I wear them almost every day in the summer. I’m in software, so every day is “casual Friday” here, plus we’re near the beach. For me it would be easier to pin down when they’re not appropriate - funeral, job interview, meeting a head of state. (yes, i have worn a Hawaiian shirt to a wedding, but it was in Hawaii)
If it’s casual Friday, then it’s appropriate there. It’s not called “Casual Friday but no Hawaiian shirts because this is not Hawaii and no Afghans because this is not Afghanistan.”
My husband wore a Hawaiian shirt on an airplane to Atlanta this evening. What is it about them that you think might be inappropriate? This seems like a really odd question. I mean certainly they’re not appropriate attire for a formal occasion, but other than that, why wouldn’t they be any different from any other type of button-down shirt?
Always. They are never inappropriate. I haven’t worn anything but in…10 years? I can go an entire semester without repeating a shirt.
Not GAY, but if Alton Brown ever asks…
eta: A correction. I wore a plain shirt at my uncle’s funeral in deference to my aunt. But I got married in a Hawaiian shirt. I hosted my father’s memorial service in a Hawaiian shirt. My wife has already said she is going to stash my urn on the mantle, decked in a Hawaiian shirt.
There does seem to be a stigma against Hawaiian shirts, I don’t really understand it. I find the people who mock me/others most for wearing a (colourful) Hawaiian shirt are people who tend to dress like Communists. C’est la vie.
I have a whole closetful of them from when we lived in Hawaii. Many of the designs are rather close to the batik of southern Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The stereotype is that all Hawaiian shirts are loud, but that’s actually not true. There are some really very low-key designs out there. For example, check out some of the designs at Reyn’s, one of my favorite Hawaiian-shirt shops in Honolulu.
I’m gay, but not Hawaiian. The shirts I have were hand-made in Hawaii, not the usual crap that’s sold off-the-rack. I wear them wherever I feel like wearing them.
…they’re certainly a better choice than a wife-beater.
I had a special one I wore to celebrate the beginning of summer. It was mostly red and the rest was comprised of completely hideous clashing colors and weird shapes; I loved it, very summery. It was pretty accident prone tho, the GF managed to drop it in the trash accidentally… 4 times in a row on 4 consecutive days… and then it got torn while in the closet, so it’s gone now. Summers haven’t felt the same since. I really should get a new one for next summer.