Pages

▼

20 February 2011

A Fun Shirt, but not "The" Fun Shirt

Looking forward to the warmer months, this number recently joined the ranks at An Affordable Wardrobe:
A multi-striped shirt by Nautica, $ 2.50.

I've been looking forever for the iconic "fun shirt" by Brooks Brothers. For those that don't know, the "fun shirt" was a Brooks Brothers button down oxford where every panel was a different color stripe: blue, yellow, pink, green. Kinda wacky, but otherwise assembled like any other classic Brooks Brothers oxford.

This shirt, while not nearly the same, hints at the same vibe, and serves in the same warm weather situations. I'm thinking stone khakis and a blazer, orange Quoddy's, no socks,  top two buttons open, by the pool, ice cold Tom Collins, and so forth.

p.s. before one of you says it, Brooks Brothers no longer offers the Fun Shirt. However, last time they did, it was made in Malaysia and had a logo on the chest.

p.p.s. this plaid Fun Shirt from the Black Fleece line is both fantastic and available. But at $74.00 on sale, it's an un-reconcilable extravagance.
at

14 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 20, 2011 at 9:21 PM

    Nice find. I know you're against using eBay, but I've seen the BB shirts on there. Polo makes a couple similar ones. Have you seen this?

    http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=667&Product_Id=1501558&Parent_Id=297&default_color=MULTI&sort_by=&sectioncolor=&sectionsize=

    ReplyDelete
  2. TFebruary 21, 2011 at 10:27 AM

    Sell a kidney, maybe? You should be able to buy 3 with the going-price of a kidney in today's market.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AEVFebruary 21, 2011 at 10:42 AM

    http://cgi.ebay.com/Mens-BROOKS-BROTHERS-Shirt-Sz-16-1-2-Multi-Colored-/330533466406?pt=US_CSA_MC_Shirts&hash=item4cf5547126#ht_500wt_1156

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tony (College Trad)February 21, 2011 at 11:05 AM

    Cool find. I was lucky to find a BB Fun Shirt off of eBay for around $9. Maybe you can try your luck there.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousFebruary 22, 2011 at 6:31 AM

    I have never owned the iconic Brooks fun shirt. I like the bold colors of go the hell look but I always felt that shirt was a bit contrived. I like the one you bought better.

    Best regards,

    JRC

    ReplyDelete
  6. J.February 22, 2011 at 12:17 PM

    Also check this out. http://www.runofthemillshop.com/product/picciano-plaid

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousFebruary 22, 2011 at 1:01 PM

    It's spreading!

    Seems that not even trousers are safe any longer:

    http://disaffectedprep.blogspot.com/2009/12/fun-shirt-doesnt-die.html

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownFebruary 22, 2011 at 2:00 PM

    ...At the risk of sounding insane...I saw a whole rack of Fun Shirts at the Brooks Brothers factory store in Wrentham Village this past weekend. Brandy new in the heavy weight university stripes. It might have been labelled as a "346", but it felt pretty good and it looked pretty good too. So, there's that. Didn't catch a price though.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Jho78February 22, 2011 at 6:46 PM

    I'll keep a lookout for one for you.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Young FogeyFebruary 22, 2011 at 9:46 PM

    You might not believe it, but I actually have a similar shirt--stripes in varying widths (though narrower than yours) and colors (three shades of blue, and two each of green, yellow, and pink) on a white background. My father decided he no longer wanted it (the colors suit me better than they do him).

    I wear it with a solid mid-blue tie and a navy blazer.

    And yes, it is the closest I will ever get to a "fun" shirt. Despite HTJ's long paeans to them, I just can't see the appeal. Ultimately, they fall in the patch class of clothing--something that just is not in my blood.

    But I'll be sure to snag it if I see one in your size, G.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousFebruary 23, 2011 at 8:34 AM

    With all due respect, Mr. G., there's sometimes a fine line between fun and fugly. I'm afraid, sir, that this Nautica shirt has crossed that riotiously multi-colored, vomitiously clashing line. Better to keep the $2.50 you misspent in a cigar box under the loose floorboard until you find the real deal BB shirt. Standards, man!

    ReplyDelete
  12. GiuseppeFebruary 23, 2011 at 9:14 AM

    Wait and see...

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousMarch 2, 2011 at 10:59 PM

    I recently scored a J. Crew fun shirt from Salvation Army for $3--can't tell the difference from BB. The wife doesn't understand. I don't care.

    ReplyDelete
  14. GinnyMay 20, 2011 at 9:30 AM

    Is this the Brooks Brothers fun shirt of your dreams? It's a 346 line, has no logo, made in Malaysia, size L. I know because I'm selling it on Ebay. Found your site looking for info on it -thanks for the info that it's got an official name ("fun shirt")

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290567609455&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

    ReplyDelete

An Affordable Wardrobe strives for an open discussion of all the topics presented here. All opinions, whether in agreement with the author or not, will be considered for publication. Please present your points in a clear and adult fashion. Negative comments of an overtly crass nature will not be published. Besides dressing like grown ups, let's behave like them as well.