The surprising story of the fun shirt
This shirt wasn’t supposed to exist.
Its origins trace back to the 1970s, in the workshops of the American brand Brooks Brothers. To perfect their shirt-making techniques, the tailors would often practice by sewing shirts from leftover fabric scraps. The result was shirts with contrasting panels, in multiple colors.
One day, the company’s vice president at the time (named Ash Wall) visited the workshop, noticed these shirts, tried one on, and enthusiastically exclaimed: “These are some fun shirts!”. The decision was then made to put them into production — with great success. And that’s how the fun shirt was born.
The secret to a well-made fun shirt
While there are several ways to design a fun shirt, the striped version is the most iconic — which is why we chose this style for this Calvi shirt.
The main challenge lies in finding the right balance of contrast between the different colors. If the contrast is too strong, the shirt becomes visually overwhelming. On the other hand, if the colors are too similar, they blend together and lose definition.
We found the right harmony by selecting three striped fabrics on a white base in soft, almost pastel tones that create a cohesive and visually pleasing look.
On the front, the body of the shirt features a green stripe; the right sleeve has a yellow stripe; and the left sleeve has a pink stripe. The chest pocket and the body contrast in yellow. On the back, you’ll find pink on the upper back and green on the lower part.
This Oxford fabric has its characteristic grain and a feel that is both dense and soft, giving the shirt good structure while remaining light enough to wear comfortably during warmer days.
This fabric — or rather, these three fabrics — come from the Portuguese mill Vilarinho, which boasts 90 years of experience in creating textured shirting fabrics.
