigBrother

Registered Guest
This question pertains to WWII uniforms, but fabric is fabric!

In WWII, cotton khaki components, notably shirts and trousers, would often be kept together during laundry by service members to make sure that they lightened at the same rate. Over time, khaki uniforms worn in the field (and aboard ship, etc.) would look very light beige.

Well, I have a number of shirts ranging from late WWII to Korea, mostly new, that have this sickly green/yellow color to them with a bit of shine. This is obviously what they looked like when issued.

I have trousers and other components that have the light beige color and I'd like to get my shirts to match.

Obviously I can wash them a hundred times and/or leave them out in the sun, but I was curious if there's another method(s) you would recommend that's more efficient, controlled, etc.

Thanks!
 
It’s debatable. There’s of course the purist’s argument that all of this should be left alone. But go take a look over on eBay and you will find hundreds of similar items available with zero bids (it’s one of the common misconceptions, held by myself as well before I got into this, that WWII uniforms are hard to come by. There is soooooo much of this stuff still around. Some items are rarer, but rank and file stuff is still dirt cheap and plentiful.) So yes, I’m technically doing it dirty (by cleaning? :)) but there is little to no market for these and plenty of supply. Sure in 30-40 years that won’t be the case probably, but you can’t be that anal about this stuff, I figure. Also it’s cotton so it’s not like I’m seriously damaging it (the lighter stuff I have is still extremely tough and durable.) Long and short- given enough timespan yes this is valid, but the next decade or two won’t see these becoming serious collector’s items. Basic shirts and pants are some of the most common WWII things out there.
 
I don't know if this is something you'd like to try, or not, but years ago I worked for a small company in Hawaii that produced tshirts and surf shorts. At the time, "stone wash" was a very popular finish, and in the factory they had a washing machine that they literally would put stones in it to bang against the fabric to give it a worn look. Eventually they bought a concrete mixer to do them in (larger batches) it worked pretty well for that, anyway. I vaguely remember it may have been pumice rocks, as they're more abrasive and lighter weight.

i wouldn't try it with a washer you want to continue to use, but if you have access to an old one somewhere, it might be worth a try.
 
Hilarious (not that it's a bad suggestion!) I just really like this. Will I do it? Nah, but a great suggestion (in addition to the likely uneven nature of the results, I can't even imagine what it would do to the washer and I don't have a spare on hand.) Interesting anecdote though. Thanks!
 
I was also thinking about stone washing. As per stonewashed jeans, it's a process to get the 'worn for years' look quickly. I didn't know they used pumice stones though, makes sense.

As suggested though, hard to know how to do that process in a home setting.

Some kind of abrasion, might help you achieve what you want.

Sandblasting is an alternative to stonewashing, not necessarily any easier to achieve, unless you happen to know someone with sandblasting equipment.

Hanging in bright sun should definitely help too, and much less effort than the above! It's the old fashioned way of 'bleaching' and keeping whites white.
 
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You should ask on a chat board for costumers of film and television - they would know best how to break something down safely. However, I am shocked that new is worth less than worn - it's like back in the day when people would buy vintage dresses and chop them so they would sell better. It's short term gain for essentially ruining something that in the future will be criticized.
 
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