Bye Bye Blue Shirt
Some shirts feel like your second skin. At one point in my life was quite besotted with white shirts with blue stripes. I had picked up a couple of them from the Benetton store in Ansal Plaza in Delhi. The salesperson tried to warn me that I was purchasing two identical shirts, but I was quite convinced that the stripes on one were darker. I even insisted that we have a look at them in the sunlight to settle the matter, at which point the salesperson gave up and let me buy both of them. One of the shirts has been with me for over 12 yeas. I don’t know how it has survived hundreds of rounds of washing, drying in the sun and ironing. While my enthusiasm for blue stripes had diminished over the years (though stripes still dominate my wardrobe, I am no longer partial to blue), it has remained one of my favourite shirts for all occasions. After a year of tumble drying in the Netherlands however, it looks ready to give up the ghost. The collar is frayed and a touch grimy and the colour - though still quite becoming - is definitely not what it once was. Before I consign this dear shirt to the trash, I thought I’d write it a little farewell note, and take some pictures:
Stripes
United Colors of Benetton
The Frayed Collar
Goodbye old friend, they don’t make ’em like you anymore.