I’m a man with no sense of image. My loudest and most painful shirt is obscene, cost very little, and would get me thrown out of any tasteful establishment. But because it’s got a little label in the back that discreetly proclaims “Made in Hawaii”, suddenly it’s credible… vintage even. So perhaps this is the key: if something has true heritage, and isn’t just a retro copy, even the scruffiest examples can manage some measure of distinction.
Don’t just buy a fitted shirt with the word “Tetris” emblazoned across it in the misguided hope that it will establish your status as a metrosexual nouveau-geek: it won’t work. True classics are the result of accident, taste, and good fortune. So get down to your back street shops, and delve deep, see what they’re hiding. You’ll know a true classic when you find it.
