Last Friday was Craig’s birthday. We could tell because he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, unbuttoned, adorned with red parrots and purple Hibiscus blossoms as he walked up the hill, late, from the overflow parking lot into the office.
“It looks like Linda let him dress himself today,” Debbie remarked.
“I like some Hawaiian shirts,” I replied, meaning the reverse-print kind with smaller patterns in subtler pastels or earth tones.
Debbie grimaced and turned away, her disgust evident.
I’m pretty sure that she was not picturing the same thing that I was, so here’s my evil plan: stock up on really expensive aloha shirts, such as the offerings from Tori Richard, and start wearing them to work. For purposes of this exercise, I will probably wear them tucked in with complementary chinos and loafers. If she compliments my appearance (normally I just wear a plaid, solid, or striped button down shirt and jeans), we’ll all have a good laugh. If it doesn’t work, I’ll still have a bunch of nice, comfortable, fun shirts that I can wear on Fridays or some occasions that call for business casual.
I wonder why it is, though, that the hatred seems to run so deep for this particular article of clothing. At their worst (loudest), Hawaiian shirts look no worse than some of the getups seen at People of Walmart, yet no one seems to get upset any more that people let themselves go out in public looking like that. Put on an aloha shirt, however, and everyone suddenly becomes a fashion critic. I think this is because the look tends to require a certain amount of confidence to pull off, which many people lack and therefore envy. Perhaps, the connotations of leisure, even of slacking off, contribute to the negative image in the workplace. Whatever the case, since I don’t particularly care what other people think of the way I dress (most of the time), the results will surely be amusing.
It may be a bit, because Debbie travels a lot and I have to get the things ordered and shipped, but I plan to post results when they become available.
Mount Orthrys 