Wednesday, December 18, 2019

The Fish Shirt


The other day I was in the Oxfam charity shop in St. John's Wood, buying a Christmas card for my nieces, when I came across a book called "Worn Stories" by Emily Spivack. It contains a series of essays by writers including Susan Orlean, Piper Kerman, Greta Gerwig and Simon Doonan, each of whom chose a significant piece of clothing from their wardrobe and told its backstory. Each essay appears with a simple picture of the clothing in question.

Reading the book -- and subsequently buying it, for £4.99 -- made me think immediately of my fish shirt.

So here's my own Worn Story.

I bought my fish shirt in early October, 1994. Well, I say I bought it, but actually, I had it made. I was traveling through West Africa with some friends from the Peace Corps, and we'd stopped for a few days in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. I'd been on the lookout for some colorful African cloth to get a garment made, and in the market there, I found this crazy fabric decorated with big, wild-eyed carp. I loved how silly it was. There was no pretension to good taste.


I bought a segment -- I don't remember how much cloth or what I paid -- and I took it to a tailor. He measured me and in short order produced this simple shirt, with a V-neck and two little vents at the sides. I took his picture afterwards, and promised to mail him a copy.

(Which I did, once I got back to the states and got the film developed -- but then I discarded his name and address, so I can no longer give him credit.)

In my journal at the time, I wrote:
"I got a shirt made in Bobo – it’s really HIDEOUS. It’s made from a pagne fabric with big fish all over it. I don’t know what possessed me – I can’t believe I’ll ever wear it unless I’m at the beach or something. Now I have TWO outfits I’ll never wear. I need to get a nice shirt made sometime – maybe in Ghana."
The other outfit I was sure I'd never wear was a Grand Boubou, or African robe-and-pants set, that I bought in Mali. I definitely never wore that, and wound up selling it ten years later on eBay to someone in Australia, of all places. And although I did have a "nice" shirt made in Ghana, of a streaky blue and black batik fabric, I wore it for a few years before it faded and I gave it away to Goodwill.


I still have the fish shirt, though. It's actually pretty fun to wear. I've worn it several times to barbecues or parties, like a gathering of bloggers I attended in 2008 in Washington, D.C. where we celebrated May Day with a maypole (above). I still take it out now and then and wear it when I'm walking around town on a warm summer day. It never fails to attract attention!

22 comments:

  1. I don't think your shirt is silly at all. I think it's fabulous. And I would have bought the book too.
    I have some prehistoric clothing in my wardrobe but none with a back story like yours.
    Alphie

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  2. Jennifer's husband Gregg in Florence SC could do with a shirt just like that as he is known locally as "The Fish Guy".

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    1. I had not seen your comment when I wrote mine! Haha. Gregg would wear that with great pride!

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  3. I love that fish shirt! I would wear that. Unfortunately, I have no good backstories about my current wardrobe but the book sounds like fun.

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  4. I love that shirt! Terrific! Funny how some things actually please you years and years after you got them.

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  5. I still have pagne fabric from my West African Peace Corps days from 38 years ago, but I don't have any of the clothes that I had made by those genius tailors. Those fabrics were all so weird and bright. They make lovely souvenirs.

    Um, maybe you should explain that "pagne" is a word to describe fabric used in making the long dresses that West African women wear. The way those ladies walked, or glided, in their beautiful narrow-skirted frocks made them look like mermaids to me.

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  6. The shirt actually looks much better on and how often can you say that?

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  7. I think your fish shirt is super! I love the photo of you all dancing at the May Pole. It looks like such fun. I once bought a blouse because I loved how it looked. It basically had two sleeves, a tiny bit of material and a band across the back. I loved it! I couldn't wear it anywhere, but it was fun to have it. Silly! You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.

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  8. I love that shirt and I'm so glad you wear it every now and then. It has to be a great conversation piece and the story that goes with it is wonderful. What a great idea for a book. Everyone has something in their wardrobe that has a great story behind it.

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  9. That is such a great shirt and what a grand story to go with it. I love this. Now I'm going to look in my closet for a story.

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  10. I love that shirt! The colors are right down my alley.

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  11. there's something about that pattern that attracts my attention. I think you made a good choice.

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  12. I echo everyone else. it is a great shirt and you wear it well.

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  13. Just Delightful Brother Man - Please Slip Olga An Extra Treat From Me

    Cheers

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  14. I think it is forgiveably Floridian.

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  15. Lovely story and wonderful shirt it looks good on you Steve.

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  16. My husband would LOVE that fish shirt!

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  17. Fabulous shirt, don't ever give it away.

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  18. That is a great shirt! It must bring back so many good memories of that time in your life.

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  19. That shirt has great colours, and you look good in it :)

    Everybody needs at least one piece of clothing that can start a conversation!

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  20. It looks good on you! The fit is spot on.

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  21. Alphie: I bet if you think about it you'd be surprised how much backstory some of that prehistoric clothing has!

    YP: True! It would be perfect for him!

    E: It is a cool book. I liked the idea of taking a close look at the stories behind objects we use frequently and take for granted.

    Ms Moon: Yeah, it's like you have to grow into them.

    Vivian: Thanks for explaining "pagne"! I have a couple of pieces of African wax cloth that I use on tables and such, but I find that most of the cloth looks much better on Africans than it does on me.

    LilyCedar: Ha! It's been hanging in my closet for a while so it's looking a bit rumpled in that top photo.

    Edna: It IS funny how sometimes we buy things we can't even use. I've bought some clothes like that too.

    Sharon: It IS a great book idea. Why didn't I think of it?! LOL

    Robin: You've got 'em, I'm sure!

    Bug: With your African experiences you can appreciate it, I'm sure!

    Red: Well, that big ol' fish eye is definitely eye-catching!

    Ellen: Thank you!

    Padre: Done! She has been treated. :)

    Catalyst: It IS Floridian, in a way. I always liked bright clothes when I was younger. I guess growing up in Florida helped me develop that palette.

    Comox: Thanks!

    Jennifer: If I'd known, I'd have had TWO made! LOL

    Sabine: Nope, this one I'm keeping for the long haul.

    Penelope: Absolutely. I don't have a lot of my souvenirs from that time period because they just weren't very practical or useful, but this is a favorite.

    Jenny-O: That's true! Maybe that's why it's a good party shirt. It leads to interaction!

    37P: The tailor did a great job! (As so many of those West African tailors do!)

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