The Jean Jacket in That's Not My Name: A Symbol of Mistaken Identity

What the Jean Jacket Is and Where It Comes FromnThe jean jacket in That's Not My Name is a faded denim garment with rose gold buttons and custom pastel floral sleeves. It was handmade by Autumn, Lola's best friend, as her final project for a fashion design class. Autumn hand-stitched the floral sleeves with rose gold thread and sewed Lola's initials into the tag, making it a one-of-a-kind item. Drew recalls the details with precision: faded jean fabric, rose gold buttons Lola picked out herself from the fabric store, and custom floral sleeves Autumn meticulously stitched by hand. The jacket is something Lola wore constantly, including the night she disappeared, and it appears in Drew's memories of her at school, at the beach, at his kitchen table, and at the pool. Because it is so distinctive, the jacket becomes both a crucial piece of evidence in the search for Lola and a source of confusion when it turns up on another girl.nn## The Jacket as Evidence and MisidentificationnThe jacket first becomes significant when a tip-line caller, Meredith Hoyt, reports seeing Lola at a diner in Waybrooke wearing the same jean jacket from the picture on the news, the one with the floral arms. Drew immediately recognizes the description and updates a missing flier with the new details, replacing Lola's photo with one that shows the jacket clearly. He brings the flier and the recording to Sheriff Roane, who acknowledges the jacket's uniqueness, remembering that it took Autumn a month to finish it. Yet Roane dismisses the lead as a smoke screen, accusing Drew of being involved in Lola's disappearance and threatening him with jail. The jacket, which should be undeniable proof, is brushed aside because of who presents it and how the information was obtained.nnThe jacket also creates confusion among the authorities. When Drew, Autumn, and Max bring their evidence to Officer McCurry, Officer Bowman, the officer who picked up the amnesiac girl, says the girl he found was wearing the same jacket. Autumn insists this is impossible, since the jacket is one of a kind and she made it herself. But Bowman dismisses the connection, saying the girl he picked up is not Lola. This moment is crucial: the jacket physically links the amnesiac girl (Mary) to Lola, but the authorities refuse to see the connection. The jacket becomes a symbol of how easily identity can be mistaken, and how the system fails to recognize the truth even when it is right in front of them.nnLater, when Drew drives up the mountain to investigate, he sees a man carrying a girl over his shoulder: short brown hair, jean jacket with pastel floral sleeves. Drew immediately recognizes this as Lola. But the girl is actually Mary, the amnesiac girl Wayne Boone has been holding. The jacket has caused Drew to misidentify her, or rather, the jacket is the very thing Wayne used to create the confusion in the first place. The garment that should have been a clear identifier becomes a tool of deception.nn## The Jacket as a Marker of IdentitynThe jacket is deeply tied to questions of identity throughout the novel. For Lola, it is an expression of who she is, a custom, handmade garment that reflects her friendship with Autumn and her personal style. For Mary, the amnesiac girl, the jacket becomes part of the false identity Wayne constructs for her. In Chapter 7, Mary lists her attributes as Wayne has taught them: seventeen, good student, senior, Lizzo, egg allergy, floral jacket, dead mom. The jacket is part of the story Wayne tells Mary about who she is supposed to be, a detail in the elaborate fiction he uses to gaslight her into accepting a life that is not her own.nnThe jacket also connects to the theme of mistaken identity more broadly. Madison, the girl who survives Wayne's captivity, resembles Lola so closely that Wayne targeted her. The jacket, worn by Lola, then by Mary, and eventually ending up with Madison, physically embodies this confusion of identities. It is the same garment passing between girls who look alike, just as Wayne passes off one girl for another. The jacket becomes a physical reminder of how fragile identity can be, and how easily one person can be made to stand in for another. This connects to the novel's exploration of identity and self-reclamation, as the girls who survive Wayne must work to separate their own identities from the one he imposed on them.nn## The Jacket as MemorialnIn the epilogue, the jacket takes on yet another meaning. Four months after the rescue, Madison brings Lola's jacket to the boat launch where Drew is struggling to light a birthday cupcake for Lola. Madison spreads the jacket on the concrete, places the cupcake in the middle of the fabric, and helps Drew light the candle. The jacket becomes a memorial, a physical object that holds Lola's presence and allows her friends to honor her memory. Drew, Autumn, and Max sit together with the jacket draped over Autumn's legs, trading stories about Lola until the sun sets. The jacket, which once caused confusion and misidentification, now serves as a gathering point for grief and remembrance.nnThe jacket's transformation mirrors the novel's larger arc. What begins as a symbol of Lola's vibrant identity becomes a tool of deception in Wayne's hands, and finally becomes an object of remembrance and healing. The jacket survives Lola, just as her memory survives in the people who loved her. This evolution connects to the themes of grief and survivor's guilt and memory and trauma, as the characters learn to carry Lola's memory forward while also beginning to heal from the trauma of her loss.nn## Study Questionsnn**1. How does the jean jacket function as evidence in the search for Lola, and why do the authorities dismiss it?nnThe jacket functions as evidence when Meredith Hoyt's tip-line call describes Lola wearing it at a diner, and Drew recognizes the description as uniquely Lola's. However, Sheriff Roane dismisses the lead as a smoke screen, and Officer Bowman insists the girl he picked up wearing the same jacket is not Lola. The authorities' refusal to accept the jacket as meaningful evidence reflects the novel's broader theme of mistrust of authority. The system fails to connect the dots even when the jacket physically links Mary to Lola, and the characters are forced to take matters into their own hands.nn2. How does the jacket connect to the theme of mistaken identity?nnThe jacket is a one-of-a-kind garment that Autumn made specifically for Lola, with her initials sewn into the tag. When Mary is found wearing the same jacket, it should be proof that she is connected to Lola. But the jacket also enables Wayne's deception, as he uses it to make Mary look like Lola and to confuse witnesses. The jacket physically embodies the confusion between the girls' identities, just as Wayne confuses one girl for another. The garment that should clarify identity instead becomes the very thing that obscures it.nn3. What does the jacket reveal about Autumn's relationship with Lola?nnAutumn made the jacket by hand, meticulously stitching the floral sleeves with rose gold thread and sewing Lola's initials into the tag. This shows the depth of their friendship, as Autumn invested time and care into creating something unique for Lola. When Autumn insists the jacket is one of a kind, she is not just talking about the garment; she is talking about Lola herself. The jacket is a physical manifestation of Autumn's love for her friend, and its survival becomes a way for Autumn to keep a piece of Lola close.nn4. How does the jacket's meaning change from the beginning to the end of the novel?**nnAt the beginning, the jacket is a symbol of Lola's identity and her friendship with Autumn. In the middle, it becomes evidence of mistaken identity, a tool Wayne uses to confuse people and a clue the authorities dismiss. By the end, the jacket becomes a memorial object. Madison spreads it on the concrete at the boat launch and places Lola's birthday cupcake on it, transforming the jacket from a symbol of confusion into a symbol of remembrance and healing. The jacket's journey mirrors the characters' own journey from confusion and grief toward acceptance and the possibility of moving forward.