I am under the impression that the gentleman on the left in the Esquire illustration was one of the last dozen men to wear a necktie in Hawaii, and will be seeing for myself this week. I am packing but a single necktie and have no particular plans to wear it.
Instead of neckties, Hawaii calls for linen, from jackets to shirts to trousers, as well as spectator shoes. Hold the Hawaiian shirts, thank you very much, but I hope to be wearing a lei very soon.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Hawaii Bound
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6 comments:
Bring your Shorts and unlined loafers. I brought 4 pairs of pants 2 years ago to maui and never wore a pair. it was warm during the day and night. The only thing I wore were swim trunks, Golf shorts and golf shirt and at night, short sleeve linen and shorts with unlined loafers. Of course I had my flip flops for the pool. Do not over pack.
Hope you have a marvelous holiday, Will! And thanks for the illustration. Afraid I’m somewhat notorious for sometimes appearing like the ignominious fellow on the right during the hottest and stickiest days of summer. I enjoy select Hawaiian shirts in cotton lawn. My precedent is Ike, but to each their own.
Aside from the obvious drawbacks in pool or sea-side activities, the necktie,even one as well chosen as this one may be, will of course involve the pocket handkerchief which, as we can see from some movement alluded to in the illustration, may cause all kinds of havoc with your lei, thereby destroying without real call a perfectly good flower, if not a superior voile square. Well thought out Will. And bon voyage.
At my organization's facilities in Hawaii, the tradition is to cut off the tie of any man walking into work wearing one. Hawaiian shirts are mandatory--the louder the better.
I always wear a button down collar when not wearing a neck tie and have not found many Hawaiian shirts with button down collars. Have a good trip.
A man with taste in hose like yours eschews the aloha shirt? How can it be? :-)
There are, in fact, tasteful aloha shirts. Most of them are what are called reverse print. To make a reverse print shirt, dye is applied heavily to one side of the fabric, and some bleeds through to the other side. This other side is the "outside" of the shirt. The effect is a faded-yet-not-faded look. Reyn Spooner is one of the top local names; Tori Richard and Cooke Street are also favored by many local businessmen--and yes, aloha shirts are business attire. I have several with button-down collars, though such shirts are not always easy to find.
(Incidentally, contrary to what you might think, suits and ties were once standard business wear in Hawaii, as attested by Hawaii Five-O. Aloha shirts were originally limited to "casual Fridays," but took over.)
When I lived in Hawaii, I never wore long pants except to work and nice restaurants, and I never wore a suit and tie except at weddings. Why? It's too darned hot to wear much more than a short-sleeved shirt and shorts!
Anyway, have a wonderful trip.
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