The J. Crew Factory Walker Vest is one of my most worn articles of clothing, ever. Here’s why I love it and how to wear it.

When you buy new clothes, you never really know how much wear you’re going to get out of them. This is especially true when you buy a new type of garment.

Before buying the Walker Vest, I’d never owned a lightweight, quilted vest. In fact, I’d never really owned any type of vest, other than a couple of waistcoats that came with three piece suits.

SEE ALSO: How to Layer Up With Lightweight Vests

Since J. Crew Factory is pretty affordable, and most of their stuff is always on sale for 30% off, I decided to pull the trigger on the Walker Vest, figuring it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I didn’t like it.

Fast forward a few years, and this simple quilted vest has become one of my most worn wardrobe staples. Turns out I’m a vest guy…who knew?

J. Crew Factory Walker Vest Quality

Before I show you some examples of how I wear the Walker Vest, we need to talk about its quality. This is not the highest quality vest in the world.

In fact, it’s not even close. After a couple years of hard wear, both of my Walker vests were showing signs of age.

My grey vest darkened substantially around the collar (the part of the garment that was exposed to the elements). My navy vest ripped at the bottom of the zipper one day.

Bottom line: it’s a cheap article of clothing, so don’t expect it to last forever.

J. Crew Factory vs. Mercantile

It’s also worth noting that there are a couple different versions of this vest. Since J. Crew started experimenting with new branding and merging Factory items with regular sale items, it’s become hard to figure out what you’re buying.

What’s the difference between J. Crew and J. Crew Factory? Why are we seeing Factory items in the J. Crew sale section? What is “Mercantile” anyway? Should you buy these vests on Amazon?