Hawaiian Mourning

As was pointed out to me by several friends, Alfred Sheehan died yesterday at the age of 86. He is credited with inventing the Hawaiian shirt. You can read more details here. Here's a picture of Elvis wearing a Sheehan design for his Blue Hawaii album. Well, for some reason it's not letting me upload a picture. I'll try again later.

I am very well-known for my propensity for wearing Hawaiian shirts. I was musing about this in a chat with a friend. She asked how many I owned, and I honestly don't know. Is it about 40? It's a lot, that's for sure. Not only that, I recently "culled the herd" a bit before I moved. I have about 25 in "regular rotation," about 5 "special occasion," and maybe 10 others that just don't get worn as often any more. You'd be amazed how much of a decision it is for me in the morning!

David Byrne wrote "People will remember you better if you always wear the same outfit." I can't say that was my inspiration for having so many Hawaiian shirts, but it certainly has proven to be true. When the weather got a little chilly, I was actually teased at work for wearing just a plain old sweater.

Another story from work: A couple of months after I started, they had a "Brightest Hawaiian Shirt" contest. Naturally, I won. In my defense, let me say that I pulled out all the stops. I have plenty of bright shirts, but I have one that is a real doozy, so that's the one I wore. Later, my boss told me she had actually lobbied against me winning because "he wears that kinda stuff every day!"

Sometimes I'll make up themes for the week, like all green, all orange, or all vintage shirts. Sadly, no one has ever noticed (or at least, they haven't commented). This week I'm wearing all black Hawaiian shirts in mourning for Mr. Sheehan.

Most (90%) of my shirts were acquired in resale/thrift shops. I love the thrill of the hunt! I'm much more selective nowadays, which is a good thing. However, the selection has consistently dwindled over the years. I wish I had bought so many more when I was younger and there were far fewer collectors/competitors. I don't believe any of mine are worth anything, though i don't know for sure. They're worth something to me, and that's all that matters.