That Minimalist Babe with a Hawaiian Shirt

I’m letting you know, that I am here truly for the purpose of singing an ode to a Hawaiian shirt I own.

To be honest, I might be just inspired by my screenwriting teacher Brian & nostalgic for the times everyone teased him for wearing pretty much only Hawaiian shirts.

I am now sitting in Moscow, Russia & the said shirt had been long acquired in a thrift store across the world. I got it in SPCA Thrift Store in Vancouver, Canada.

That store is located in a residential neighbourhood of East Van.

East Van itself is a scruffy legend for it’s people’s style & the whole cheap-dirty-alternative-and-proud kinda vibe.

In the communities I was around at the time you could be proud without a judgement, that you had shopped at E 36th Ave & Victoria Dr. & got yourself 10 things for $100. And I indeed got everything I could want last summer, when I lived by that store. The last time I had a privilege of going there was in August 2020. Then my life crumbled a little and I moved twice, last time to my family in Russia.

Before it all happened… I had found a perfectly ridiculous Hawaiian shirt. It had been crafted from finest polyester & had been predestined for a person much larger than me. Along with it I got another shirt (oversized, with shoulder pads & a floral print, more serene colouring), a light vintage coat, wedged shoes, hoodie & shorts, oversized pants & suspenders. All of those things were in the same colour palette… neutral, nude & all of those. All of them, besides this eye-burning YELLOW shirt. And of course it was 1 of 2 of those items that I brought to mother Russia, because what else do you need more, than a man’s shirt, made for warm weather, in one of the coldest places on Earth.

This shirt has served me as an honest cardigan.

It has been tied, buttoned up or completely unbuttoned.

It has seen me without pants, wearing classy pant or leggings.

It has been styled with a big bulky leather red belt straight from the 80s.

This shirt knows me well.

It’s been a great bud. It has been dressed up & down & in all directions.

It has helped me to embrace my queer androgyny styles.

It has brought me sunshine into grey days (very many of those in January, February & March over here).

I don’t know if I have ever spent $13.99 better.

Since then I got just 2 wearable things. Both because I was contacted directly by companies to try out their products for CHEAP. Both times because I genuinely felt like I could use those things, but knew I could also be okay without them.

Well, okay, I’m sorry, I confess, I'm actually not that minimal. I got 4 things since that summer, 2 of them being toques (beanies, uh huh). Hats bought in a subway don’t count though, right? (Yes, you can buy most random things in Russian metropolitan).

Now, on the minimalist note.

I don't know, if I could ever change my cheap ways. I don't mind supporting a small designer once in a while; however, big brands were never an attraction to me. Especially when seeing everyone wearing brands, I'd rather go to thrift or save to support a hard-working independent designer.

We also don't need to go out to support new trends every season, that are getting recycled anyways. Not even mentioning, how much of our own mindlessly bought clothes, ends up in a landfill.

Craft your own sense of style by daring to dig or browse thrift experiences, that would tickle your fancy. Gems can be found at the bottom of every barrel or in the front of every store, just waiting for you.

After I took like only 1/10th of my Canadian wardrobe with me, I felt totally okay with NOT having too many things. Surprisingly, life has been quite chill with not having too many options to wear. I genuinely adore things I do own & make the best use out of them. I also now can go places with just a backpack & mini-suitcase for a week. Let’s be real, what else does a digital nomad need besides their laptop, a ring light (that you can use as a normal lamp!) & one of their giant notebooks of LIFE plus like 10 pairs of underwear and a few things. Of course, a warm season helps you travel light.

That’s why you can wear your Hawaiian shirt or pack it with you ;)

If it’s cold outside though, just throw it on top of your sweater, and call it a day. I got any trick in the book for your to fall for wearing big masculine shirts today!