Published in L'Officiel Hommes Italia No. 6

       There is nothing in a gentleman's wardrobe that better straddles the line between the ridiculous and the refined like a Hawaiian shirt. It represents a luau teetering on the slopes of poor taste. Man will spend the other ten months of the year in understated palette, selecting subtle differences in texture, cut and colour. But all subtlety is defenestrated when the dog days of summer descend. The curtain arises: out come the loud screaming colours of a bold Hawaiian.

       It takes chutzpah to don this paragon of the 'regular guy' look. This obnoxiously patterned shirt requires a bit of swagger along with relaxed assurance that slyly gives a bellicose wink and says, "I'm in on the joke." A pageant of associations come to mind: the carnival barker, the card shark, the wild-eyed sailor with a 48 hour pass in his pocket, Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear, John Waters, Weird Al Yankovic, Rodney Dangerfield, Elvis. Hardly the sartorial elite, but all ooze a devil may care attitude. The act of not taking yourself seriously boiled down to a single garment, yet the man who has the gall to wear this garment still recognises the sartorial threshold. He doesn't need an invitation to the party that he’s throwing.  

        The inherent peacock-iness, the floral prints, the hitherto bright, feminine colours, the sheer audacity of it all proclaims the wearer's masculinity. Something so loud and attention grabbing can only bespeak confidence, of not giving a damn what others think, of approaching the world with raised eyebrow and knowing smirk—traits that could also be associated with Americans in general. And these qualities, if properly delivered, are a breath of fresh air and perhaps even necessitate the American character to offer up. 

        Looking to television, that most American of medium, we remember the long running (1980-88) television show, Magnum P.I. Tom Selleck's character had two style trademarks: the moustache and a Hawaiian shirt. That Magnum was a bit of a goofball and incredibly reliant on his friend Jonathan Quayle Higgins III (what a name) for intellectual muscle did not preclude his zest for life nor his charisma. He was a gadfly: cruising in his Ferrari 308 GTS, lounging about drinking beer, working sparingly and generally showing all the signs of not taking himself seriously. 

         Higgins preferred business suits and ties, even in the temperatures of Hawaii. He constantly spewed contempt and insults at Magnum. The most casual Higgins would allow himself was a safari suit (more on that later). The contrast of both character and dress between the two could not have been more stark. Magnum's Hawaiian shirts were the perfect foil for his numerous misadventures, easy going personality and rakish moustache—and guess which one got the chicks. 

         The fantastic development of late is that designers have dragged the Hawaiian shirt into the 21st century. It's been kicking around the States for seventy or so years but Kenzo, Givenchy, Prada, Kenzo, et al. have breathed new life into this classic. Thankfully though, a bit of the original charm remains. A wink, a grin, a nod, 'cause frankly my dear, I just don't give a damn.