In the late seventies and very early eighties I used to seek out, collect, and wear great Hawaiian shirts, and the gaudiest dress coats and blazers that I could find. This was before it became popular and things were made deliberately ugly. Herb Tarlick, the sales guy on the great TV show WKRP would popularize the look.
Buddy and I go into an old school menswear store. This place is right out of the fifties or sixties, and so is the salesman. You know the type, cool, with slicked hair, all the patter of a good salesman. He is awesome. I tell him what I’m looking for. He produces a plaid blazer. Base of bright white, with electric blue, black and grey plaid. Hideous. Fits like it was tailored for me. I buy it.
We are chatting. “ You know,” he says, straight faced, “I had a coat even worse then that in here. Thought I had it made when I sold it to a blind guy. He was O.K. with it, but his dog damn near killed me!”
True story.
Forty some years later I still have some of the Hawaiian shirts. Some were really old when I bought them.
Lost the plaid blazer in a move. Had an old, old tuxedo coat from probably the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. You know, the kind with the long tails at the back. Wore it everywhere. Lost it in a move, as well. I still miss those.