A Tesla (AFAIK) operates on batteries. What’s supposed to be interesting to look at under the hood?
It’s not like there’s gonna be a 450-pound chunk of iron there…
fashion and costume info to the rescue.
Indigo dye is natural and non-colorfast. Anything that is that ‘dark denim’ color achieved with indigo dye will leach dye out when there is any hint of warmth or moisture. It will also transfer quite easily due to friction.
It is hella difficult to get it out of fabric entirely, because it doesn’t react with bleach by permanently fading the way most dyes do. It’s weird to watch. Basically you have to rinse the fabric enough times to manually clear the indigo dye particles physically out of the material.
Lots of clothes, especially jeans, have warning labels in them about the indigo leaching out onto furniture or screwing up your laundry, and furthermore, often have labels instructing buyers to wash them as seldom as possible because the dye will leach out every time they’re washed and your very expensive dark-wash jeans will look like normcore denim like you’re some boring square.
Finally, the OP is sounding like a bit of a dick (sorry dude but i gotta call it like i see it) and should pay to fix the damn chairs already.
Okay, I’m enlightened by the indigo dye bleeding. (Band name!!) I never knew of this. I did know that suede is an awful fabric when it comes to staining though.
Which brings up two things: Why did our OP do the “plopping” on the chair knowing it was a reupholstered antique?
“Yeah, dawg. Spent major bennies on getting my g’ma’s chair all dope. Swing by!” WTH? “Suede” and “antique” do not equal “plopping” of any kind without asking.
Another point: Where’s the plastic covers, Chair Guy? Come on. Those chairs should never be exposed after all the money spent.
Gonna go against the consensus here, and say you don’t owe your friend the money for ruining his chair. These things happen. But he might stay pissed at you forever, unless you pay up, so you have to decide if you are willing to lose him as a friend. It doesn’t sound like you are really that close, anyway.
I was taught to wash jeans the first time in hot water with vinegar added. I assume this does something to “set” the dye?
What many of you are skipping over is that the guest was not invited to sit down. Who just barrels into another person’s home and sits? your host invites you in, and sweeps his/her hand indicating a room or piece of furniture. We may not always be conscious of this, but it usually happens. It’s the same with the “Tesla” query above: If the new owner didn’t say “Hey, close the hood.” then the guest had no business doing it. Guest fault. If the host did say “Close the hood” but didn’t add “Here’s how you have to do it” then it’s the host’s fault. (You’ve got me curious, BTW, is the design really this flawed?)
And you never choose the “best” chair for yourself, either. Even assuming the guest felt natural, as a regular visitor, to just go in and sit. Unless those two chairs were the only ones in the room, the guest was very wrong to place himself in one of them.
The declaration of “You owe me $650” is strange as well though. It’s something the host might naturally hope the guest would come to, but just blurting it out is a bit vulgar. I can’t help wondering whether the guest failed to take the damage seriously at the time, and added serious offense onto the list of his crimes and misdemeanors.
The last couple of generations (not so much with Millennials) tended to have a room of the house which was reserved for formal entertaining. And that room usually contained some pieces of “family” furniture which was delicate and/or precious. My Grandmother’s front room had two chairs that I never dreamed of putting my behind into. No one ever mentioned this, because it was obvious that they were antiques.
It honestly sounds like everybody in this story is lacking in manners and respect. Maybe they are just both better off without each other?
As for plastic covers, just no. Please tell me they don’t sell those anymore! 
Doesn’t seem as tho the OP intends to return to provide any additional details.
I’ve been thinking about this. I still think the OP sounds inconsiderate/disrespectful/careless/rude for “flopping” in what he knows is a treasured chair - especially if he knew it was suede and/or that there was ANY CHANCE of his clothing staining it. (Again, I’ve never pre-washed any jeans, and am unaware of ever having stained any upholstery due to new jeans. As I imagine “flopping”, it suggests greater friction/pressure than ordinary sitting.)
However, upon reflection I’ve realized that the world is full of inconsiderate/disrespectful/careless/rude people whom you welcome into your home and to use your things at your risk. I’ve got an Eames plywood chair. Very comfortable, and plenty sturdy - IF YOU SIT IN IT LIKE A NORMAL PERSON. Yet, I’ve now placed it where it is more readily seen than used, after too many folk have dropped heavily into it, or even rocked back on 2 legs. :smack:
I have people come over to play music regularly, and realize I have to proactively ask them to place their cases on the floor or the dining table with pads or a stone surface, to prevent them from placing them on the upholstery or wood tables.
So yeah, the owner was stupid for choosing a light suede if he wasn’t going to take steps to prevent inconsiderate/disrespectful/careless/rude people like the OP from damaging them.
Me, either. The OP is at fault. He should offer to pay for professional cleaning of the chair, but if that won’t satisfy the owner, then the OP should either pay for reupholstering or resign himself to losing a friend.
It was an accident. Accidents happen. But that fact does not mean that you aren’t responsible. If you like, research how much it would cost yourself, if you think you can do better than 650 to repair it. Maybe it can be cleaned for a lot less. But don’t fight it. You’ll lose a friend, and you may end up on the losing end of a lawsuit.
Oh, please, please, please make this a Judge Judy episode!
Guys,
No, I did not anticipate that my jeans would stain my friends chair. The only thing I’ve noticed if my hands sweated, and if I rested them on these particular jeans, they would turn slightly blue. I never paid attention if the jean dye bleed onto furniture surfaces.
I just wasn’t thinking at all. My mind was blank. When I saw that chair, my first impulse was to plop down. Again, the chairs were marvelous. Louis XV Bergere chairs with beige suede. I wanted a piece of that thing.
I’m a very kinetic/tactile person. I like to experience my environment with every sensation it can provide. I’m that guy who touches everything . I was that kid who put anything in their mouth. I’m the first person to jump in a pool. I like to slap my hand against hard surfaces to make loud noises. Fidget spinners, silly putty, koosh balls? I love em. Sitting in soft chairs is a nice sensation.
Maybe subconsciously, I wanted to mark my territory? Not with the dye from my jeans, of course. But in a less literal sense. Here were those fresh plush chairs, where I could rest my buns. And be the second person to sit on them. I think I was the first person he had over since he had the chairs reupholstered.
There ya go.
-You knew these particular jeans were not colorfast.
-You “w[ere]n’t thinking at all.”
-You like to touch/experience everything “with every sensation it can provide.”
Well, congrats. You did not impose any restraints on yourself - to even ask a question of yo0ur host, and you damaged the chair. Adults - especially those who know they have potentially harmful predispositions - learn to exercise self control.
Whether you consider your lack of thinking and/or your kinetic/tactile predisposition to be character traits or whatever, why ought your friend - or society as a whole - bear the costs when you damage things?
You are responsible. If you choose to do (IMO) the right thing, you’ll figure out some way to make it right.
My guess is that the OP was wearing jeans made from raw denim, which can stain other fabrics for a long time, especially since you’re advised to only wash them every few months.
I find it strange that sitting in a chair would turn it a different color. Were your jeans wet? Note: please don’t “flop” on antiques. Sit down and lower yourself gently into the chair. Or sit on something besides antiques.
My renter’s insurance policy has a nice little personal indemnity clause which means if I spill red wine on your white carpet or have jeans made of squid ink, I can turn and say “oh, here’s the name of my insurance man; let’s get this fixed”.
This reminds me of a story involving Joe Walsh and John Belushi. They were in Chicago palling around, and wanted to go to a nice restaurant. However, they were wearing jeans and the maitre d’ refused to let them in. So their solution was to go and buy black spray paint, which they proceeded to spray over their jeans.
They were let in…and then proceeded to ruin their fine chairs because the paint rubbed off onto the fabric. That was just one bill that their hapless manager had to pay on behalf of Joe Walsh, who also had a penchant for destroying hotel rooms.
OPer, yes, you should pay. And if you wear jeans that aren’t colorfast again, bring a towel along to sit on. Cause if it wasn’t Granny’s chairs, it’d have been something else.
Yup. The fact that you had experience with those particular jeans being not colorfast puts the negligence into your basket.
And likely your friend’s POV was that he was honoring you by letting you be the first to see the finished product in person, and was more expecting you to look and admire thereby reaffirming what a great thing he did. In that context, the chairs being unveiled to you as first showing, the expectation was not that they should be sat on as normal comfy chairs (and again these are solid comfy chairs) would be, but approached with the reverence he was looking for. It may be that lack of reverence and respect that pissed him off as much as the staining.
Given that, ask if a try at professional cleaning can be tried and if that fails to get to his satisfaction, then yes, pay for whatever it costs to bring the chair back to the level your friend is satisfied with.
Still think he’s an idiot for using a light suede on a chair and that he is more dumb for not Scotchgarding it appropriately. Unless he does plastic wrap these or put them where they will not be sat on they will become stained pretty quickly. But a first showing with you knowing (even if you did not bother to think about it) that your jeans were not colorfast? I’m flipped. It’s on you to make it right and to apologize for not approaching them with the respect he reasonably expected you to show.
Indeed. That’s the most shocking thing about this thread. I assumed that was common knowledge - at least if you purchase dark wash indigo jeans. The price you pay for looking a little bit dressier while wearing jeans.
Or, apparently, the price the OP expects OTHERS to pay! 
Buy some new jeans the color of the upholstery and flop down in it again. Problem solved.