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Comment by ndneighbor | Hacker News Reader

What's more interesting to me is how it became the shirt du jour of Principal Architects and Palmer Luckey alike, anyone have any insight there?

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I wear a barkcloth aloha shirt when the temperature gets above 40C (~105F) and humid because it wicks sweat well and holds its shape. Wearing one on a motorcycle is better than air conditioning. They're classic, comfortable, welcoming, and appropriate almost everywhere if they are actual barkcloth (not fake and cotton), and you are basically fit.

You need to have a certain level of confidence and self-acceptance (and coin for a real one) to pull one off, so socially they can be a great filter as well.

Seems likely your barkcloth is actually cotton?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barkcloth#Modern_cotton_%22bar...

Except the texture of regular cotton shirts is what disqualifies them. I am referring to barkcloth as the texture and thickness, and not the poplin and polyester that characterizes cheap immitations. I mean sure, you can wear some representation of an aloha shirt made of velour if you wanted to, but it doesn't carry the same comfort, or appropriateness.

Well in the animated Disney documentary Sword in the Stone we see Merlin come back from from Bermuda wearing Bermuda shorts and shirt so we can surmise it's always been the garb of wizards ; ).

I actually have some and I like projecting an air of fun since I'm an introvert.

I love this answer so much. The garb of wizards indeed.

Palmer said it was just what was in the closet after not caring for long enough and receiving hand-me-downs from his father, when he tried to change his style once he had some time to do so everyone gave him so much trouble that he just stuck with it.

if you're asking if there is some business acumen hidden within the decision, well then I ask how one would fit the Jobs turtleneck into the ensemble?

The story goes that an IBM suit found themselves indispensable enough to negotiate the dress code requirement out of their contract, and then later founded Seagate.

The point is that there are folks who are smart or competent enough that it doesn't matter what they wear. Ultimately it is a uniform nonetheless.

Goes with almost anything, has a relaxed feel to it, light, and breezy.

Couldn't ask for more out of a shirt to be honest.

Hawaiian patterns probably tend towards a particular vibe. However, there are a lot of shirts in a similar shirt style and pattern design throughout a lot of the tropics. I have shirts from Indonesia and Thailand--and even just from the brand Patagonia--that aren't really Aloha shirts but they're loose, breezy, buttoned-fronts with colorful designs that aren't all that different either.

They’re fun and comfortable.

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